The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-12-09
The Prohibition Movement.

ing religious journals of the coun-
try take the ground that the Woman's
Christian Temperance Union, in the
recent national convention at Phila-
delphia, have made mistake of ex-
ceeding gravity in committing them
selves to the political prohibition
party. One of these journals well
argues that, by their very constitu-
ton and the nature of their work,
and the pleas they make for aid, the
unions belong to the universal church,
and find their constituency among all
good citizens, irrespective of political
party lines. Therefore they should no
more ally themselves with political
party than pledge themselves to GER
tain religious denomination. Their re-
sources, whether moral or financial,
have come from men of all parties.
Another religious paper is of the opin-
ion that the union has thrown away its
best opportunity by making the organi-
cation political one, and will lose far
more of weight than it can gain in
either numbers or enthusiasm by its
change of base. Some of the apologists
for the action of the national conven-
ton assert that it did not pledge its aid
and support to a political party, but only
expressed its purpose to lend its moral
influence to the party of prohibition.
This would seem to be a distinction
without difference.
The Tribune draws a contrast be-
tween the progress of the prohibition
movement North and South. In sew
eral northern States" it says, large
vote, lacking little of a majority, has
been polled for prohibitory measures,
but at subsequent elections attempts to
bring out the same vote for prohibitory
candidates have ANONYMOUSLY failed.
Thus in Ohio almost, if not quite, ma
jority of the entire vote-certainly over
1923, 000-was cast for prohibitory
amendment. But when the managers
attempted the next year to concentrate
their vote upon candidates, they were
able to gather in the whole state only
beggarly $4,000, a pitiful minority of
the entire vote. Everywhere the eXpe-
rience has been the same. In voting
directly on the question of prohibition
they commanded large support. In
attempting to elect candidates and to
fill state and local offices on the theory
that believer in prohibition and no.
body else is fit to discharge the duties
of those offices, they have been treated
by the voters with contempt"
The success of the temperance peo-
pie of Georgia, who have treated this
question in a non-partisan way, and
without the aid of third party, is next
discussed. The Tribune says:
Those who seek the reason for this re-
markable difference in the progress of the
prohibitory movement in different sections
will find it without difficulty in the fact
that at the South the prohibitionists act like
sincere men who desire the success OF a
cause, and not the elevation or pecuniary
emolument of individuals or any spiteful
punishment of those who do not agree with
them. In short, they have carefully avoided
any antagonism with the political parties.
They have refrained from asserting that the
opinions of men respecting the temperance
question must be exclusively regarded in
elections, rather than their fitness for office
in other respects or their opinions on grave
questions of national policy. What the
course of those who claim to be the only
true prohibitionists at the North has been it
is not necessary here to say. That they
have made it their especial business to an
tagonize political parties, that some of them
have proclaimed it to be their first and
most important duty to punish or crush the
republican party, all well know The votes
hitherto cast prove that great majority of
those who favor prohibition are republicans
before they are prohbitionists and do not
cease to be republicans. The result is that
the tactics adopted by the self-appointed
leaders of the prohibition force have alien
ated from them more than nine-tenths of
the voters who are disposed to favor the
measure they advocate, and so have reduced
what might be potent force to an insignifi-
cant and powerless minority"