Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1886-11-26
ABOUT PROHIBITION.

The theory upon which the prohibition
party has been acting is that the great
majority of the democrats were against
prohibition and the great majority of
republicans for prohibition: further that
no matter how long the democrats are
kept out of power the party would never
ally itself with the prohibitionists
nor would the republicans ally them
selves with the prohibitionists SO
long as they had majority
or even plurality and could keep
in power without the prohibition aid.
Therefore the wise men of the prohibi
ton party have reasoned that as soon as
they could draw enough of the real pro
hibitionists ont of the ranks of the repub
lican party TO cause its defeat by the
democratic party, then the party would
adopt tho principles Of prohibition and
unite the two parties and overthrow the
democracy and establish the majority
party firmly upon prohibition as
lis foundation stone. This eI-
plains why the prohibition leaders
have always seemed to be especially
hostile to ropubIcani-m and quite will
ing to see democracy triumph. 1t was
not particular enmity to republicans nor
particular love for democrats, but part
OF general plan to get great party
composed Of a majority of all the Pco-
pie pledged to prohibition. No leading
prohibitionist will dispute the correctness
of the stGtements above made. Now
where is the b al logic; the false premise
that has and ever will defeat this /
plan? The DEmoCRAT will point 1t /
out to prohibitiOniat5 and defy any /
prohibitionist to show that il j. not a
false premise. 1t is in the very first as
sumption that great majority Of demo. /
Gratis arc opposed To prohibition, while I
great majority OF republicans, indiVidu-
ally and personally, favor it. The truth |
is there are two democretic prohibition +
lists TO enc republican prohibitlonist, and /
prohibition has made ten times the .
progress. in democratic states and local (
ties that it has in republican localities.
This is notoriou-ly true Of the southern .
states, but it is also true of towns in Dane
county. Does any prohibitionist deny it?
If he doe he cannot read election returns.
This false premise from which prohibi-
,ionists begin their reasoning, which is
in the parlance Of politics that one is
the whisky drinking democracy and the
other the God and morality" rcpubli,
cans, is a two-edged ana wholesale lie
md always was. 1t has been preached to
the country so long by the powerful re
publican press and tho republican stump
apenkcrs, that even the women and
children believe It. A generation has
actually grown up believing this about
firmly as they believe that the republi-
ean party put down the rebellion. 1T
really sucked public teats while
democrats mado up about rs largo
proportion Of the northern as the south
ern armies. ! int is the truth of it.
Tho republican party pays three times
as much Of the internal revenue ON
whisky as the democratic party does, and
this i the only way that rnrty ever
rendered the government II greater ser
vice than tho democratic party has rem
dered. Then for that party to associate
with it's namo God and morality" is i'm
pudont and wicked beyond any language
to describe. The luto election shows
TINT tho prohibition vote camo even
more from the democratic party than
from the republican party. 1t further
shows that tho prohibition party must
have moro adhorants than IT now has and
that they must be So attached to tho
cause that they can be thrown for or
against the dominant party. 1t will evi-
IDENTITY tako longer time than the life of
any man at present living to mako a
minority party of the prohibitionists.
Its only hope of any near success of its
principles y in maintaining ;ts forces,
increasing thcir number and SO thorough
~ controlling them thntsthey can bo given
wholly to, or thrown wholly against any
other party and in this way become II
controlling minority party.