West Virginia freeman. (Parkersburg, W. Va.) 1881-1886, 1885-09-30
WEST VIRGINIA FREEMAN
Our Turn Now.

We have been turning the grind
stone for q set of selfish Office seek
ers, calling themselves statesmen,
who have paid for all our work in
promises-political assignats, mex
pensive to them and worthless to
Us.
They have been promising to
help grind our ak some day-when
the time is ripe-but they evident
" think "the time" is a fruit that
will never ripen. Now we want a
chance to try eur hand at holding
the ak while they turn the crank.
lst.-Because that appears to be
the only way to get our ak ground.
2nd.-Because we think We have
got the better ak. We have been
helping to sharpen an inexpressi-
bly, poor ax-fit only to.hew out
soft places for men who are unfit
to fill hard ones. We now bring
forward an ak of our owns the re-
suit of our own labors, largely. We
have worked hard to produce a
good ak, every way fit to hew hard
live oak, and hew it to the line,
sharp and true. We believe we
have got the genuine Prohibition
ak. We have named it the Prohi-
bition Party.
We may not be right; we are
only human. But we know this.
Our ak is made of the same mate
rial that has been used in the max
ing of every good political ak this
country has ever known, namely
pure political principle, mined in
The best neral thought, and mould
ed in the most direct and definite
words the Language affords.
Our ak has been forged in the
only workshop that is capable of
turning out perfectly formed work,
namely, the shop owned and run
by practical experience; special
experience in this case, in the ear
nest effort to find a practical solu-
ton of the liquor problem that
should conform to the interests OF
civilization.
We have worked long and faith
fully to get our ak thoroughly tenn
pered, and have used the only re-
liable process of which we have
any knowledge, namely, constant
agitation and public discussion,
with honest effort to get just the
exact color needed to produce the
best and most perfect result.
We have fitted our ex with a
handle of the pattern which we
see used by all who WELD political
axes successfully, namely, political
party organization.
We propose to grind atfne, keen
and perfect edge on this ak, and
then to have it welded by men,
Strong men and true. Men whose
sense of honor and whose patriot
ism shall be strong enough to guide
their self-interest along the line Of
public good. Sober men, who shall
give their best energies to the
work of building up government
of sober people by sober people and
for sober people. Men who shall
hew out every perfect timber need.
ed to build up governmental struc,
ture that free people can admire,
an honest peop4e can love, an in
telligent people can rely on, proud
people can boast of and a home
loving and home honoring people
can trust.
To get this ak well ground and
then to find the right men to WELD
1T is the task we have undertaken.
We were credited with deserving
to succeed when we were only beg
gars; are we any less worthy now
that we are workers? Could we
sGpplicate success any easier or
more surely than we can win it ?
Gould we ever persuade others to
grind our ak any sooner or te put
any better edge on it than e,can
do ourselves? Would Democratic
or Republican prohibition, II we
could get either of them, be any
more likely to prohibit than will
Prohibitionist Prohibition And
will prohibitionists suit themselves
any better turning the crank for
Republicans or for Democrats than
kho- b ,,,yI o,~