West Virginia freeman. (Parkersburg, W. Va.) 1881-1886, 1884-11-26
WEST VIRGINIA FREEMAN
What is Next to be Done?
DEAR FREEMAN

to clear away, and it may be we'll
for us prohibitionists to look around
and inquire what prohibition has
gained or lost, whether the friends
of the cause have been wise or not,
and what IS neat to be done. 1t was
understood by the friends of Tenn
perance in West Virginia that the
great question before them was the
submission of the prohibition
amendment to the voters of the
State, and efforts to influence pub
lie sentiment. In the conventions
held from year to year, this was
held forth as the main question.
In the West Virginia State TEN
perance Convention held at Par,
kersburg last June, the Annual
Report of the Executive Commit
tee had these words: "Hitherto
the policy in this State has been to
discourage any third party mo We
ment. The wisdom of such a poll
cy has been verified. Let US adj
here to it still, whenever am ong
.the regular party nominees there
is man we can support"
These words found a welcome,
and it is believed, unanimous re-
spouse. The members went home
to edo battle on this line" They
sought for the nomination
of such men for the Senate and
House of Delegates of the State as
should submit the prohibition
amendment to the voters; and it is
believed that a sufficient number
of such were elected as will insure
the submission. Till after the
October election things seemed to
be working favorably, as the
FREEMAN cheered us by proclaim
ing that large majority will vote
for prohibition if the Legislature
will give them the opportunity
1T is hoped that it will so prove.
But for some reason many of the
prohibitionists are detected and DIS
pleased, They say that Prohibi-
sion and theTemperance cause gen.
orally have been set back twenty
years and that it is now doubtful
whether it is the time to submit
prohibition amendment, in the
present temper of the people. And
ask what the trouble is, and they
tell you that st. John, the candi-
date of the prohibitionlsts, sought
especially to defeat the only party
in which there is any hope of saw
ing the country from intemperance
and did defeat it; that he visited
those states only and made speeches
in them that were likely to cast
majority of votes for Blaine; and
shat his assaults were principally |
against the Republican party.
They say further that nearly all
the votes that were cast, in our last
Virginia Legislature, for submit
ting the prohibition amendment,
were cast by Republicans, and that
had the Democrats or any consid-
cradle proportion of them voted for
the measure prohibition would now
have been a fixed fact.
They say that the Republicans,
instead of getting any credit for
what they have done in this re-
spect have been held up to odium
because the last convention did
not incorporate a submission plank
in their platform, though in other
conventions and other times they
had not been silent on the subject.
They say that even the Organ of
Tenn perance in the State has SEEM
ed to place the platforms of the
parties on level, though the DEM
ocratic platforms have spoken de-
cidedly against prohibition; and
even ridlculed the plank in the
National Republican platform
against polygamy by representing
it unworthy of such consideration.
They say that writer's in this Cor
gan" have represented those who
voted for st. John as not true
prohibitionists, as guilty of cowar-
dice and hypocrisy. They say
that Blaine's temperance record is
much better than that of st. John
that they have from trustworthy
sources, that St. John when Gov
ernor of Kansas put into Office a
liquor dealer who had, to the know
edge of the Governor, violated the