Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-08-03
The Tallahassee Prohibitionists.

The Tallahassee ProhibitionIsts.
The prohibitionists of Tallahassee, Fla,
have taken the right course with respect
to the movement among the prohibition
lists of that State to nominate prohibition
lists for Congress. They have observed
that wnere politics and prohibition are
mixed the prohibitionists quickly lose
their influence.
Last week the Tallahassee prohibition
lists passed resolutions In which they
state that the cause Of temperance in
other States having been defeated, or at
least greatly injured, by being mixed
with politics, they refuse to take part in
the Prohibition Convention which has
been called to nominate candidates for
Congress.
The prohibitiOnists Of Florida have
won some remarkable victories, and they
will win others if they contine themselves
to the temperance cause. If they enter
the field Of politics, however, and take
into their ranks all the cranks who want
to force their peculiar notions about this
or that thing upon the country, the
chances are that they have already ac-
complished about all they ever will &C
complish.
In this State the prohibitionists have
secured control of about three-fourths of
the counties, and the time is not very dis
tant when they Will have captured about
all of them. They have been successful
mainly because they fought for prohibit
tion pure and simple. They have drawn
their strength from both of the great pO-
litical parties, and they will continue to
draw it from both so long as they do not
take sides with one party or the other, or
do not undertake to settle great political
questions.
A glance at the prohibitionists Of the
Western States, where it seems politics
and prohibition have been pretty thor
Oughly mixed, shows that they have made
a grave mistake. They have become d-
vided among themselves, and the cause
OF temperance has ceased to have the
charm for them that it once had. AS
matter of fact, therefore, communities
which were about ready to vote out
whisky failed to declare for prohibition.
A great many prohibition conventions
have been held in different parts of the
country within a couple of weeks, and
the most of them wasted their time with
matters which have no connection what
ever with the cause of temperance. Some
of them wanted the Morrison surplus res
olution adopted; others insisted on the
prOhlbtionists taking hold OF the woman
suffrage question, the Puritan Sabbath
issue, the national marriage and divorce
law question, while still others wanted the
prohibjtionIsts to take sides against the
Mormons, to see to it that the civil SER
vice laws are more vigorously enforced,
and advocated the passage of laws which
would prevent corners" on grain and
provisions, and also the taxing of all
lands which are not under cultivation
and which are held solely for speculative
purpose.
1t is plain that the prohibitionists have
undertaken too much. They never could
secure harmony among themselves on all
of these questions. They are united now
so far as the temperance cause is con-
cerned, and as unity and harmony are
absolutely necessary to success, it will
be amuch wiser and more polite for them
TO give their attention exclusively TO the
temperance question. If they hold to
temperance alone they will stand good
chance of accomplishing the object they
originally aimed to accomplish.