Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1886-08-26
A Veteran Temperance Man Tells
How the Prohibition Party
Move Has Checked a Re
form Movement

Sdnddy telegraph from Mineral
Point, dated Aug. 20, is as follows:
Said gentleman who has been a
pronounced total abstainer for fifty
years: ado you know what these
party prohlbitiouists remind me Of?
| have become almost out of pa
thence with them. They are undo
lug temperance work faster than the
real temperance workers are doing
it. Before This prohibition party
move commenced, before the TEN.
perauce organizations were turned
into prohibition political debating
societies, there was a vast amour
of superior temperance work being
done. Thousands of men had with
IN few years been sworn into the
temperance army and had taken
their places as active, effective work
ers; the ministers of the state of all
denominations were frequently
preaching sermons on the subject:
the press of the state, almost with
out exception, had a friendly word
for the cause and In scores of in
stances devoted every week from a
column TO two columns to temper
ance news and suggestions. Now,
only once III a great while do we
near of a minister preaching regular
temperance sermons; the press is
giving very little attention to total
abstinence. The temperance work
to-day is nothing compared to what
1t used 10 be before the prohibition
party hoped on. Thousands of
men of prominence, VINO, few
years ago were active In every
movement that promised assistance
IN inducing men TO quit their cups
in assisting III building up senti-
ment favorable to sobriety and good
order, are doing nothing, now, for
the reason that the party prohibi-
tionists undoes faster than they can
do" But You have not told me
what the prohibition parJyites re-
mind you Of "Well, am getting
! around to that. No sooner had the
churches and the press aud tens of
thousands of the people succeeded
IN building up a good sentiment that
placed temperance on the high road
To victory, such victory rs would
follow the establishment of bower
full sentiment in favor of total ab-
Stlnence, aud against the encroach-
ments of the liquor traffic, than the
hot heads set about to organize a
political party and do the work in
that way 1t is useless to say that
vast ma ority of those who had been
induced from one cause or another
to throw their influence on the side
of practical temperance reform
could be led out of their respective
parties and to connect themselves
with the new party, on a wild goose
chase, Consequently, thousands of
them have dropped out of the ranks
and are lost to the temperance re-
form movement" "But still, my
old friend, you fail to tell me what
the prohibition partyiteS remind
you of" "Well, they are to the
temperance reform movement what
the socialists and anarchists are to
the labor movements. They have
done irreparabe injury to the tenn
perance reform movements, AS the
anarchists and socialists have to the
labor movement. The anarchists
and socialists have put the laboring
men back twenty years, and the
prohibition folks have done that
which will result in putting back
temperance work about the same
length of time. Yes, those prohl-
bition party hot heads have checked
the real temperance work"
THERE is no end of mans inge.
nuity and no end of wonders One
of the most recent evidence of these
comes from the north of old Eng
land. 1t is related of wealthy
gentleman, a manufacturer, that his
upuSt dlu NOlh are very HlSulN
Illuminated by electric light. Taking
advantage Of these dazzling lights,
he has invented an ingenious con.
trivance which might be expected
at Pullman or some other modern
marvel in America, although scarce.
ly in the north of England, The
manufactures has concealed in sew
eral of his rooms and in his offices
an apparatus in the walls, consisting
of roll of q certain kind of paper
and a train of clock-work Every
hour a shutter is silently opened by
the machinery and an instantaneous
photograph is taken of all that is
going on in the room. When the
gentleman has been absent for 4
time from home, he returns to find
he has exact pictures of the con-
dition of affairs III bis establishment
Some of these views have furnished
pictures of the strangest character.