(a law of health) which condemns the use of alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and hot drinks, and calls for moderation in consumption of other foods. For this entire time this word of wisdom has been preached from the pulpit as constantly and frequently as any other principle of the restored gospel which is proclaimed by the church. Under these circumstances, I as the president of the church, and also the church as a whole, always look with favor upon any measures that will reduce the consumption of alcoholic beverages. We firmly believe that the use of intoxicating liquors is inimical to the health of all partakers and thus nonuse becomes a cardinal welfare element in our whole social and economic life as a Nation. Since the advertising of these beverages under all the allurements which are now built around the advertisements, since the use of these advertisements has an undeniable tendency to increase the consumption of alcoholic drinks, particularly among the youth of the land---indeed, such must be admitted to be the purpose of the advertisements, in loyalty to our convictions we earnestly support every proper and legal effort to decrease the use of alcoholic drinks by the people. Therefore, I may say for myself and for the church that we favor any legal measures that will bring about this result. Sincerely yours, DAVID O. MCKAY, President. Bishop WILBUR E. HAMMAKER, AUGUSTANA EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, 110 Maryland Avenue NE., Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. HAMMAKER: As indicated to you before, I want to state to you clearly where I stand on the issue of liquor advertising. I am sure that our representatives in Congress recognize the seriousness of this issue, and I am also confident that they will want to know just how churchmen feel about it. As you may suppose, I am completely out of sympathy with every phase of the liquor industry. I saw the devastating results of liquor in the homes of neighbors and people generally in my home community as I grew up. Later, upon becoming a pastor and being responsible for counseling families and individuals, I have realized even more the disastrous results of liquor in human relations. You may be sure that I thoroughly dislike liquor advertising in any form, which naturally will include advertising on an interstate scale. Yoy may, therefore, include me among those who would be completely against the promotion of the use of intoxicating beverages and in favor of the Langer and Siler bills. I sincerely hope that the above statement, brief as it is and general in its comment, will serve a good purpose in the course of your fight for remedial legislation. Sincerely yours, Bishop WILBUR E. HAMMAKER, OSCAR A. BENSON, President. THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, 110 Maryland Avenue NE., Washington, D. C. DEAR BISHOP HAMMAKER: I am grateful that you have called to my attention the hearing to be held by the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee of the United States House of Representatives on the Siler bill (H. R. 4627), February 16-17. Private enterprise is a welcome method of stimulating personal and group work for the benefit of the Nation as a whole. Advertising is a necessary part of private enterprise. However, every rule or tradition must yield to notable exceptions. The manufacture of goods that are a blight on the life of our people when used in excess provides such a notable exception. I, therefore, give my hearty endorsement to the provisions of the Siler bill (H. R. 4627). Its adoption would mean no breach of freedom; but it would provide major assistance to the thousands who are battling to stay out of America's rapidly growing army of alcoholics. I should have written to you earlier, but I have deferred writing until today in order that I might test my own judgment by that of the council of district presidents of our church which convened this morning. These men are the equivalent of bishops in our church and represent the nine districts of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States. This council of district presidents is in unanimous agreement with what I have stated in this letter. I shall look forward to meeting you when you visit Minneapolis in April. Sincerely, Miss ELIZABETH A. SMART, 144 Constitutional Avenue NE. FREDERICK A. SCHIOTZ, President. DAYTON 2, OHIO, January 27, 1956. Washington 2, D. C. DEAR MISS SMART: I appreciate very deeply your letter concerning the hearings on the Langer bill (S. 923) on February 15 and 16 in the caucus room of the Senate Office Building before the full committee. I regret deeply that another commitment during this week in Canada will keep me from appearing in person before the group. However, I shall endeavor to follow through with your suggestions and make the influence of our denomination felt pertaining to the issues involved in the Langer bill. Thank you very kindly for sending me this information and for your concern regarding a great cause. GENTLEMEN: It is my judgment that one of the most sinister things in contempory advertising in this country is the way in which intoxicating liquor and its consumption are made to appear alluring. Most attractive personalities, not infrequently young, beautiful, women, are presented in magazines and on billboards as the devotees and advocates of intoxicants. It is being made to appear that the crowning glory of youth and beauty is to learn to sip a wine glass or to quaff a mug of beer. When one considers that addiction to intoxicants is one of our gravest national problems, and that crime is closely associated with the drink fest, the time has come to take the lure and the glamour out of drinking. Let us at least put a ban upon the employment of art and the glory of youth to promote the interests of what is at bottom an unhallowed business which threatens the moral fiber of our American people. Very cordially yours, JOHN A. MACKAY. Bishop WILBUR E. HAMMAKER, Waughn Methodist Church, BIBLE BROADCASTS, Washington, D. C., February 14, 1956. 300 A Street NE., Washington, D. C. DEAR BISHOP HAMMAKER: It is my humble conviction that the right-thinking people of our Nation are anxious for the enactment of the legislation as embodied in the Langer bill (S. 923). I regret my inability to testify at the hearing on Wednesday. It is my earnest prayer that this bill shall be reported out for discussion on the floor of the Senate. My warmest personal regards. Very sincerely yours, DALE CROWLEY. THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES, BISHOP W. E. HAMMAKER, 110 Maryland Avenue NE., Washington 2, D. C. MY DEAR BISHOP HAMMAKER: I am very sorry indeed that it does not appear practicable for me to be in Washington to attend hearings on the bill or bills with reference to the banning of liquor advertisements. I would like very much indeed to be able to register my strong personal support for legislation of this nature. The general assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States went definitely on record in 1951 "as opposing and deploring the flagrant and glamorous advertising of the liquor interests in popular magazines, newspapers, billboards, radio, and televsion." (See minutes of the 91st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, U. S., p. 78.) This statement remains today as the statement of the position of our church with reference to liquor advertisements. I am confident that legislation to outlaw liquor advertising or to limit it severely, would meet with wide-spead support throughout the entire membership of our church. I shall be greatly interested in learning the results of the approaching hearings and hope very much that the bills proposed will receive strong support and favorable action. With every good wish, I am BISHOP WILBUR S. HAMMAKER, J. MCDOWELL RICHARDS. THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION, 110 Maryland Avenue NE., Washington, D. C. DEAR BISHOP HAMMAKER: I am informed that hearings before the Senate and House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committees on bills S. 923 and H. R. 4627 are set for February 16-17. Since other engagements make it impossible for me to attend these hearings in person, I am asking you to convey to these committees in most emphatic terms, our sincere hope that these bills may be passed. Southern Baptists, 8,200,00 strong, from approximately 30,000 churches, have been constantly aware of the aggressive and misleading advertising scheme which distillers are using to make beverage alcoholic respectable and they have repeatedly registered their unalterable opposition to it. In an effort to stem the increasing tide of lawlessness, crime, juvenile delinquency, etc., resulting from strong drink, Southern Baptists have just entered upon a crusade for Christian morality, a great program designed to lift the moral life of our Nation. We believe that if the liquor industry is permitted to use the improved media of modern advertising techniques in interstate, press, radio, and television advertsements, that irreparable harm will be the result which could mark the beginning of the end for the American way of life and hasten the day of destruction of our American civilization. Thanking you, with the assurance of my continued prayers that right and justice may prevail and the things which count for peace, happiness, and the welfare of our people may be victorious, I remain, Very cordially yours, Bishop WILBUR EMORY HAMMAKER, 110 Maryland Avenue NE., Washington 2, D. C. C. C. WARREN. FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, Richmond 20, Va., February 13, 1956. DEAR BISHOP: I am very grateful to you for sending to me the information about the hearings to be conducted on the bills to prohibit interstate advertising of alcoholic beverages. Certainly as we see drunkenness increasing, something must be done to curb the liquor traffic. Our homes are being invaded with insidious advertising that is certain to corrupt our youth unless homes that want to prevent such a thing are given some protection. I join with you and other friends of temperance in hope that the House and Senate will give serious consideration to this matter and will seek to curb this dangerous type of advertising that is so real a threat to sobriety and the character and the other foundation stones of our American way of life. With appreciation for your personal interest and the hope that you will convey my sentiments to the committees at the hearings, I am, GENTLEMEN: I regret that it is not possible for me to appear in person at the public hearing by the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee on the Siler bill (H. R. 4627). I shall appreciate your acceptance of this letter to express my views for the record. I cannot write in behalf of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, because this bill has not been presented to the council for consideration. However, most of its 30 constituent denominations, with a combined membership of over 35 million persons either have taken positions individually or their official representatives concurred in the adoption of a statement on "The Church and Alcohol" by a predecessor body of the National Council. Certain relevant principles are implicit in positions which the churches have taken. Unwarranted and false claims in liquor advertising, which go beyond the presentation of brand names, common to all advertising, and aim to invest the use of alcohol with prestige and desirability is not condoned by the churches. Insinuations of liquor advertisements which lead youth to believe that drinking of alcoholic beverages is a mark of social acceptability or social distinction are certainly harmful and objectionable. In 1946 the Federal Council of Churches, a predecessor agency of the National Council, said officially that if regulatory practices are not voluntarily adopted by advertising agents, such practices "should be imposed by appropriate organs of government." A decade has passed without significant improvement in liquor advertising. It is generally recognized by churches that such measures as the control of liquor advertising are not the ultimate answer to alcoholism, but rather education and moral discipline. However, legal control of liquor advertising can be an instrument of public policy to create a more favorable environment for public and private educational institutions, churches, clinics for alcoholics, and other agencies which are trying to deal with the social problem of alcoholism in effective ways. Many citizens who try to educate their children for temperance or to avoid alcoholic beverages entirely find the privacy of their homes invaded by the unannounced voice of radio commercials and the sudden solicitation of television urging people to drink more and to get it now. The attractive advertising appeals of liquor commercials wrest the educational control of young children from parents who otherwise select with care the programs which they see and hear. The effectiveness of the power of suggestion through oft repeated advertising is well known. Because alcoholism is an unsolved social problem, conscientious parents should be protected against the sudden invasion of their homes by liquor advertising, even as they are protected from burlesque shows, gambling, and other programs which may adversely affect the public welfare. I do not claim any special competence to discuss the technical details of this bill, but I do take this occasion to urge such measures as the Congress may feel to be effective and appropriate for the control of liquor advertising. The churches are greatly concerned about the growth of alcoholism in the Nation, and various representatives of constituent bodies of the National Council of Churches will appear before you. This letter will supplement their presentations. Sincerely yours, WILLIAM J. VILLAUME. A RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF BISHOPS OF THE METHODIST CHURCH The bishops of the Methodist Chlurch are heartily in favor of the enactment of the Siler bill (H. R. 4627), as a protection for the homes of this country against the invasions of beverage alcohol. Childhood and youth should not be subjected to the influence of the colorful, seductive, misleading, and ofttimes utterly false statements contained in liquor advertisements. Parents throughout the land are becoming alarmed and indignant because liquor is being so attractively presented to both the ear and the eye. The plain intent and purpose of most of these advertisements is to widen the use and increase the consumption of beverage alcohol. This is against the public interest, which fact is attested to by the history of our legislative and judicial attitudes toward the traffic in beverage alcohol. The business lives on sufferance, and when its legal reentrance into American life was being asked for in the late twenties and early thirties of this century, its proponents insisted there would be no efforts put forth to induce people to become customers. On the contrary, the influence of Government would be used to educate the people so that they would realize the hazards involved in the use of alcoholic beverages. In view of such an attitude then and in view of what is going on now, it seems to be clear that curbs should be placed on the attempts to increase beverage alcohol consumption. Therefore, we the bishops of the Methodist church, respectfully petition and urge the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee of the House of Representatives to report favorably on the bill (H. R. 4627). We further petition and urge the Members of the House of Representatives to consider carefully the fair and just provisions of the bill and to enact the same as the law of the land. Bishop HAMMAKER. In these documents and in the spoken word, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, you have been petitioned by the official representative of more than 30 million people to act favorably on this pending bill. It is worthy of note that these tens of millions have no financial ax to grind, they are not motivated by personal profit. They are moved to this sacred exercise of the right of petition and appeal, because they are interested in folks, because, like Abou Ben Adhem, they love their fellow men. Thank you very much. Chairman PRIEST. Thank you very much, Bishop Hammaker. Again the Chair wishes to express appreciation to you and to Miss Elizabeth Smart in helping to control and consolidate testimony to the best of our ability, and still cover all the subjects. The Chair is in receipt of a communication from the Association of American Railroads, in which they propose a simple amendment if the legislation should be adopted, and they desire that the letter be included in the record at this point. (Letter referred to is as follows:) Hon. J. PERCY PRIEST, ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN RAILROADS, LAW DEPARTMENT, Washington 6, D. C., February 15, 1956. United States House of Representatives, Washington 25, D. C. DEAR MR. PRIEST: The railroads that are members of the Association of American Railroads herein submit for the consideration of your Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, certain comments with respect to H. R. 4627, a bill "To prohibit the transportation in interstate commerce of advertisements of alcoholic beverages, and for other purposes." A release of the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee, dated January 25, 1956, announced that public hearings on H. R. 4627 would be held beginning February 16, 1956. In the event that your committee contemplates giving favorable consideration to this legislation, it is respectfully suggested that there be included in the bill |