The freeman. (Parkersburg, W. Va.) 1886-18??, 1886-08-18
Correspondence.
Mason County Letter.
Don't be Caught in Political Gull
Traps.

Don't be decoyed into the Repub.
lican gull traps.
The Republicans in this State,
in keeping with their customary
usages in other States, have resort
ed to their old methods Of schem-
ing to checkmate the Prohibition
party. They seek to hoodwink the
Republican Prohibitionists, who
can no longer conscientiously re.
main in the old Liquor party, by
feeding them Republican taffy.
Their first step is to call a Confer
ence, Convention or Meeting, un-
der the false guise that the party is
going to do something for Temper
ance. They meet and make some
milk and water declarations, which
can be construed most any way to
suit the emergencies. They then
get their agents at work in every
direction, to dupe as well those who
have left and joined the Third
Party, as those who are about to
leave.
There seems to be preconeerted
arrangement by which their meth
cd of action is we'll understood.
They approach Prohibitionists on
every side and call their attention
to the steps that are about to be
taken by the Republican party,
and ask them to stand by it once
more. At the same time thew try
to ridicule the Third Party move
ment, and misrepresent the mo-
tives Of its leaders. Their argu-
ment against the Third Party
movement consists in nothing but
misre presentations and ridicule.
At this very time they are trying
all sorts of expedients in every
county in this State, to induce the
Prohibitionists to stand by the Re-
publican party, and not to nomi-
nate any Third Party tickets. And
at the same time, while they are
so earnestly engaged in securing
the Temperance vote, they are
equally active in negotiating with
the Brewers and Distillers and Sa-
loon Keepers to convince them
that their so-called Temperance
declarations are not intended to
injure the Liquor Traffic. They
say it is mere taffy to dupe these
i cranky Prohibitionists, to secure
tbeir votes, They say to the Iiq-
uor dealers, "Stand by the party,
as you have done, and it will stand
BY you, as it has done" They say,
eve can't afford to antagonize the
liquor element in our party, be-
cause we can't fight the liquor traf-
tic, without at the same time fight
ing a large number of our own par
ty, and thereby driving them out,
which would be suicidal to the
party.
We regret to have to note that
we have, here and there, a few
faint-hearted, weak kneed Prohi-
bitioniste, that haven't back bone
enough to face down these fragrant
hypocritical pretenders. We have
in this, Mason county, a few Pro-
hlbitionists whose back bones are
made Of taffy, and easily melted
down. They require considerable
Prohibition tonic to make them
good, reliable Prohibitionists.
1t is an easy matter to adopt a
meaningless resolution on the
Temperance question, as the Par
kersburg Conference did, a few
days ago, for the purpose OF duping
tatfy-oacked Prohibitionists. OF
all the efforts to deceive the Prohi-
bitionists, this was the most trans
parent, barren, and cowardly. 1t
is what we, here, call brassy per-
Torrance to mislead Temperance
Republicans. This resolution can't
pledge anybody in favor of Prohi-
bition, and it only pledged that
portion of the Conference to use
their influence to get their party
to favor Submission who individu-
ally favored that proposition. 1t
doesn't even do that. Ed, All the
milk and water Resolutions and
declarations Of the Republican
party made in the various States
OF this Union, nave never yet hur t
d single saloon.
Nothing but Prob ihition vital