Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-10-22

The signat'.re of TIC following article
will le recognized as tLat of a venerable
| contributor 10 the columns of the FEE
Press, whose I,n4iniscenccs of men and
scenes Of three sc"rr Years ago, have been
read with interest. Here IN Vermont, there
is no political rrohibi,o:y PARTY sufficient
in numbers TO be Of any account, one way or
the other; bu, we publish bis article, us en-
bodying much sound practical wisdom; and
We wish the advice could I've widely heard
and needed in Maine, and in the West, where
he now resides. En-. F. =.
Prohibition in its hroadest sense, we all
know, would be the radical and efficient cure
for drunkenness, il it could be carried into
| effect. To prohibit the manufacture of all
intoxicating drinks would supcrccdc ali
| other methods of sweeping away the tide
| of intemperancc and leave the products of
the earth 10 he appropriated TO a better use
! and the thousands that are employed in man
| ufacturing and vent.ing i. to better cmn'oy
ments.
But there are many things much 10 he de-
sired that are difficult to be obtained and
one of the things that arc out of the reach of
the friends of temperance at the present time
is the enactment of laws that would render
i. impossible for the d.Enkard TO get lis
dram, or the uppler 10 get his sip at the cx-
hilarating cup. If Prohibitonists would
cast their Influence politically on the side of
Temperance they will vote with the Rcpuh!i-
can party, which is the Temperance party
when compared with the Democratic party
ono OF which must rulethe Nation for ycars
to come.
So certain is il that the Democracy are
Justly charged as oeing the drinking party,
that only one in ten OF the ProhibtIonis;s
come from that party.
Ii We can't do all that We would like 10
do, TO dry up this fountain Of misery and
crime, let US do what We can at the present
time and wait till the chances are favorable
to do more; and not stuhbo-nly and persist
emily throw the weight OF or influence in
the opposite scale.
The political Proibiiiorists sometimes
compare themselves with the Abol!ionis,s
the men who advocated in days gone bv the
abolition of slavery, and think if they hold
on and show their principles anil their per
severance that somebody in the distant future
will reap the fruit of Their iahors in the
destruction of intemperance. But the com
parison is lame. Slavery was local, confined to
number Of the States intemperance is uni
vcrsal, not a State or town or village hut
what has occasion more or less to mourn over
the ravages of this desolating and peacc-tlc-
stroyiDg curse. And then the AbOlitionists
didn't liberate the slaves after all their zeal
and toll. The war, brought on by tae slave
holders themselves, gave the martyred .latcs-
man, as n war measure, an opportunity u
loose the bands of slavery from off the hands
of 200, 900 of the sons of Ham, that might
have been wearing the yoke of oppression
to-day, if no power had been employed but
the power of the Abolition party
The ProhibitioDsts are men OF one idea
and that is so prominent that TO other bear
ing on temperance can find Judgement in
their brains, and though their number might
be counted on your fingers they must vote
the Prohibition ticket though the Heavens
fall" What ever else a man may do, if he
fail 10 vote with the conscientious few, for
men that would he just as likely to be trans
lated as TO he elected, he is no temperance
man, and the Prohibitionsts would hardly
accord to him the credit of being an honest
man or Christian. Let Il mans pasi record
for temperance be what it may though he
may have talked temperance, lived
Temperance for half Il century, aienca,-
ed temperance among his associates aud
III lhiiiiN, paul HIS libutJ tiltlfl
his prayers to God to stay the progress Of
this desolatins curse; yet, all this IL "a
sounding brass AMI II linking cymhal' i; h.
refuse to vote the Prohibition ticket.
There are scores OF Republicans, and some
drunkardS, ard few Democrats. that would
vote il they could the whole catalogue of in
toxicating drinks from off this continent nnl
out OF the world, and doom to everlasting
forgcifuiness the art Of making more. YES
We would take our chances with cholern
morbus rheumatism AMI all the catalogue ul
ailments, in the absence Of alcoholic driiiS.
'Tis said, there is tide in every man's
affairs, that if taken at the flood lca,ls ou to
fortune" There is a time when united ei-
forts will accomplish important results. The
time tomake feeble outside political issue on
temperance is not now, when the two great
leading parties are struggling for the mas
terry, one to maintain the integrity AMI
liberty of the Nation, the other to pcrpctu-
ate rebellion, fraud ani oppression, and when
every loyal mans vote is needed 10 give vic
tory 10 the party That has once saved The
country from the rule of slavoc:as 1T cost
of millions of lives and billions of mancy.
Come up then 10 the polls, you premature,
persistent ProhihiiioniSts aud vote with Us
Republicans AMI drive back the forcaOiing
storm of anarchy and rebellion that is rising
in the South and threatens the liberties and
freedom of the North, uni We VIII d. the
best We can for temperance.
NJ. BEgCKENEIDGE.