New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-10-26
IyTEMPERATE PROHIBITTOYISTS.

the votes OF Pr0nlDltlOnlSts OF NJ lea5t oL oou5
of Temperance, have issued Circular, instruct
ing them to vote against Gen. FRANZ SIdEL and
State.
Whyf
1t is not pretended that Mr.. Nelson is any
wise more favorable to PrOhibitory legislation
than Gen. Sigel. In fact, it is we'll known that
neither is at all favorable Both are known to
be adverse to any such legislation.
What, then, is the object of this prescription
of Gen. Sigel3
1t is simply to punish the Republican party
for having dared to nominate a leading candi
date who is not Prohibitionist and to deter
it from doing so again. So far as the movement
has an ineligible object, this is it, Gen. Sigel
it is well known, wants no office; you cannot
damage him; but the Republicans want to
succeed, and this blow is aimed at them.
Is such movement fair or Just
The Republican party, as is well known, is
composed of many thousands who are, with other
thousands who are not, ProhibitOnists. These
have entered into a tacit agreement to tolerate
and keep faith with each other. At the very
formation of the Republican party, this
was the basis of mutual action agreed
upon. Then it was the Prohibitionists who
attempted to impose their ShibbOleth on
the party, and they were signally de-
fcated Twelve years later lin 1867,
an ti-Prohbition plank was inserted in our
party platform just at the adjournment Of our
State Convention and the people repudiated
that by an overwhelming majority. The Repub-
lcans were never before nor since so badly
beaten as when that platform was showed under
them. They did not authorize It, but they
severely suffered from it. And they will not
again be bullied into making Prohibition OF
anti Prohibition an article of their creed.
There are thousands of good Republicans
thousands of equally good Republicans who
are anti Prohbtionists. Neither of these classes
are majority of the legal voters of our State:
together, they are a majority. To attempt to
foist Liquor or anti-Liquor plank into our
party platform is to seek to reduce us TO a
minority aud expose us TO certain defeat
And this is exactly what those who urge
Prohibitionists to vote for Nelson instead of
Sigel seek to do, and what some among them
are probably paid to do.
We denounce their little game" as CON
ceived in fraud and reeking of dishonor 1t
means just this: ave Prohibitonists will get
all the votes we can from Republicans who
ARE not Prohibitionists but will give our own
"votes for Democratic anti-Prohibtionists
"rather than Republican" a gang of burglars
could not hold together if they kept no better
faith than that
Happily, the plotters of this mischief are few
and impotent. They are off the same piece
with those who tried to defeat Gov. Chamber
lain in Maine and Gov. Hayes in Ohio by run
ming Prohibition ticket, and are now pur-
suing the same course in Minnesota In no
case have they carried even tenth Of the
Prohibitionists with them; and they will
succeed no better here than elsewhere
We appeal to Republicans who are also Pro-
hibitonists to make special exertions to put
Gen. Sigel's name at the head of the poll.
We know that he can be elected; we firmly
believe that he uiH be. He is not Prohibi-
ZIONIST; he does not pretend to be; but he is
an original, jealous Republican. If, now, he is
beaten by the votes of Republican Prohibi-
tiOnists, we can never expect Republi-
can observation-disclosures to vote hereafter
for Republican who is Prohibition
list. We thus split the Republican party
in two by imposing a Prohibition test, and
consign it evermore to minority and impotence.
We render any future action adverse to Lii
quor License impossible, by throwing the State
permanently into the hands of that party
which is the natural ally and protector of the
Rum Traffic. Every ProhibItionists vote
against Sigel is in effect vote to render Pro-
hibitiOn henceforth impossible, by fixing its
implacable enemies permanently in power
Men and brethren think and act! Let us
do our utmost to put Gen. Sigel far ahead of
our average poh