The freeman. (Parkersburg, W. Va.) 1886-18??, 1886-06-09
MIR. THOMAS TALkS.
The People are Ready.-Let the
Battle be Joined.
The Gro,oing Prohibition Sentiment
all oUer the State.

all over the State.
ED. FREEMAN:
Though | have not been claim
ing much of your space, lately, the
merry month of May" has not
been void of labor, and am warn
ed by many kind letters, that the
columns of THE FREEMAN are
eagerly scanned for a record of the
work. 1 look upon this eagerness
for news as a sign of strong and
steadily growing interest in the
Temperance and Prohibition work
throughout the State, and | fer
yently hope that ere another
year is over, your columns will be
called upon to chronicle the glad
news that West Virginia has won
a final and decisive Constitutional
victory over the Rum Power.
And If the signs of the times
mean anything, l am safe in proph-
esying that the next Legislature
will give the People the chance
they are seeking to measure swords
with King Alcohol. In every one
of the 81 counties which l have
visited during the past five
months, [ have been amazed at the
force and energy of the Prohibi-
ton sentiment, and | feel that l
am perfectly safe in saying that
the West Virginia victory which
is soon to come, will be more glori-
GUS than any that has yet reward
ed the efforts of Constitutional Pro-
hibitionists anywhere.
The Eastern portion of the State
shows no exception to the
general rule. All elements in So
ciety are interested in the coming
campaign, and the comments of
ministers, lawyers, mechanics, mer-
chants and others on this question,
proves conclusively that they re-
gard it as the great question of the
times.
Especially gratifying is the ia.
tense interest manifested oy the
workingmen everywhere. Mark
my words, the power of the yeo-
man voter will be felt in the fall
contests, and this power is not 60
Ing to be used inimically to their
own interests. Labor finds that
Rum Is It's enemy, and disdaining
70 use the mean, undetermined
str3ategems of its opponents, Labor
viii openly strike Ballot blow
, against the deadly evil. Woe be to
that politician that dares to stand
between Labor and Rum now. The
same blow will crush both, and a
political boycott" will be declared,
which will be the sure precursor of
political death.
In Mineral, Morgan, Hampshire,
Hardy, Jefferson and Berkeley
counties, have been enabled to
SOW some Prohibition seed, and sew
eral new Lodges have sprung up to
indicate that a blessed harvest will
result.
Frankfort, in Mineral county,
Moorefeld, in Hardy, and Harper's
Ferry, in Jefferson, all responded
nobly to our appeals tor organiza-
ton, and these, added to the other
earnest Lodges in that section of
the State, will see to it that Cast
will grandly respond to West when
the call to arms is sounded.
l wish | could mention the
names OF all the earnest workers l
have met in this journey, but their
number is legion, and where all
are doing SO nobly, special mention
would be invidious.
[ cannotrefrain from mentioning
a few, however, and do not select
these because more earnest than
others, but because accident of To-
cality or opportunity, has given
them some prominence in my mind.
There is Mr.. ]. J. Hetzel, ex-rep-
resentative from Morgan, who is
instant in season and out of sea-
son, and whose influence for good is
seen in the sobriety and quiet
which characterizes the town of
Pawpaw. Hon B. M. Kitchen and