West Virginia freeman. (Parkersburg, W. Va.) 1881-1886, 1885-11-04
WEST VIRGINIA FREEMAN
OUR DAYTON LETTER.
The Election Over but the Battle
Goes On.
Nr. Sherman AnsDers Mr., Foraker ;
Positions of the Contendjng Parties )
Non partisan Nom-acti0n, &c, &c.

the result OF the ONO election, and
maybe have studied its lessons.
Thes are many and important,
but cannot be generally consi dered
here and now.
If Mr.. Hoadly had been less a
demagogue, he might have been a
more successful candidate. 1t is
well known now to which party
the saloon vote was given.
Mclean played desperate game,
and, as it would seem, has failed.
John Sherman will be his own
successor.
Mr.. Foraker said in reference to
the liquor traffic, that REGULATION
is eternally right" Then it would
be "eternally" wrong to prohibit it.
He also secuted the idea that tax
ing the traffic gave it legal recog-
milton, any more than fning a man
for fighting was giving fighting le-
gal recognition. In 1882 Hon.
John Sherman seemed to have diff
ferent views. He said, "a license
is legal grant. A tax on trade
or occupation implies permission
to follow that trade or occupation.
We do not tax a crime. We pro-
hibit and punish it. We do not
share in the profits of a larceny,
but by tax we do share in the
profits of liquor-selling, and there
fore allow or license it," Mr.. Sher-
man certainly answers Mr.. Foraker.
Taxation of the liquor traffic does
confer certain responsibility. Yet
it is true that State that gets
down low enough to enter into
partnership with human prisoners,
has but little respect ability to con-
fer.
The Republicans are more than
glad over their success, but are
still very angry on one side at the
Prohibitionists. They say here as
elsewhere that they have done and
are ready to do more than the Dem
ocrats for temperance. I am will
ing, for the sake of argument, to
admit it, but at the same time
must insist upon it, that no party
has done what we want and the
people need.
The State of the case is about
this: The Democratic party has
gone into the camp of the saloon
keepers, while the Republican par
ty has camped in the neighbor-
hood of the saloons, and between
the prohibitionists and the Demo
cratic party.
This party is simply in the way
of the Prohibition Army, and will
not permit it to strike it's avowed
enemies. The Republican party
seems determined to compel the
Prohibitionists to cut their way
through it, in order to reach the
saloon-keepers, who are it's avowed
political friends. If it will quietly
get out of the way, the trouble
complained of will cease. The Pro-
hibition cause, with its own organ
ization and leadership, will go for
ward. The non-partisan brethren
will have to cease being non-active,
and undertake something sensible
and practical, if they would control
the Temperance Reform. To-day
they are doing nothing to arrest
the increase of drunkenn ess and
crime. The increase in beer. drink
ing is four times as great as the in
crease of population, and in whisky
drinking, twice as great.
The average politician cannot
appreciate the value of prohibition.
He would reform poverty but IL
cense the saloon-keeper to send men
to the "poor-house," and then go to
that place to reform pauperism. He
would reform vice, but would au-
thorize the saloon to make men
low and vice-loving, and then go
down into the slums to reform vice.
He would reform criminals, but not
until he had licensed the saloon
keeper to make criminals.
Foolish and wicked as this is,
"great" newspapers and very little
newspapers are spending money
and labor, year in and year out,
to prove that this is better than an
honest effort for Prohibition. And