The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1869-01-07
smaSn-up Of the Radicals on the Prohibition
Liquor Law--The Germans to the Rescue.

smaSn-up Of the Radicals on the Prohibition
Liquor Lsw--The Germans to the Rescue.
From the St. Paul minnesota Pioneer
The temperance issue in Illinois is rapidly
becoming a very important element in poll
tics. The Bloomington temperance Conyen.
ton adopted efficient measures for the or
ganizati9n Of a prOhibitory liquor law party.
They claim 10000 or $4,000 votes to start
with, and that there are 900 temperance
voters in the state who will be at once at
tached to their organization. With this
commencement they do not doubt that they
will achieve a substantial triumph in that
state at no distant day, As an Offset to this
movement, a meeting Of Germans was held
in Chicago recently, in which they accepted
the temperance issue, with many denuncia.
tions Of the oEigiuRtors Of the temperance
movement and IN a general spirit of char
scteristic earnestness. There is, therefore,
in process Of formation in that state Il pro-
hibitory liquor law party and an anti.prohib
tory liquor law party, in addition to the
democratic and radical parties, as they exist
At present. A convention to revise the con
stitution of Illinois has been called, and the
election Of delegates composing it will be
held few months hence. 1t is probable
that at that election the first array of these
two parties will take place, and the com
pie2ion Of tho convention will be determ.
ined, to great extent, by this action.
1t is very probable that both of these new
parties will draw the greater proportion Of
their numbers from the radical party. That
party has made so many brazen pretensions
-, r n Al 4
humanity that it has attracted the prohibit.
Dry liquor law people to its ranks, and it
has continued TO delude them with the prom.
ises that it will legislste on their principles
as soon as il has the power to do so, and
after the settlement of the slavery question.
In Illinois, also, the majority of the Ger.
mans are radicals, having been deuded by
that partys false professions of devotion to
freedom and the anti.prohibitory party
will be composed mainly OF people Of that
nationality. The radicals have been trying
TO. carry water on both shoulders, and are
likely to lose both loads.
The anti prohibitory party will, of course,
seek an alliance with the democrats, who
have always opposed sumptuary legislation.
The democratic party does not believe in
laws for the regulation of individual morals,
or individual opinions, beyond what is 8b.
soIutely necessary to prevent and punish
crime. There are as many hard drinkers
among the radicals as there are among the
democrats, and more secret drinkers. But
the democrats do not seek 10 control mems
sppetites by law, nor to regulate Individual
conduct, so far as it is not in violation of
the recognized rights of others. The prin.
ciple is the groundwork Of democratic oppo
sition to the prohibitory liquor law; and the
opponents Of such law will find that in the
democratic ranks they can most efectually
labor to prevent its enactment. So the III
nOis temperance movement is one of great
political Importance. 1t will cause the rad.
zeal party to lose two classes of ito support.
ers-the prohibitory liquor law people, who
will form party of their own, and the anti
prohibitory liquor law people, who will come
over openly and in body to the democracy.
The influence, and the movement itself, will
extend to other states, and we should not be
surprised to see politics in Minnesota shaken
up from the bottom at no distant day on this
subject.