The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1885-06-25


Of redeeming the land from the
curse Of drunkenness as entitled it
to support for temperance purposes.
All this is presented in Gail Ham
ilton's article with explicit and in
strnctive forco. She takes up, alec
tho familiar claim Of the st. John
people that they are initiating the
tactics Of the Abolitionists, and dis
poses OF il by showing that tho two
cnso5 have little in cotnmon, and
that The little they have in common
/ forbodes disaster to Prohibition
partisanship. The old Liberty party,
she declares, and everybody knows,
did not dominate Fremont, elect
Lincoln, or omancipatc the slaves.
10 did precisely what the Prohibition
party has done--"nado a shy at ev-
ery,hing and accomplished nothing,
except to defeat Clay and elect Polk
and thus bring on tho Mexican war,
with its burden Of expense and loss
Of life, aud tho subsequent acquisi-
ton Of territory for the upholdipg
of moro slave states, out Of which
camo the Wilmot proviso struggle,
the fugitive slave law, the repeal OF
tho Missouri compromise, the Drcd
Scott decision, and finally the war of
the rebellion. Slavery was in fact
abolished, she points ont, on the
line Of mo moro extension OF slave
territory" which corresponds exacte
ly to the moderate and rational sys-
TEN of prohibition that is advocated
by DIR. Crosby, DIR. Thayer, and
others. THE only lesson that the
Birney movement teachers to the
Prohibition party she adds, "is the
uselessness Of its existence the on
ly presage is speedy dissolution"
The idea OF anticipating any beue-
fit to the temperance cause through-
ont the country from the election Of
a Democratic President and the res-
toration Of Democratic practices
and influences in the management
Of the Affairs Of the government is
rrcposterous, Of course. All the
traditions and sentiments Of that
party are opposed to the ends which
the Prohibitionists have in view
What the result of such an e2peri-
ment is morally certain to be may
DO seen, in small way, in Maine,
where a venture Of similar kind
has been carried to actual conclu-
sion. At the election in Portland
last March a third ticket was put
into the field by the Prohibitions
lists With professod desire to facil>
itate the enforcement Of the state
temperance law. 1t received only
413 out of the 5,993 votes cast but
that small vote sutllced to prevent
an election, and the Democratic can,
didate for mayor lacked only 33
votes of a plurality. The result,
practically, was to give Portland
free whisky by the action of tue
Prohibition party and since then
the law has been dead letter, and
tipplinG prevails openly and to an
extent never known before. One
example Of this kind ia sufficient to
indicate the general tendency OF
third parties as temperance agencies.
There is no need Of third party in
our politics 10 advance the great and
benz iiccnt reform to which the Pro-
hibitiouists claim TO be SO ardently
attached but there is a need, as
Gail Hamilton urges, of influence
aud instruction TO bring people up
to tho standard already established
by the Republican party, and TO
make effective tue laws already in
existence on the subject Of tho liz
quor traffic.