Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1881-08-04
Governor Fosters Letter.

The following letter was read before
the Loveland Temperance Camp-meet-
ing last week 1t will be seen that Gov.
Foster takes up specifically some of the
stories circulated by the Prohibition
people, and squarely contradicts them.
The letter was addressed to the Rev. a.
c. Hirst, pastor of Wesley Chapel,
Columbus: s-s.. = 4
-..-s OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR,
.4-ff 30. CoLUMBUs, July 10, 1881.
REV. Mr.. HIRsI-In answer to your
inquiries I have the following to say:
My personal relations to the NJ. e.
Church you understand from the CONVEX
sation we had upon the subject. 4
In regard to the charges made against
me for the purpose of affecting my stand
ing with the temperance people, all of
which $50 far as / know them appeared
in the Alliance News, l have to say,
that they are one and all without foun-
dation, and so far no pretense of proof
has been offered to sustain them, but 1
am asked to deny them upon my oath.
ii I may be pardoned for referring spe-
cifically to some of them. The charge
that used my personal and official ia
f1uencef to defeat temperance legislation
was denied by.me in a letter to Il. II.
DOan, Esq, of Wilmington, o., in May
last, which letter was generally printed
in the Republican newspapers of the
State atSfthat time. Notwithstanding
this fact, good men have been imposed
upon To such an extent as to give cur
rencyito this slander from the pulpit, As
well as others equally groundless. -|
/ am charged with meeting saloon
keepers in conference for the purpose of
defeating temperance legi3lation, while
salooE-keepers, for any purpose, or at
any time. = i,.a- ,.,-,..,l.,-..--. 4 F7e
am charged with saying that "the
Methodist preachers ought to be snub-
bed," while such thought never oc-I
Cured to me. ..-..'.. - 49,
Ibid not caucus upon the temperance
plank in the Republican platform.
Col Tucker has, so far as have any
knowledge, given truthful history of
it's adoption. | presume it was con-
ceived by the Colonel, and carried
through by his efforts. n Hh e' ll@si
e am charged with refusing to deliver
the welcoming address to the local OPP
tion or Temperance Congress that met
here last winter -sls.i H-.fs -
AS was not invited to deliver such
address could not have refused. s,ii 4
l am also charged with holdiag re-
ception in saloon in Sandusky, on the
night of the 4th of July, 1879. This
story also has no foundation in trutlc /
You will not expect me to take up all
the charges made against me. 1 repeat
that so far as / have seen them, there is
no foundation i'm truth for any of them.
This plank in the Republican platform
is assailed, and the criticism made upon
it by the ultra temperance people is, that
inasmuch as license is now prohibited,
its only effect will be to again open the
doors to the license system.
Is this its only effect, and how does
the question of local option or prohibit
tion stand under the present Constitu-
ton?
1t is the opinion of well-informed
lawyers that local option or any form
of Prohibition is not now constitutional
that the legislation now on the statute
Books we'll nigh exhaosts the power to
legislate in this direction under the
present Constitution. u
Good lawyers are of the opinion that
a tax law, like the Pond bill, is Consti-
tutional.
/ am not a lawyer, and of course my
opinion upon Constitutional question
is not entitlsd to much weight. Never
theless, do not believe that either local
option, or prohibition, ora tax law is
Constitutional. 9l 80 .A2f
1t seems to be clear, then, that the
Constitution must be amended if it is
desirable to secure further legislation
in the direction desired by the local OPP
tionists and ultra temperance people or,
in fact, in any direction other than ex-
isting legislation.
It is urged by the friends of local op-
tion that it is but fair to give the people
by popular vote the right to say
whether or not they will permit liquors
to be sold in the several localities. 1t is
urged with equal force that it is but
fair to permit the people of the State to
determine the kind of legislation they
want upon this question they
can not have under the present Consti-
tuition. This 1 understand to be the
theory of the ADVOCATES of the plank in
the Republican platform. 3 .K.g s.
ID ij5R Yours, very truly,sf lE.8
i, .t,..s..5. .-..z-f "a CHARLES FOSTER.