The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-12-08

in looking around for some body
to abuse to pouuee upon this St
John partyl Would it not be better to take
somebody Of our own sizei Why it in no sense
represents the Prohibitionists of the country,
In Ohio two years ago, 1928 900 voted for prohi-
bition, yet the St john vote this year only
ii, 0O0-only one in thirty of the Prohibitionists
of the State 1t is fair to assume that the 3,0l8
in Indiana and the q, 900 in New York, sustain
about the same relation to the prohibition force of
those States, and the 150 900, all told about
the same proportion to the Prohibitionists of the
Nation-about one in thirty. Now the truth is
the st. John movement had nothing whatever
to do with the defeat of the Republicans this
year. or at least little as to be unapproachable
by the most delicate tests that we can apply.
Look at Indiana for instance Four years ago
Governor Porter carried the State by 1858. Two
years later Secretary Myers carried it by 6S4.
There was no St John in that-no third party"
This year Secretary Myers has only 1907 plu-
rality.
If there is anything in the st. John move
ment it has reduced Myers's majority by more
than the number received by st. John. st.
John received only 3,0l8 while Myers falls off
9,58I Take Marion county as another illustration
In 1880, Porter got plurality Of :, l6S, yet In
1882 Myers carried the county by 81, loss of
of more than 1900, and there no st. john in
the field, while this year Mitchell beats Myers
164, making Republican gain of 255, while St.
John got only 1913 in the county. Take the
county as TO our local officers. From plurality
many yea rs of !, 200, we range this year from a
plurality of 226 all the way down to a minority
of 2, 1885, with more minorities than malortles.
Now, St John had absolutely nothing to do with
these results. and | feel Inundated whenever
Republican stoops 20 throw q stone at him or
his, and especially when he resorts to low pot
house slang and cursing. In our honest
moments we all know better, and when we
quit cursing ST. John and turn to kicking
ourselves right vigorously we will be able to
find the cause of all this. Now the naked truth
is that the men who voted for St John are not
Republicans-not one of them They may have
been at some period of their lives, but they have
fallen from grace, and / fear they have fallen
after The old Cavinstc type-it is impossible to
renew them again to repentance. We certainly
never can by cursing them, but contrariwise we
will add to their number daily by this kind OF
persecution. There were thousands who were
sorely tempted this year, and who escaped by
the skin OF their teeth, that are much more like
lY to be driven away from us by this persecution
than the fallen are to be restored by it. | sup
pose that nine -tenths of those who voted for St
John, in Indiana or in New York, once voted the
Republican ticket but so did nine -tenths of the
Greenbackers. By cursing the Greenbackers we
never got one of them back, but the other
hand drove many Of them into the Democratic
party, body and breaches. For that matter,
Governor Gray, and Secretary Myers, and Sena-
tor Thompson and thousands of the most int1u-
ential Democrats of to-day, were, in their better
days, good Republicans. 1 would have no OBJ
lection to somebody curslng them, II anybody
can be found capable of doing the subject JUS
tice, except that in case is there any money In
it, or even good sense. But if anybody must be
cursed, let US take somebody of our own size
Gray and Myers, and Thompson and Hoadly,
and Conkling, and Curtis, and Julian and all
that sort.
But truce to the cursing business We are
beaten by pitiful plurality of less than 200 in
New York Let us take our medicine like little
men, and set to work to remove the cause. We
do xynoy,ox oat aIaNt1f in
The Republican party has future as full Of
great achievements as the past but it will never
be reached by cursing St John.
I. A GOODWIN.