Iowa capitol reporter. [volume] (Iowa City, Iowa) 1841-1855, 1852-04-21
pe mocr.aic .resvau J, 80 s.,

State Democratic Central COMMITTEES.
Iowa City. Feb. 4. 1864.
.-- :. -
pemocraaic Tesvn1 = sts~l
The Democrats Of lows City Town.hil
will meet at the Court House in Iowa City, Q
Tomorrow evening, Thursday the 22d inst
for the purpose Of appointing delegates to til
county Convention. which 10 to assemble ,
the same place on Saturday. April the 24th.
Published BY request.
April Goth 1859.
DR.. Ballard aud the ssNl aine Law. /,
The last number Of the Republican contains
lsbored article of a column and half, in repl
to personal allusion TO our tall neiehbor i,
the Kcokuk Sunbeam. We are not disposed {,
lind fault with the Dr.. for any thing contained
in that article pertinent to his personal defence
II the Doctor conscienciously believed after
professional examination that justice and hu
manity demanded executive interposition in
the case referred to, he did no more than his
duty in the premises. Had he stopped there
we should have been silent on the subject We
should have neither troubled ourselves nor GU,
readers.with single word on the subject. But
hecould not in article Of that length avoid show.
ing the cloven foot. Like his prototype Gree.
y,he is stretching out the sails of his political
craft to what he conceives to be popular
breeze. There is scarcely an ism in the long
catalogue Of humbugs of which the world is SO
prolific that Greedy has not cndeavored to coin
in the whig mint for party currency Fourier
ism, abolitionism. communism, and freesoilism.
have all had their day, been exposed and nail
ed to the counter as base metal. And while
the stencil from the putrid remains of these de.
funct humbugs is still upon his garments, he
is attempting to drive the temperance reform.
which has heretofore been pure and holy, into
that common receptacle of political corruption
the Seward faction of the wing party. And in
this true to hispolitieal instincts our ncighbor
Is ioi owing in the distance on the trai of his
great model in political chicanery .....t
Although we are among the readers of our
neighbours paper, we were not aware that he
had in view this great polite omoral movement
until he announced it in the following words:
eve have almost every week had articles in
our paper well calculated to pave the uav to
the public mind in favor of an en- act ment of the
Maine Liquor Law in this State, which law we
should greatly rejoice to see on our statute
There it is, just as We expected Whiggery
IN this State, like their brethren in other States
are snutfiIng after popular breeze. No great
great moral question can work its way to pub
lie fov -
soon as it is known to have hold upon the |
affections of the people. it is saddled by the |
incubus Of this party, aud made the stepping |
stone to power of corrupt intriguing politicians
The temperance reformation had been stea.
Oily advancing. The old temperance oreani.
cation had raised up almost an entire genera.
ton OF sober men. The Washing,onians had |
gone down into the ditch, and with words of
kindness to the fallen kndled the spark Of
manhood that had almast become extinpuisbed
IN their souls, and saved them by the power of
their own self respect The Sons of Tempe-
rance threw the arms of fraternai love around
the redeemed, and with love, purity, and e.
delity,' a'lured him beyond the reach of temp.
tation. The long row S of decanters, filled with
the sparkling, cxhilerating fluid, had been ban
'shed from the shelves Of our public houses.
The bottle and glass on the sideboard of pri
vate dwellings was no longer necessary ap-
pendage OF hospitality; and in the workshop
and harvest field the rum jug was no longer the
companion Of the cask Of pure water. All this
was accomplished BY the power Of ..moral sua
SION" means so unobjectionab!c that it dis
armed opposition, SO effective and beneficsnt
that the unfortunate victim Of appetite looked
with reverencaupo temperance men as friends
and benefactors
Bat q nov era Is about to dawn upon Us.
The bill Of rights in cur National and State
constitutions Is tobe treated as nulli,y. Our
damicils are TO be searched on the suspicion Of
spies and infonners. and private property sci.
xed and destroyed, without compensation or
remedy. These arc some Of the features of the
" Milne Law" A law which John B. Cough.
the great apostle Of temperance in this country.
says "can never he effectual." because it does
not prohibit the importation Of foreign liquor.
Those who are able to import their own liquor
from abroad are permitted to enjoy it, but none
others Such law is an outrage on our com
mon sense. And the Interpretation of the law
by its author, Neal Dow, shows its glaring alb
surdty. --..u .....
But our nei yhbor is not only in favor of the
" Maine Law" but he goes great deal farther;
a length that no person has ever gone before
him, and to which no person perhaps will ever
follow him The mere act of drinking to ex.
cess has never been made penal offence from
The days of righteous Noah down to the pre-
sent day; it has always been considered more
misfortune than fault. We quote the para
graph which appears to be the summing up Of
cur neighbors temperance notions:
"Girc US then the Maiae Liquor Lar, or give
MS regularly licensed houses, making the own
crs or keepers of them liable for damages done
by persons whilst intoxicated from liquors OBJ.
tanned at their establishments; and make in.
toxication itself penal offence"
If we had not been informed that our friend
had been for four or five months, engaged at the
slow process of Matchmaking the highway be
tween the "Maine Law" and the public
mind in lows, we should really have taken