St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-10-23
A Lame Argument.
TO SECURE THE VOTES OF
THE PRoHIBITIoNIsTs.

-
! ADVANCED TO SECURE THE VOTES or
THE PRoHIBITIoNIsTs.
A marked illustration of political in-
consistency is shown in the absurd ar
guments which are brought out to per-
suade prohibitionists to support the
republican ticket. One of them is to
the effect that every voter must choose
between Mr.. Blaine and Gov. Cleve-
; land, as one of the two will undoubted-
ly be elected. And then the changes
are rung on the terrible alternative
that Blaine'S defeat means Cleveland's
election and the shame of n moral
leper in the White house, and hence
the voter who withholds his vote from
Blaine contributes to the election of
Gov. Cleveland, and in case of such
result, is responsible therefor, even
though he votes for Ex-Governor St.
John.
The argument is absurd, inconsist-
ent, contradictory and evasive.
|. tits absurd because of all classes
I,of citizens none are so disgusted with
tiie, character of the democratic nomi-
nee as the prohibitionists themselves.
Of all voters, they are least likely to
desire the elevation of unchaste men
to office. They are withholding their
support from the republican nominees
in obedience to the dictates of vital
principle, which revOlts against the
political corruption of the day, and
because they recognize the duty of
honest citizens to make their protest,
however feeble it may be, against the
continuance of party misrule. They
not only repudiate the unchaste de-
bauchee, but also the dishonest politi-
clan and the demagOgue who trims his
sails to catch the popular breeze re-
gardless of moral issues and the crying
appeals of the distressed and op-
pressed. 1t is absurd because it as
sumes that the immortality of the one
candidate is practical atonement of
! the questionable official character of
the other, as well as the outrageous
race prescription put upon the Chinese
and the cowardly evasion of the issue
of prohibition.
2. 1t is inconsistent because it ap-
peals to a class of citizens whose con-
| vlctlOnS have been outraged for years
by the occupants of the presidential
chair in republican administrations
| How often and how earnestly have the
temperance men and women of the ma
| ton asked for Il correction of the
shameful examples at the White house,
in the national capitol, and in congress,
urging that the unchecked wine bib
bling and liquor selling under the
sanction, if not by direction, of the
| government officials is terrible OBJ
iect lesson of decentralization to the
young of the nation, and that the in
t1uence of these things is all wrong
and ruinOus. And yet, without deign-
ing to notice these appeals, or offering
| IL solitary assurance of even an attempt
to reform them, the party organs now
appeal to prOhibitionists to aid in the
defeat of Cleveland because it would be
such terrible thing to have the presi-
dental position occupied by a man of
| his character. We repudiate rs wholly
inconsistent with Christian integrity
| the doctrine that of two evils we must
choose the least in this or any other
case, but if we were ready to concede
the present eXigency as a possible eX-
ception to the rule, we would then like
to be informed by some wise teacher
or teachers, as to which is the least
dangerous in influence to the republic
the elevation of Il man to the presi-
dency whose character is so notorious
as to disgust the nation, and become IL
text to warn the young while calling
the nation to arouse from its shame
and purify its politics, or the continual
ton of the tippling, the dram selling,
the drunkenness, and the habits of de-
bauchery in public life which involve
even such an occasion as the funeral
of Garfield in all the characteristic fea-
lures of the rum-iend's revel. We
confess that if there were presented to
us the alternative of promoting the
election of Cleveland with these prac-
tices abolished, or the election of
| Blaine with the practices continued,
we should hesitate to conclude with
which evil to affiliate. And we are not
sure but that the election of Cleveland
will sooner result IN the needed reform,
because of the reaction of disgust
which might follow, than the election
of Blaine with his well known facility
of evading any distinct issue of moral
reform. In either case, however, we
propose to be able Co say that we have
no responsibility in the nomination or
election of the president who is to
take the official chair as representing
an evil day which calls for reform.
3. 1t is contradictory because it as
sumes that the prOhibitiOnists are nu-
merically strong enough to hold the
balance of power, while another argu-
ment is being held that they are few in
number, weak in influence, and alto
together unworthy of notice. If they
hold the balance of power it is obvious
that their numbers are large, or the
grand old party of moral ideas is but
little III excess of the supporters of the
smutted democratic candidate.
Which is the fact ? Are the prohibi-
tionists strong in the point of number,
and are the defections from the repub-
lican party such as to jeopardize its
safety {? Oh no not if we are to be-
lieve the partisan papers, for they hold
that it is only the few impracticables,
who fail to appreciate the sound pro-
hihitory character of the party and the
statesmanlike position of Mr.. Blaine.
| Well, then, it must be that the party
is so depleted that the detection of
these few impracticables imperils its
chances to succ ssfully compete with
the party which exalts Gov. Cleveland
as its candidate, and the nation is so
lost to moral principle that in this pos
! sible contingency of an incOnsequen-
tial vote for st. John, the party which
for twentyfour years has proved its
virtue and moral strength may suffer
defeat.
4. 1t is evasive because it avoids
la raa1