Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1886-10-07

lowest possible point. But it believes. to
borrow the eloquent and earnest words of
Mr.. Gladstone, that laws not founded in
the hearts, feelings and affections of the
people, but depending on force, cannot
| be executed and are worse than no
laws. Wherever the people of a
state, or of any municipality. wholly
or largely, demand total prohibition,
such law may be practicable as a method
of dealing with the liquor question.
But where such sentiment does not pre-
vail, prohibitory enactments become a
dead letter and bring the authority and
dignity of law and government into dis
repute, without effecting in the least the
reforms they are designed to promote.
The Republican party of Wisconsin
recognizes the fact that this state, as
whole, is not one where the prohibition
sentiment has hold on the affections of
such majority of the people as to make
1T expedient to attempt to press and exc
cute prohibitory law as state measure.
In the meantime, il accords to any city,
village or town within the state the privi-
iege of locally dealing with the bject
according to the sentiment of majority
of its people-prohibiting or restricting
and regulating the liquor traffic i'll such a
manner as seems to them best.
1t would seem in state with such di-
versitied elements of population as ours,
that nothing more could nationally be
asked. If any community does not desire
liquor sold in it, the traffic can be prohib-
tied by majority vote of that communi
ty. If any community does wish liquor
sold in it, experience proves it cannot be
prevented by law of the state. All we
can possibly do in this matter is to keep
fairly abreast of public sentiment, and
this can be perfectly done through the
local option and license laws now in ex-
istence.
This much misunderstood and misrepre-
sented question of the legal extinction of
lntemperance Thy premature and imprac-
ticable legislation is one which appeals
strongly to every man who realizes that a
favoring public sentiment is essential to
all true reform, and who sees the incon-
sistency and dishonesty of those who
ignore the moral phase of the temperance
work to engage in political intrigue and
personal ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. These political
schemers become actual promoters of the
evils of intemperance they retard prac-
tical temperance work and hinder the
BOOu lhiuSilcc VI lue restricting ana reg
ulating laws TO which the Republicanlparty
stands committed
1T is an undeniable fact that majority
of the most distinguished and effective
workers in the temperance cause have de-
plored the existence of third party and
of political temperance, as destructive of
the work of promoting real temperance.
The political Prohibitionists withdraw
attention from the actual work of gen
u4ne reform, and center it upon mere po-
litical agitation in a few states every two
years. Among those who have held and
expressed this sentiment in our own
country we might mention the late John
B. Cough and Francis Murphy; also
Mr.. William Noble, of England, the lead
ing temperance man of the United King
dom. Also, such well known temperance
advocates as the Hon. w. T. Price and H.
II. Giles, of our own state.
Upon this and all other questions the
Republican party has indicated by its
past legislation and the election of its
executive officers, can be trusted to do
what is just and right. 1t will neither
run before us knowledge nor lag behind
its conscience.
ii. A. TAYLOR, Chairman.