The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-07-23
TEMPERANCE REFORM.

REFUhM
It would be a singular aspect of the temper
ance reform in this State to assume an attitude
Of opposition to the only party which ever could
be relied on for reform on this question. A
Republican Legislature, in 1881, passed the
amendment asked for by the temperance peo-
pie of the State, and stood by it in its repre-
sentatives in the subsequent Legislature; and
it was the Democratic party which defeated 1t
in 1888. The two parties have spoken in their
State platforms for 1884, the Republicans pro-
posing a constitutional convention by which
this and all other questions Of State polity
NAV be settled, and the Democrats
resolving against a convention for
this purpose, and stoutly adhering to the
policy adopted by their last Legislature OF
denying the people a voice in the amendment
Of their organic law. It must be plain to all
sensible men that the one or the other of these
parties will come into power at the next
election. No one can doubt what the Demo
cratic party will do if it triumphs in our State.
1t has always been true to its base instincts.
It certainly will be so when coming into
power with a bold resolve to act hagrantly
with the rights of the people. 1t has
resolved to deny the right of the
people to a voice on domestic questions. In
doing SO it has acted upon it's own presidents.
So there can be no doubt as to what it will do
again. The Republican party has always
kept its pledges to the people, and it will con-
tinue to do so.
The Republican party does not believe that
temperance reform ought to be partisan in
any sense, and resolved for a constitutional
convention, where this and all other questions
may be treated upon their merits, unbiased
by party strife. To make the reform
effective it must nave the best and law
abiding elements of all parties behind it for
its enforcement. To insure this it should not
be partisan in its inception. The opportunity
for non-partisan action is fully afforded in the
proposal for a convention to revise the or
ganic law of the State. These considerations
are all too plain to the people of the State to
warrant any fears of the result. If any part
Of the temperance voters of the State are
misled b.. intrigue to fly in the face of COM
mon sense and seem to 60 wrong, good hard
sense will soon assert itself. The hearty adj
vocacy Of independent action in the way of
a prohibition State ticket by the Democratic
Journals throughout the State has a plain
purpose enough. And this before the echoes
of their own State platform have died away.
The friends Of temperance can never hope
for success until they can control a majority of
the voters in the State. They must admit
that they have never demonstrated this to be
true by any vote that has been taken in the
State. The voters they rely upon to carry
their reforms are now aligned with the Repub-
lican and Democratic parties, and have hither-
to acted with one or the other of the parties
because they were not only advocates of tenn
perance reform, but they also believed in other
RT6db dlu lIlpOIl6lt mCdouACo bl1ut WC1O
Gated by those political parties, and it is GER
tain that these voters will not suddenly, in
the year Of a presidential contest, when the
very life of one or the other of these parties is
at stake, abandon the principles and measures
that they have held all their lives, and 60 off
on a single issue that they know cannot
- H H.
be made victorious at such a time.
The power of any party lies in its
ability and strength as shown at the polls.
And if the temperance leaders insist this
year on a count of their votes on this single
issue, there will be such a small showing Of
strength that their party will cease to have
the respect even of their W people,
imbecile as an adversary to its foes, and such
an exhibition of weakness will lose them the
fruit Of their efforts for ten years. Not even
one-tenth in number of their reported thirty
five thousand signers to the call for a nomi.
mating convention will be found as having
voted the ticket when the polls close; they
will have adhered to and voted with their
former political associates, and the temper
ance party will have dwindled to a d~iminutive
crowd, their Wanted strength dissipated and
its influence broken. This is no year for side
shows.
DIR. Koch is growing very monotonous.
For the tenth time he formally announces