The Indianapolis journal., 1883-02-19
A Proh,bitionist,s Protest.
To the Editor of the Indianapolis JournAl.

To the Editor of the Indianapolis Journai:
Allow me, as a prohibitonist, to protest
against the central idea of the temperance
symposium, editorial included, of the Jour
nal of the 18th inst. There is so much good
sense streaking the whole that l do this re-
luctantly and l would not do it at all but
that the central imputation is both unjust
and mischevous. The gist of the whole is,
seeing that prohibition is at present impossi-
BILE, why do not the prohibitionists show
themselves practical men and bring forward
and put through a high-license law? The
first why is that they have no faith in any
kind of license law, and the second is that
they do not believe that any material change
from the present law-which was written by
the liquor sellers themselves, and was passed
by Legislature so near akin to the present,
elected like the present on the liquor issue,
as to be twin brother-is possible. The
unjust imputation is that the prohibition
lists are opposed to everything that is
not prohibition, pure and simple This is
unjust, because it is untrue, and it is mis-
chlevous by so much as il gives that class of
temperance men, whose best holt is to give
good advice, an occasion to find fault with
their betters. They like their brethren
1900 years ago-good at binding burdens on
other mems shoulders, but very careful not
to touch them themselves.
Now, the truth is that the prohibitionists
are not opposing any change in the
present law. There is not a prohibi-
ZIONIST In the present Senate who will not vote
for Senator Marvn's license law, if they can
ever get it back from the Senate temperance ~
committee, and get chance at it. But it
will never be reported back. DR.. Fletcher,
the chairman, was elected in the interest of
the traffic, and the traffic is as much and as
relentessy opposed to such license law as
to downright prohibition. 1t is not what
prohibitionists want but they are not op-
posing it. And there is not a prohibition
lst in the House that will not vote for
Mr.. Wiley's House bill 300, if they can
get chance There is not even the smell of
prohibition in it, but the prohibitionists are
not all born fools. In the absence of prohi-
bitiOn they are willing to help the friends of
high license to try it. They do not propose
| such measure, but they do not oppose it.
| know of but one prohibitionist in the State
that is opposing these bills and she is recent
convert who imagines that now that her
! eyes are opened, the whole temperance world
except herself is in the gall of bitterness and
the bonds of iniquity, and that it is her spe
cial mission to denounce and abuse every
body who does not acknowledge her SUI
premacy. Never mind; no permanent harm
will come to the cause by little things like
that. 1t creates hardly ripple, and disturbs
no one but herself
Please therefore, Mr. Editor, do the pro-
hibitionists of Indiana the justice to
say that while they believe that
nothing but prohibition will do any perma-
nent good, and that they will not propose
any further modification of license, they will
lend willing hand to those whose large faith
enables them to believe that there may be
some phase of license not yet tried that may
prove etfectual. The temperance cause for
forty years has had to endure the inhction
OF overzealous and indiscreet friends. One
feature of the work from the beginning has
| been that men who had spent the best part
of their lives in the gutter TO sooner got
sober, by SPELLS than they claimed to know
more than all those who had been working in
| the cause from childhood and had never been
drunk at ALL and their chief stock in the
business consisted in berating these sober
men. 1t is nothing new, therefore, that new
converts should jump upon the car and pro-
| pose to dismiss the old and tried worker and
assume the duties of conductor engineer
! fireman and all-they have no need of brake
men. But let no liquor seller be deceived
Prohibition is not going to the bad, though
occasionally badly engineered.
T. A GooDWIN