New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-10-18
MISTAKES OF THE TEMPERANCE PARTY.

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| MISTAKES OF THE TEMPERANCE PARTY.
Judging from present appearances, the
[ TEMPERANCE advocates have thrown away
great opportunity. The Republican party IN
many Western States offered this year to make
common cause with them against the cewbined
| Democrats and rumsellers. How did the
temperance people meet this offer BY cordial
acceptance and cooperation Not at all. On
the contrary, they refused in several States to
have any faith in Republican sincerity, and
declined to accept assistance because the Repub-
licans would not pledge themselves in favor or
the summary and total annihilation OF the
LIQUOR business Anything less than anniha-
ton would be, they said, simply compromise
with evil, and that they would never consent
to. SO in Ohio they nominated separate
ticket and helped the Democrats into power.
They knew that the success of the Republican
ticket, even if tho Republican leaders were not
united on the ISSUE would commit the Repub-
lican party to further temperance legislation, but
still they declined to give their support. The
Republicans went into the campaign heavily
handicapped with former temperance leglsla-
top, and the professed temperance advocates
refused to help them along because that legisla-
ton did not go so far as they wished to have 1t.
There can be but one effect of this action or
the temperance people upon their party's future.
Hereafter the Republicans will not be at all
eager to burden themsev es.with temperance leg
islation or with expressions of interest in tenn
perance principles. It'll true that if all the tenn
perance men in Ohio had voted this year for
the Republican ticket it would still have failed
l. b,,t hot ltar ha
that they refused to vote for it and helped
swell the Democratic majority. They decided
that it would be better for their cause to have
the State turned over to the Democrats and
rumsellers than to keep 1t in the control OF the
Republicans and they must abide the con-
sequences. They have declared that they
preferred no bread at all to hall loaf, and
they can find no fault if they are taken at their
word. The solndness of the Republican posi-
ton cannot be questioned. The party placed it
self on record in favor of the taxation and restrc
ton Of the liquor traffic. No one can deny that
such taxation and restriction were demanded
would limit the spread of intcmperance and
conduce powerfully to the preservation of pub
lie morals. But the temperance people were
not satisfied with slow progress like that.
They would have prohibition or nothing, and
they have secured nothing.
1t is likely to be long time before they
recover the ground lost by the mistakes of this
wear. 1t is useless for them to attempt to de-
ceive themselves about the attitude of the pub
lie toward prohibition. A great majority of
the voters without distinction of party, do
not believe it to be either possible or desirable
They say that if il could be enforced, and if it
really did stop intemperance, there would be
no doubt of its desirabiity; but experience has
shown that where majority of the community
are not warmly in its favor it cannot be en-
forced. They also fear that in many instances
it actually increases intemperance by forcing
persons who usually drink but little intoxicating
liquor to keep it in their own houses, where its
very convenience is a constant incentive to in
diligence Undoubtedly many people who fully
realize the curse and blight Of intemperance,
and are eager to do nything possible to limit
or restrain. it, have been forced to the con-
viction that restrictions which can be enforced
are much more desirable than edicts of suppress
sion which are merely dead letters on the
statute books. The time may come when the
seniimentin favor of prohibition will he strong
enough to sustain the enactment of laws de-
creeing it, and universal enough to secure their
enforcement, hut it has not yet arrived. 1t
seems to us the part of wisdom for the true
friends of temperance to recognize the situa-
ton, to encourage rather than repel sympathy,
and to take what they can get thankfully while
waiting hopefully for what they want.
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