Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

vain"course.""The passage of Scripture we arestudying also has a bearing on the question of Pacifism. Those who say that theuse of force is always wrong in dealingsbetween nations do not take account ofthe whole teaching of Scripture on thissubject. If the civil magistrate "bearethnot the sword in(that is, as amere emblem of authority), he is empowered to use force against evil whennecessary. But there is no difference inprinciple between the use of force torestrain evil within a nation, and theuse of force to restrain evil betweennations . . (p. 144).Verses 5-7: "The apostle here teachesthat obedience to magistrates is not onlya civil duty which will be enforced bythe State, but that it is also a religiousduty, a part of our conscientious obedience to God. We are to obey the lawfulcommands of magistrates, not only because we have to, but because we oughtto. We are not to obey merely becauseof "wrath," that is, not merely becauseof the fear of suffering penalities, butalso as a matter of conscientious devotion to God" (p. 144).The teacher will profit by studyingthe entire sections in "Blue BannerFaith and Life," referred to above.There are many questions (and answers)furnished there which can be discussedby the class.DANGER AHEADThe year 1953 marked an all-timehigh both in the amount spent in advertising alcoholic beverages and in thedollar sales of these beverages. The advertising expenditures approximated$260,000,000, and the sales, according toa release given out in July by the U. S.Department of Commerce, amounted to$9,885,000,000 short only by $115,000,-000 of the ten billion dollar mark.Back over the years since repeal, thesales of alcoholic liquors have increasedin about the same proportion that theiradvertising has increased. It has been theclaim of many of the liquor fraternityof their beveragesthat the advertisingdoes not increase their overall sale, thatit is only a competition between differentbrands of liquor for increasingsales. Thisfalse claim has just been refuted by anoutstanding member of their own group,Clinton M. Hester, the Washingtonlegal counsel of the U. S. Brewers Foundation. Mr. Hester has not only beenthe attorney for the Brewers Foundationfor many years, but has been closely associated with the Government in administeringthe liquor laws since the enactment of the 21st Amendment,and for atime was a legislative counsel for theTreasury Department.At the recent hearings on the Brysonand Langer bills before the Interstate andForeign Relations Committees of theHouse of Representatives and Senate,Mr. Hester was a witness for the U. S.Brewers Foundation. He stated repeatedly and with emphasis that if the Brysonbill to prohibit the advertising of alcoholic beverages were enacted into law, itwould decrease the sale of alcoholic beverages by 50 percent. We quote him asfollows :"Advertising is the life blood of themanufacture and sale of liquor". . . ."Advertising is the sale, and when youcurb advertising by this (Bryson)bill, you would stopthe sale of 50 percent of all the alcoholic beverages thatare sold in the United States today."Asked how he arrived at this 50 percent reduction in the sales of liquor andbeer, Mr. Hester replied: "Practicallyminor baseballevery major and everyteam is being sponsored by brewers today. They have a commercial as theysponsor the baseball game to people, andare selling beer. What do you thinkwould happen if overnight you voted thisbill out and that wasdentally it isstopped."(Inciyoung people especiallywho are interested in baseball and othersports. This throws light on the industry's purpose in spending millions insponsoring sport eventscan youth in their net).to catch AmeriMr. Hester went on to say that this50 per cent reduction in sales was notonly his opinion but it was the opinionof the 45 members of the Board of Directors of the U. S. Brewers Foundation.Further confirmation of Mr. Hester'sclaim has just come to light. "Old Crow"is one of the numerous brands of liquormanufactured by National DistillersProducts Corporation. On the authorityof a leading advertising magazine of thecountry, this Companyspent $6,000,000in advertising this one brand of bourbon whiskey in 1953 and will spend anadditional million this year, bringing thetotal up to $7,000,000 for 1954.This same authoritystates that Seagrams Distillers Company, the largest ofthe "Big Four" distillers,spent in advertising its products: in 1953 the huge sumof $22,000,000, and will probably spendfrom $22,500,000 to $23,000,000 in 1954.This is considerably more than its nearest rival, Schenley Distillery, is spendingin advertising and its sales; likewiseare considerablymore than Schenley's.All this goes to show the importance ofthe Crusade Against Liquor Advertisingsponsored by the National Temperanceand Prohibition Council. If Mr. Hesteris right, stoppingalcoholic beverage advertising would reduce the sale and consumption of liquor, wine and beer by onehalf, and this, in turn, would reduce byone half the damage that results fromtheir beverage use.The Crusade, which was launched twoyears ago, is gaining momentum frommonth to month. Protest communications by the tens of thousands aregoingto the editors, publishers, owners, operators of newspapers, magazines, radioand television stations. But the numbersshould be increased many fold. You areurged to join this increasing host. Expressyour convictions against this subtle andglamorous advertisingness.of this evil busiAll the information needed for .participating in the Crusade is contained in alarge four page folder. Secure a supply.Cost to cover printing and postage: 1 to18 copies, 10 cents each; 25 to 36 copied,8 cents each; 50 or more, 6 cents; each.Dr. Renwick H. Martin, Chairman orDr. J. Renwick Patterson, Secretary-Treasurer.209 Ninth Street, Pittsburgh 22, Pa.THE POCKET TESTAMENTLEAGUE,156 Fifth AvenueNew York 10, N. Y.INC.The Pocket Testament League announces that 4,551PTL converts in Japanhave completed the first section of aBible study course. 206Japanese converts have completed the entire two-yearBible course108 Bible verses.plus the memorization ofMr. Alfred A. Kunz, Executive Director of The League, states:"PTL has always had a policy ofcareful follow-up of each person whomakes a profession of faith as a resultof our Scripture distribution and Gospelrallies. We are now very happyand fortunate to have the loyal cooperation ofThe Navigators in our follow-up work inJapan. This follow-up is done with twomain objectives: first, to give the newChristian all possible help and encouragement in launching out on the Christian life; and second, to help him become an effective witness who will winothers to the Lord Jesus Christ."It is encouraging to note that over10,000 Lesson Ones have been sent out asa direct result of the witnessing of thosealready enrolled in theIncluded among those who have completed the first section of the Biblestudycourse are 173 converts in Hiroshima, where the first atom bomb wasdropped; 45 in Nagasaki and 272 inTokyo.128THE COVENANTER WITNESS