St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-08-28
The Issue Of Prohibition.
EX-GoV. ST. JOHN GIVES HIS VIEWS ON
TIE SITUATION.

A correspondent of the New York
Witness recently had an interview
with the leader of the prohibition
movement, which he describes as fol-
| lows: During the conversation |
watched and studied him. Despite
the great sacrifice he has accepted the
burden, and the question came to
me, "Why ?" His very manner gave
the answer. 1t is his wonderful faith
in God and the righteousness of the
cause of prohibition. He accepts the
call of the Pittsburg convention as an
indication of duty, and with his faith
in God and the right he does not hesi-
| tate for moment. A less unselfish &,
leader might have said to himself,
''Let some other man break the way
this year. The candidate of four
years hence will stand chance to be
president, and | will wait for that
chance" Not so with st. John. The
cause is greater than self, and his
prayer seems to be: ''Show me the
path -os duty, and use me to Thy
glory"
"What will he the result of this bolt
from the old parties ?" was asked.
"Thc idea that this is bolt
or an organized menace, is
mistake was his reply. ''The
prohibitionists have LEFT the
old parties, not bOIted from them.
They remained in the parties until the
last vestige of hope was gone, and
then left the old parties, and have
organized IL new one. A party is
simply an organization to bring about
certain political results, and when its
management passes into the hands of
new men who care nothing for princi-
pie but are ready to do anything to
gain votes, its machinery becomes
powerlcss for good, and all honest
men should leave it and build up one
based upon principle that will pro
tect the homes of the people"
"Why do prohibitionists constantly
attack the republican party ?" was
asked.
''Two men are brought into court
charged with drinking. One pleads
guilty and is sentenced-that ends his
case the other pleads not guilty, and
it is necessary to go to work and con-
vict him. The democratic party
pleads guilty to the charge of uphold
ing and sustaining the iquortratlic.
1t was long ago sentenced i'll the
minds of prOhibitiOniSts, and that ends
the case so far as it is concerned. But
its competitor, for the support and
favor of the liquor interest, pleads not
guilty, and it is necessary for us to
show its guilt by bringing to public
attention the record it has made for it
self. The democratic party is guilty,
and pleads guilty the republican party
is guilty and pleads not guilty, so we
must convict it,
"But has not the republican party
given all the temperance Legislation in
the country ?"
"FOr twenty three years the repub
lican party has been in power i'll this
country, and most of that time it has
had control of both houses of congress.
1t has had the power to stop the liquor
traffic in the District of Columbia and
the territories, yet, when and where
has the national republican party done
anything else than foster grOg-shOpsP
Saloons run in the capitol building,
and more than thousand saloons
| flourish in the District of Columbia by
sanction and permission of the national
government, and each of the territories
is cursed i'll the same way. 1t was I'M
der republican administration that the
! liquor bills of the Garfield funeral and
the Yorktown celebration were made
and though the republicans have been
in power, the petition for a commission
of inquiry into the effects of the liquor
trade has again and again been denied.
In this state it has twice openly, and
many times privately, betrayed the
temperance people. When Gen. John
Il q
party promised IL local option law to
the people, and Dix vetoed it. Last
year it secured the vote of the prohibi
tionists by promising to submit an
amendment, and then, though it had
power to pass it, defeated it. The re-
publican party has for years secured
the votes of the prOhibitionists under
false pretences. 1t is emphatically
national party of license. Under its
rule most of the early prohibitory laws
have been repealed, and it will not
even allow the people Il chance to vote
upon the question of prohibition. SO
long as there were other great and
pressing issues before the people this
was overlooked and forgiven, with the
hope that one day it would take up
and settle this question. BY the votes
of the moral, Christian people of this
| nation, it was enabled to make its
grand record on other great issues, but
| these other issues are settled and it is
now utterly unable to take up and set
tie this question. The position is this:
In the north Il majority of the temper
ance people are in the republican
party, Il minority in the democratic
party =; in the south the majority of the
prohibitionisls are democrats, Il minor
ity republicans. The only way to
bring the moral forces of the country
together is to set aside the old parties,
with their hatreds and preJudices, and
unite the people upon the issue of in
telligence, morality, characteristic
fundamentals of this government. No
north, no south, can only he brought
by IL new party, based upon issues
equally vital to all sections"
"Then you have no hopes that the
republican party as a national party
will ever become the friend of the
home against the saloon ?"
''No. Its very composition will pre-
vent that. If it declares in favor of
prohibition it will lose its liquor vote
and be defeated. The only way it
could win would he by getting prohi-
bition democrats to take the place of
the whiskey vote. This is prevented
by old party hatred and prejudices.
The only hope is to do away with post
mOrtem politics, bury the dead issues
of the past and the parties which per-
petuate them, and build up new par
, ty out of the best elements of the old.
The old parties do not believe temper
ance men honest, and consequently
treat them with contempt. The anti
Chinese plank, the tUOOl plank, and Other
ptdnkS in the ticO Platforms, shOU phdt