Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-01-10
S4TURD4YEVENING, JAN. 10.
MISCHIEF MAKERS.


the evil-disposed and the vicious classes.
Unfortunately they are not. Many people
who are pious and honest make good
deal of trouble in the world simply be-
cause they are not as wise and sagaclous
as they are good. 1t is well for people to
be pious. but it would be much better If
they would be both pious and broad, and
give to all great burning problems the
attention, investigation and study which
belong to them. For We have a number
Of blazing questions 10 PROFOUND and an
swer, in this country besides those in
volved in the consumption Of and traffic
in, Intoxicating drinks, for these are GER
tainly of great Importance, involving the
welfare and happiness of many thousands
OF people, and indeed the peace and pros
perity of entire communities. But men
of generous impulses and honest purposes
do themselves great wrong and, so far as
their personal and political influence goes,
great harm to the country in their public
action, if they allow themselves to lose
sight of all great questions except those
OF the Kind We have alluded to- Let us
suppose that a certain citizen has given
especial attention to Polygamy in Utah
and licentiousness throughout the country,
and commences the organization of a
crusade against these two tremendous
evils which have such strong family
likenessl Or that he organizes a Ma
tional political party on the basis of op-
position to the two evils There would
certainly be at least some sense and reason
in this, for it lies in the province of the
General Government only to attack and
utterly root out at least one of these evils!
But, still, it would be unwise for this citi-
zen to shut his eyes to the great CONNER
cial, agricultural, educational and social
interests of the country, in his efforts to
single out and destroy one evil.
If this be true and all will concede that
it is, then it is certainly unwise TO make
an issue involved in the iquor-traffic the
basis of National political party; and
this was certainly illustrated, graphically
and powerfully, in the canvass just closed
We had the two great political parties
one which had proved always the party OF
progress, the friend OF humanity, the
savior of the nation, and the other which
had fought it at every step, against the
abolition of slavery, against the extension
of the franchise and civil rights to the
blacks, against an honest currency
arrayed against each other, in a terrible
conflict, and all the while our pious and
honest friends, good citizens and Christian
men as most of them were, Haunting their
banners and beating their tomjons and
shooting off their mouths, about a matter
that was in no wise involved in the fight
And these very citizens are the men who
held the balance of power, and who, by re
fusing to vote the ticket put in the field by
the party which contains much the larger
number of persons opposed to the liquor
traffic, and by making an energetic and
persistent fight upon their best and only
political friends-triends who had estab
lished Prohibition of the liquor traffic III
at least three Republican States-gave
New York to their avowed enemies, the
Democrats, and in giving New York to
them gave them the country Now was
not this monumental bit of mischief
making, done by excellent people, who
ought to have known better, and done
better, and who ought never to do SC
again? We respectfully suggest to them
that they sign the pledge" not to.
Since writing the foregoing We have re
ceived from the Rev Mr.. FernaId a com,
munication, which, considering the topic
and his manner OF handling it, is too long
for publication in these columns, and in
which be expresses his unqualified amaze
ment" at the appearance OF an article il
our Mondays issue, signed by initials
that he says he supposes ITO be those of 6
Christian man" The writer appears tC
be both surprised and hurt because We had
understood" that St John was "a sort o.
reformed man." and had considered il
likely that he had been an inebriate."
Mr.. Fernald, who is a very excellent
and sincere man, is also grieved because
we asserted that St. John "sold" himself
to the National Prohibition party for the
bare honor of presidential nomina
ton. Now, by way Of an effort to mate
rialize Mr. Fernald's supposition that &c
NJ. n" are the initials of Christian
man." into a conviction, and as we per
sonally know nothing of the alleged facts
and wish to remove all possible cause of q
real grievance from the minds of honest
men, we will withdraw the intimation thai
St. John is "a sort of reformed man,
and give him the benefit of any doubt thai
may be entertained by anybody as to
whether be ever dl ank drop of liquor OF