St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1886-06-17
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND THE
TEMPERANCE QUESTION.

TEMPERANCE QUESTION.
There are a great many people in
the country who think that prohibition
should be made a national issue at the
polls. There are many more who hold
that the greatest practicable limitation
of dram selling, by a high tax, or local
option, or high license, is indispen-
sable to the public welfare. These al
together are very large and intelli-
gent and conscientious body of voters.
They have been generally friendly to
the republican party. They have seen
that the legislation favorable to tenn
perance has been obtained by republl-
can votes, but they see also that the
LIQUOR interest has gradually acquired
a strong hold of the republican prlma-
ries and caucuses. While these voters
have generally, but more and more re-
luctantly, been content to be put on
by republican excuses and delays on
the ground that nothing is to be hoped
from democrats, they. are coming to
doubt the, republican party, as the an
ti-slavery men doubted the wing party
and very many temperance men who
have been always Irregular republl-
cans" are resolved not to march to the
polls any longer with what they call
''the rummies," nor to vote for candl-
dates whom the rummies nominate.
Horace Greeley, who founded the III
bune, used to describe the grOg- shops,
now called saloons, as the nurseries, oil
democracy. But when MIR. Burchard
alliteratively declared rum, ROmanlsm
and rebellion to be the great adverse
ries of the republican party, he was
reyiled and ridiculed and cursed as
comprising the defeat of the party by
OutraCing its friends. Moreover, al
though the New York republican CEN
VeDtiOn demanded that prohlbltory
amendment should be submitted to the
popular vote, the New York republl-
can legislature has refused to author
ize its submission. All this shows
singular change in the situation from
the time of Mr.. Greeley, who was him.
self an ardent temperance man. Does
the change show progress in the party
Does any old fashioned republican
who holds, as we hold, that the
strength of republicanism lay i'll the
intelligence and patriotism and moral
character of it's membership, think
that the fierce Objurgations directed at
Mr.. Burchard show an elevation or dl-
gressiOn of the tone of the party
The organ of the PrOhibitionists is
the Voice, published i'll New York.
The Voice republishes the notorious
telegram of Mr.. Sheridan Shook to the
Tribune:
ALBANY, May -.
"TO the Tribune, New York city l.;
The excise bill will probably pass the
Assembly to -mOrrOw morning. Three
commissioners will be appointed under
it, one a republican and not a Grace
republican. The bill will materially
help the republican party, giving re-
publican saloon keepers in the city the
protection to which they are entitled,
and will prevent the use of the depart
ment against us politically.
SHERIDAN SHOOK"
The object of the bill was to battle
the purpose of the city reform bills of
two years ago by taking the appoint
ment of excise commissioners from the
mayor in order to conciliate the liquor
interest-an object which the republi-
can Tribune favored by suggesting
other appointing officers, while its
confederates were arranging to give
the appointment to the president of
the board of aldermen, which they
succeeded in doing. The Voice of pro-
hibitiOn sentiments does not fail to OBJ
serve all this, and asking what the tel
gram of Mr.. Shook to the Tribune
means, it answers:
"That means that the republican
party is roofing deeper and deeper in
the mire to get the slum vote of New
York city. 1t means contest between
the two great 1--WE mean big parties) Of
the nation, not to espOuse a cause, not
to vindicate a principle, not to serve
the country, but to truckle lower and
lower to the gutter-snipes and round
ers and heelers-the swash of civiliZa-
ton"
Is this an untrue statement of recent
acts and tendencies in the party |?
There are thousands and thousands of
republicans everywhere in the country
who have seen what the Voice has
seen and strongly describes. They
have read in the Tribune on the day
after the passage of the excise bill that
John j. O'Brien, Robert G. McCord,
Sheridan Shook, John JacObus, "were
among the prominent republicans"
who listened to the debate in the sen
ate. They knew that it was to please
such prominent republicans that the
bill was passed. One of it's objects
was to attach them to the present re-
publican machine in the state, and re-
publicans may we'll ask themselves
whether all this is an illustration of
the way in which the republican party
hopes to renew its power and restore
its ascendency.
The temperance men, as we under
stand them, do not ask the Republican
party to become a prohibition party.
ell hot hA Lol oh do
the effort, of which the@New York ex-
else bill is an illustration. to compete
with the democratic party for the sup
port of the liquor interest. They ask
that the moral weight of the party be
thrown against dram selling, and all
that springs from it. They ask that
honest and intelligent republicans who
see that the saloons furnish the audi
ences for anarchist orators, and an
archist rioters to destroy lawful order,
and are the steady reserve and support
of crime and oppressive taxation, shall
insist that the declared policy of the
party shall be such as will exclude the
liquor influence from the party coun-
ellis. They hold that the withdrawal
of the liquor vote will be less iniuri-
Gus to the party than the attempt to
cOnciliate and retain it, and they do
not hesitate to say that if the plan of
the present republican machine in
New York is to conciliate both the
liquor interest and the city managers
of the old stalwart machine in order to
promote the nomination and election
of Mr.. Blaine, the temperance vote by
thousands will be lost to the republi-
can party. If they are told that the
temperance bark is always worse than
the temperance bite, and that most of