The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-11-29

will be ours but this need not imply separate
political party. But for this Introduction might
suggest that no power the earth or under the
earth has any right to so arrange the issues of
campaign as to compel me to vote for an
avowed enemy or a cowardly neutral on
this or any other vital question, and
the powers above absolutely forbid it. L
must either not vote at all or | must improvise
ticket for the occasion, that and others may be
counted. None but q cowardly slave to party
can do otherwise. But for this introduction
might be betrayed into suggesting that the
Nomans Christian Temperance Union should
set its face flint against all temperance legis-
lation, should anything of the kind ever be pro
posed. Temperance needs no help from law, 1t
is purely u question of morals. 1t is born of the
Bible, and it's proper nurses are the family, the
school and the pulpit, and woe worth the day
that shall witness its dependence on legislation.
Temperance relates wholly to the habits Of the
individual, while prohibition is entirely an eco
nomic question, and belongs wholly to the State.
Murder and theft are purely moral questions, so
far as they affect the perpetrators, but wherever
they touch society the State of right interferes,
and it has no more right to license them than it
has to license dram-selling No sane
man ma proposes to lSegEis,ate against S;t st
personal liberty that the State may not inter
tere with, yet every State prescribes the most
severe penalties for the giving Of it ITO any hui
man being except as medicine. No state pre-
sumes to interfere with mans personal liberty
and ordain that he shall not eat tainted meat,
but every State most emphatcally prohibits its
sale. We ask no law to forbid the drinking of
lntoxicants-that would interfere with personal
iberty-but we are determined to have a law
that shall forbid their sale. This is not legisla
ting in favor of temperance but in favor of hu-
mainly and the home. and sound political econ
omy. and the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union is pledged to this and will never cease its
labors in that direction, though thousand times
their shepherd may be smitten and all the mas
culine sheep take to their heels and scatter.
But for this cruel Introduction l might be be-
trayed into bit of exultation over the certain
and early splitting of the Democratic party upon
this prohibition rock, for you know that am
d Republican of the type that could not
be moved from my steadfastness by
the plea that our best hope for prohibition is to
be found in the organization Of a separate po-
htieal party, for still cling to the very faint
hope that at some time, IN some way, heaven
only knows when and how, deliverance will
come through the Republican party In Indiana
as it did in Kansas and Iowa. But cannot
| shut my eyes to the lesson which the figures of
| the late election teaches. If the DwigSns
movement was warmed in the bosom Of the
Democratic party-was a Democratic annex"
as aHeged-ft showed its gratitude by a most
vigorous sting as the returns show. It is very
significant and suggestive fact that the Demo
cratic vote for Congress, the true test of party
strength in such canvass, IS 2, 7S5 more than
| the vote for Gray, while the congressional Re-
publican vote is only 632 more than the vote for
Calkins. These two lack only 45I of making
the entire Dwiggins vote. There is
no theory half as plausible as that
these figures approximately represent
the relative number of Democrats, Republicans
and Greenbackers that voted the Prohibition
ticket at the late election. II SO, heaven grant
that the Democratic bosom may warm this Pro
hibition viper very frequently, and take on as
many 'annexesn as we have elections
81 confess that, but for your Introduction, I
would love to hurl few stones at the exposed
pates of this eternal not to say internal, tenn
/ perance driftwood When the tide is high they
float with the current, but they never give any
thing for the cause but bad advice, and never do
anything but find fault They are good Prohi-
bitonists, of course and especially so when for
any reason they take to the eddy, and float up
stream, and shed oceans of tears because of the
ruin of their beloved cause Poor, cowardfy
souls! They imagine that because they have
taken the back track the whole cause is ruined.
They are careful never to propose anything
themselves that implies anything more than to
float, and to oppose everything that is proposed
by others. But your Introduction forbids Be-
sides, could not do the subject justice if I
should try; hence drop it.