The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1882-09-16
NUMBER 20.

!
end of its being if it elects them to-
office, are alarmed. It seems to them
that they may be defeated, in certain
localities, unless the temperance uuess
ton can be eliminated from the can
Yass as to them. Hence the PROPOSE
ton tnat the vote for Secretary Of
State, and for that office alone. shall
be considered" a test of the wishes
otthe people with regard to the liuuor
business.
This suggestion is quite lacking in
practical sense, The large sums al
ready contributed by the liquor in
terest haye not been given to defray
expenses of the campaign for Secre.
tary of State alone. This money will
be used wherever the Democratic
managers may think st, and they
| VIII think fit to use it in doubtful
legislative or Congressional districts.
Self deception will not do any good
to the Republican candidates any,
where. The recognized representa-
tive men of the party, especially
Governor Foster and Senator Sher-
man, have taken publicly a well de-
fined position on this question, as the
one Of greatest immediate interest,
and the people who are hostile to the
position of the party, as shown in its
platform and by its leading men, will
vote against it no matter what any,
body may say he is going to "c0nsid-
er" the result. The naked fact is that
the people who want free LIQUOR and
no Sunday will vote against the Re-
publican ticket, and no device of
ingenious politicians will prevent
them. On the other hand, if the Re-
publicanS are many and earnest, the
people who want a decent Sunday
and a reasonable taxation and regula-
tion of the liquor traffic will be very
apt to vote for the party, but against
any candidate who tries to shirk the
question.
1t is no new thing, this appeal to
the moral and patriotic convictions of
the people by Republicans. They are
encountering only the very some OBJ
StacleS that they encountered when
the insolence and aggreasions of the
slave-pOWer forced that question up
on the country. Then, as now, there
were funds raised by the advocates of
existing evils to defeat the Republi-
can party. Then, as now, the Republic
can party as such proposed only fair
expression of public opinion, and a
reasonable and practica BILE limitation
of the evil, but was fought as savage
ly, from the start, as if it had pro-
posed abolition. Then, as now, there
were timid men who wanted to get
Office as Republicans without Offend
ing those who were in favor of the
| unlimited extension and virtual SOW
ereignty ofeyil. They were generally
beaten. as was natural. Sincere and
earnest men of all sorts distrusted
them. But the Republican party az
whole had the courage to declare it's
convictions, and the people ultimate
ly gave it unrestricted confidence.
For years, settlement was possible
at any time on the basis Of a reason
able restriction of the evil, but the
defenders of slavery were intolerant
and intolerable. They remember the
result.
The position of the Republican
party on this question must be Judged
from the conduct of its majOrities and
| its leading men. We infer that it is
in favor Of a moderate and reasonable
restriction of the traffic in liquor, as
kind of business in which absolute
liberty cannot be INDUCED without
harm to the public welfare. Exactly
so, and for the same reason, the party
| was in favor of the restriction of
| slavery. But change came when
| the prO-slaYery men defied and re-
| belled against the law. Then 1T did
not take long to decide that law
defylng and rebellious interest must
be extripated. The liquor interest
seems to be doing what it can to
arouse a similar feeling of loyal in
dignation. 1t would be a thousand
times better for that interest to be
beaten in Ohio, by the active resist
ance of many OF its friends to unrea-
sonab and insolent demands made
in its name, than for it to succeed in
defying law and preventing reason
able and moderate restraint. Ifany
doubt this, they will be convinced
when the Ohio Legislature meets
again.-N Y. Hi6t01e.
QUEER MoNEY.-The inhabitants
ofthe Solomon Islands have a curious
system of decimal currency. A cocoa
nut seems to be the unit. But the