Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1884-09-20
"DODGED BY GOSH p
[From the N. Y. World.1

[From the N. Y. World.l
The Knight of the White Feather
"dodged" the prohibition vote at the
Maine election. After making bar
gain with Neal Dow to support the con-
stitutional amendment in exchange for
the prohibitionists' Endorsement of the
republican governor his courage gave
way and he cheated in the game SO far
as his own vote was concerned.
Two weeks ago. terrified at the pros
pect of losing Ohio and many other
western states through his alliance with
the ironclad constitutional prohibition
lists in Maine, Blaine resorted to his old
''sunstroke" trick and affected illness.
His design doubtless was to be too ill
to vote at all. But the desperate char
acter of the canvass demanded his
presence and the sick dodge had to be
abandoned. On the day Of election he
promised to be at the polls at II o'clock,
and the temperance ladies waited for
him to conduct him to the prohibition
ballOt-bo He failed to appear, but
promised to be there at 2:30. The
ladies remained and were again disap-
pointed. Then fortunate shower sent
them home, and as soon as their alb
sence was reported to Blaine he has
tened to the polls, put in his ballot for
state officers and ran away when q
prohibition vote was rendered to him.
"Dodged, by gosh!" was the comment
of one of the bystanders.
But while the White-feathered
Knight "dodged, by gosh!" he took
care that his republican supporters
should vote in favor of the intolerant,
oppressive and invidious constitutional
amendment making the manufacture
or sale of liquor or beer a penal Of
fense. He handed over the citizens of
his state to the tender mercies of the
fanatics and bigots who are eager to
bind other peoples consciences in a
strait waistcoat of their own intoler-
ance, while believing that he could
escape responsibility by his own cow
artlly evasion of vote.
Mr.. Blaine has the cunning and the
folly of the fox. He has been called a
shrewd politician. He is the reverse.
Wherever he goes he leaves scent be-
hind him, and, however much he
hole he creeps, it is easy enough to hunt
him out.
His pretense, made in his jubilee
speech after the close of the polls, that
the prohibition question should be kept
out of national politics, and that for
that reason he "decided not to vote at
all on the question:" is Il stupid and
shallow fraud. Mr.. Blaine was voting
as a citizen of Maine, in state cleo
ton, on state issues. What a senseless
and paltry excuse to pretend that he
lodged prohibition because it was a
state and not national question: Hear
him:
"Judicious friends OF a protective
tariff, which is the practical issue of the
campaign, will not divert their votes to
the question of prohibition, which is
not a practical issue in the national
campaign"
What balderdash is this? The Maine
election was a state election which had
nothing whatever to do with the tariff
but everything to do with prohibition.
If Mr.. Blaine believes in constitu-
for the amendment If he does not
believe in it why did he not vote against
it?
He did neither. He "dodged, by
gosh!" But his lodging will not save
him. Prohibitionists and anti-prohi-
bitionists recognize no uncertain friends
and detcst man without the courage
of his convictions.
The prohibitionists will repudiate
Blaine all the more vigorously because
of his pusillanimity. The opponents
of intolerance will reject him and his
party because of their alliance with
the fanatics Of constitutional prohibi-
tion and confiscation in Maine.