The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-10-31

crimes IN Kansas ana all the DlOOQ OF Tue
war upon the Abolitionists. There would
have been nothing of all this, they said, if
the Abolitionists had let slavery alone. Now,
just to that extent and no more are the tenn
perance people bringing this question into
politics. They propose to resist the domino
ton of the liquor power, and, l may say in
passing, that this continued aggression is
its most ultra form who do not regard
that as the best thing in the alb
stract, just as the growing insolence
of slavery made thousands demand
the unconditional abolition of slavery who
to the last, did not believe that that was the
best thing that ought to be DONE but it was
the only thing that the shareholders would
allow.
The fate of slavery ought to teach the
liquor-sellers some sense, but it seems not to-
They are just as blind as the Shareholders
were thirty years ago when every depart
ment of government was in their hands, and
political parties seem just as slow to learn.
Thirty-two years ago the Democratic party
made league. offensive and defensive, with
the slave power, and pledged its life, its for
tune, and its sacred honor to do its utmost
bidding, while the Wing party, which had
elected STAKEHOLDER President in 184S and a
dough faced Vice-president, followed, crying
me, too" While berating the handful of
Abolitonists for carrying the slave question
into politics, alleging that they, by so
doing, would damage the Wing party,
the only party that ever had done
or ever could do anything for the poor slave
On the one hand its half counting of Adolf
tionists drove away every pro-slavery man,
while its want of heartiness failed to attract
a single Democratic anti-siavery man. Con-
sstent with its policy its acknowledged
leaders, Clay and Webster We'd with jeff
Davis and Robert Toombs in favoring, the
fugtiveslave law, and the party died of
sheer cowardice the only two Northern
States that had even a moderate majority for
| it, in 1852, being Massachusetts and Yer
mont, where the Wing party raised and
maintained the anti-slavery standard with
boldness.
History repeats itself at least in this: The
Democratic party of to-day is hand-in-hand
with the liquor interest and gives assurance
that that interest can have whatever it de-
sires while in most States the Republican
party is following at a great distance crying
me, too" 1t says to temperance men we
are your friends. and to the liquor interest,
we are not your enemies. 1t is Gus
tomary to say that if Napoleon had
not been defeated at Waterloo
the map OF Europe would have been recon-
structed. That is possible, but not propa-
| bic. II he had been successful there would
have been another hard battle somewhere,
and possibly several of them, but France
would never have ruled Europe Just so,
many wise men say if the Republicans of
Ohio had espoused proh bItion they would
have carried the State. 1t looks that way
but it might not have been that way espe-
cially if the Republican candidates and pa
| perS had given the cause only left-handed
| support as did some Republican papers and
candidates in Iowa. Only one thing is GER
| tain, and that is that cause which casts
| 321 189 votes for prohibition, and 9S, $50 for
regulation, is not to be trifed with Is pecial-
| ly in the face of the fact that not a candidate
on any ticket or a paper of any party favored
| it. The Commercial Gazette estimates that
| 100 900 Democrats voted for prohibition. II
half OF these had voted the Republican
ticket, that ticket would have
been elected for all the liquor
sellers went to the Democracy
stances, vet not one of this 100 900 was asked
to vote for the Republican ticket because o f
its prohibition sentiments. In Iowa the Re-
publican candidate for Governor, who
espoused prohibition, has a plurality of
about % 600. while the Greenback vote is
about 10000 and the straight prohibitory
vote probably 5000, showing a Prohibition
majority of not far from 50000 for the
Green hackers are Prohibitionists; and all this
with a support that seemed to prefer defeat.
on the part of most Repuo lican papers No
one can forecast the future with accuracy
Only this is certain: the prohibitory senti-
ment is as strong relatively in Indiana as in
Ohio, if not stronger. More than 10000 are
to-day pledged to vote for no man who will
not Stoutly resist the aggressions of the
liquor traffic. 1t will be increased to more
than 100000 by the 1st of February. Just
what shape this sentiment will take,
no one is authorized to say. Tenn
perance is not in politics, but a
spirit OF resistance is, and this sentiment
will find embodiment some way or other. l
am sure that the temperance men of Indiana
will NOT ask any, political party to espouse
prohibition. No political party ought to,
unless it is prepared to make a bold and ag-
gressive stand. 1t will be the death of any
party that does In Ohio 419 239 citizens out
OF 721, 464 have just recorded their votes
against the unbridled drink traffic In In
diana the vote would be about the same
four-sevenths of the voting population, with
much diversity of opinion as to details. 1t
remains only for the Temperance men to be
as consistent and persistent as the liquor
sellers are. Llquor-sellers never vote for
those unfriendly to their views. The CO. 900
above referred to have promised that they
never will again. The Democratic party has
secured the solid vote of the liquor interest
and no halfway concession to that interest
will ever reclaim per cent. of them to the
Republicans, leaving us only one of three
thngs-to out-Herod the Democracy in our
bid, or to play neutral, and get beat
again, or to openly espouse prohibition and
possibly get beat once or more, but to Dut
ourselves i'll the position of ultimate success
for no man is so blind as not to see that this
war upon the liquor traffic is in the ascend
ant The experience of Massachusetts last
year is instructive. With but one exception
in twenty years the Republicans of Massa-
chusetts had favored Temperance legislation
until last year, when they ignored temper
ance in the platform and nominated ticket
that was unfriendly The result is history.
This year they put advance Temperance leg
islation" in the platform and have nominal
ted a ticket in sympathy with it. What will
DE the result remains to be seen. They will
OF be defeated worse than they were last
year, though the Demo-liquor party is doing
its level best to array against them all the
lower elements of society. Temperance is
in politics only as it antagonizes the de-
do sc ~