The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-10-06
CONSTITUTIONAL AalEapa ENrs.

| Wnen the Republican party had In Its
ranks men of broad and liberal views,
to declare that it would be impossible
for Prohibition to succeed in this great
and enlightened State. But Ohio to-day,
controlled by Governor Foster who is in
full fellowship with ex-senator Pond,
| Judge West, DR.. Scott, St. Smith, DR..
Leonard, and the cranks and bigOts, i'll
accord with Senator Sherman who goes
about, declaring there is no need for
the manufacture of one drop of alcoholic
| liquors in the United States" is quite
another and quite serious matter
| Governor Foster is reported, in late
interviews, to have said that there
will be 100000 votes cast in the
approaching election, for the Pro-
hibitiOn Amendment to our State Con-
stitutiOn. This is, indeed, startling
| assertion from such source. Do our
| friends appreciate all the gravity of such
possibility? Do they remember that
there are over 100000 voters in the state
| of Ohio, and that the PrOhibitiOnists
claim almost one half of these? Are they
aware of the unparalleled activity going
on among the cOld-water fanatics ali
over the stateP
DR.. Walden stated last week. at the
Conference of the Methodist church, that
there were at that time over seventy
Prohibition meetings held daily in the
state, and that it was intended by these
people to increase the activity in this
direction every week before the October
election, until not less than 300 meet
ings should be held every day and even
ing, to be addressed by the most elO-
quent Temperance and Prohibition
speakers i'll the United States. Impas-
siOnate and attractive orators are
brought here from distant points, and
all the machinery of the Temperance
Lodges IS being employed to work up
the enthusiasm among their members,
lay and clerical, to engraft"the folly of
Prohibition upon our State COnstitu-
tiOn. II, as Governor Foster al
leges, 300, 600 voters in Ohio are now in
favor of the adoption of Prohibition, and
If the activity visible in every direc-
tiOn shall be continued by our adVersa-
ries, until the election, by the scatter
ing OF millions of newspapers, pam
phlets and handbills, by meetings held
every day, and by appeals from the pull
pits by mistaken but earnest preachers,
have we not, we ask in all seriousness,
grave reasons for feeling alarm at the
dangers that are staring us and our in
terests in the face?
Remember, friends, that, if PrOhibi-
tlOn succ5eds 1t means cOnhscatiOn to
our breweries, with $4,000, 600 of invest
ed capital III the State; it means half as
much more in our distilleTies; it means
the sweeping out of existence of the
means of livelihood of more than 10000,
families directly dependent on these in.
dustries, and twice as many more who
would indirectly be almost as seriously
injured in their business by the passage
of such measure.
1t would empty 1900 business houses
of tenants, and lessen the rents on twice
8 y 4 10 ya1
conviction that the income of capital
lists in cities and large towns of the
State from rentable business houses
would fall III thirty days from the pas
sage and enforcement of pTOhibitOry
laws fully one fourth, 1t is our
belief, it would check the i'm
prOVement Of cities and towns enOrm-
Ously and that it would arrest instantly
the increase of population in the State
1t would paralize nearly every branch
OF trade; IL would throw tens of thOuS-
ands of wOTkmen out of business aud
crowd every avenue of manufacture
with idle men. 1t would injuTe, if not
destroy, the business of Industrious
cOOpers; it would strike crushing blow
to the blacksmith, the wagon makers,
the cOppersmiths, the ice trade, the har-
ness makers. 1t would stop the sale in
the State of over six million bushels of
barley annually aud many millions
more of corn and rye as we'll as of more
than 100000 pounds of hops. Who
would make good these losses to our
farmers for the sudden drop in the
market price of the products of their
farms? Who would find employment
for this army of idle men, or who would
come forward willingly to pay the taxes
needed for supporting the vast increase
in our paupers that such social up
heaval would dinevitablyp produce? Would
you, OF you, or your
If barley could not be matted and
bTewed it would be no more valuable to
feed stock than corn. If corn could not
be distilled it would have to fatten pork
If pork is raised in excess of the de-
mands of our people for consumption
its price would decline to unremuneTa-
tive rates. If our farmer, who now
from the surplus Of their crops, can ed
ucate their sons and daughters, and
clOthe them in silks and fine clothes,
could not sell their pork, barley and
corn and cattle except at less than it
cost them to produce these articles, they
could buy no silks nor brOad-clOths, nor
books nor pianos. Their daughters
would, therefore, be compelled to spin
and weave the hOmespun flannels and
butternut keTseys of Olden times, and
the fathers to toll weaTily to mill with
the divided bag of grist laid across the
plow-hOrse, and live frugally every day.
Finally, we ask the homes! yeOmanTy
of this great, liberal and enlightened
state, is it wise to turn back the dial on
the face of the clock, to forget the prog
ress of enlightenment written on the
pages of the century, and go back to
the bigOtTy of the middle ages, to an as
cetism not dreamed of even by monks in
medieval times, for the purpose of
humOring the weak sentiment
ality of class of social
as we'll as religious bigOts, who
violate the laws of nature and falsify
even the Sacred Scriptures to trample
social and political freedom under foot Z?
We say emphatically, MOI N0NNOIl
We must defeat these amendments;
we must arouse and awaken the people;
we must argue and exhort, and print
papers and pamphlets. and we must
stand at the polls on the 9th of October
next, and see that as many of the ballots
as possible that are deposited in the
as possible that are deposited in the
boxes are inscribed mo" to both the
first and second proposed Constitutional
Amendments.
Remember, brethren, that Eternal
Vigilenee is the price of Liberty" and
that Providence helps only those that