New-York tribune., 1876-05-19
TIE pROHIBITION PARTY.

TEE PROHIBITION PARTY.
"For President, Gen. Green Clay Smith OF
"Kentucky; for Vice-Presdent, e. l. Stew
cart of Ohio" These are the candidates nomi-
mated at Cleveland on Wednesday. They stand
upon a platform of fifteen miscellaneous planks.
They REPRESENT little of everything good, IN
the conventional sense of the word, which Is
going. They are the foes Of liquor selling, OF
class legislation, of lotteries, of poygamy, ana
of Sabbath breaking and they are the friends
of Bible reading in schools, and of the redic-
ton of the wages of public officers. They are
against hanging. and look favOrably upon i'm
migration Theirs is indeed q tesselated plat
form whereon men of widely different views
may find standing place. " The ProhiDitioh
"party" is in fact, an inadequate and inexpress-
i've title. One can hardly see why the ii1teen
blanks should not have been fifty, and every
one of them good sound, wel-seasoned
piece of timber. A Reform party Hospitality
receiving RefoImers of all styles and stripes
and shades may be a public blessing even
although it should not elect Gen. Smith to tho
Presidency. 1t furnishes that somewhere to
tie I'D to- the want of which so many
people do most inexpressibly feel. little OF
everything ought to be attractive to everybody
this is the point from which the Cleveland
party starts, with the best possible intentions.
1t would be very mournful if it should be
found that n little of everything is attractive
to almost nobody.
II is with the kindest feelings that we ven
ture to suggest to these well meaning persons
the impoicy of having too many iroDsln the Ire.
We do not say that parties can be maintained
un0n one idea but we have observed that they
rarely have a use for more than one or two at
n time. The Prohibitonsts' put into their
very last plank as sort OF taI-piece the
opinion that our Government should be carried
on economically, and that abuses OF publlc
trusts should be Immediately attended to. 30
the penultImatc plank also demands specie
currency Here are two things which would
seem to be quite sufficient to engroSs the at
tcntiOn of party even much larger than the
Prohibition party promises TO be. In iact'
considering the importance of these, the planks
about lotteries. and the abolition OF tins thlns
or the other, are like many side dishes, more
ornamental than edible. There is such thing rs
undertaking too much, and to profess too much
is a common fault especially of young political
organizations Too many ingredients may
spoil the broth quite as eitectuaily rs too many
cooks. 4 pot-pourri of a platform may look
well on paper, especially when 1t Is long enough
to require an index, but it is apt to amaze
confound. cmbarrass, and repel the average
voter. The Cleveland gentlemen have laid out
work enough for several generations of men.
II will be necessary for their youngest con-
ycrts TO come back from the next world to re-
ioice in the completion of the labor and the
consummaton of the multifarious enterprise.
The Cleveland delegates did not take into ac'
count the "three score years and ten"
We will suppose Gen. Green Clay Smith to
be elected to the Presidency, and that his party
has a majority in Congress. What nextl
Docs anybody think that everything would go
on smoothly and casily7 that there would be
no Intoxicating beverages sold in Washington
and none imported into the port of New-IorkI
that gambling in gold and Stock" wonld be
entirely put down that all manner OF evils would
depart incontincntly and the Millennium make
its appearance! And all because Gen. Green
Clay Smith has taken up his residence III the
White House. Why should a hump Congress
do any better than Rump Parliament did
That there would be iniiuitc debate, coniu-
SION and n tremendous airing OF plans ana
themes, we can readily believe; but should we
probably have any good, solid, practical legi5-
lntion7 One thing is certain. Poor Gen.
Smith would hardly have an easy time OF 1t III
disposing of the patronage according to the
lofty principles of the Cleveland platform. All
manner of extraordinary odd fish would come
70 the surface. each with petition 10 have
something abolished, or Il memorial asking Tor
. place. We shall not undertake 70 describe
the confusion which would ensue; but we are
prctty sure that The Congressional Record
would be lively reading, at once instructive
and amusing.
We are not, we hope we need not say, in
clined to undcrratc the efforts of men rcso-
lntey bent upon making wrong odious and
right popular, especially in the White House
We wish Gen. Smith and his friends well III
their schemes for making politics purcr, and
the world better. But we like TO see good
intentions more economically employed. We
like To hayo Mess.s Smith and Stewart and
their friends where they will do the most good.
More than once in our political history the
hest party has been defeated and the land
delivered up to the worst. simply because GER
tain folk wanted bread made Of something
finer than wheat. This, however, is free
country. and wllful men mus have their own
way, only let them 90 on two feet, and not
make ccntipedcs of themselves!
Two APPOINTNEATS-SIX ELECTIONS
! 1t il fact of considerable significance that
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