The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-12-09
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
That Puts Me in Mind.

To the Editor Of the Indianapolis Journal:
It is amusing to hear old folks tell stories.
They most always begin with THAT puts me In
mind" History never repeats itself, but it does
often travel in groves that are wonderfully par
alleL Just now octogenarians are put 10 mind
of the closing days of slavery by the sayings and
doings of the closing days of the liquor power
By the way, never did like the plank of our
platform on the liquor question. 1t doesn't
start right, and therefore, of course, it doesn't
end right. It says the threatened domination
When Mrs. Samson had tied her husband, hand
and foot, she did not mince matters by saying.
''My dear. the Philistines threaten to come upon
thee" but she spoke right OUT, The Philistines
be upon thee, Samsoni" And in that she told
the truth. There is nothing threatening in the
Liquor League. Its domination is living
entity. The Philistines be upon US, and have
been for some time. ut puts me in mind of
1860" said the old man. Slavery had usurped
Supreme Court down to the cross
roads ENTHUSIASTICALLY send
a sealed letter into the South
without having it tempered with. while certain
newspapers absolutely refused admittance
into the mails. and the life of a Northern man
was In jeopardy if he dared to speak his opinion;
yet when the Republicans met at Chicago to
formulate platform and nominate candidate
they very respectfully took off their hats to
slavery and promised pom honor that it should
not be seriously disturbed but only regulated.
Regulate savery We soon found that the only
way to regulate it was to kill it, then we killed
it. Regulate the whisky traffic! You might as
we'll undertake to regulate a whirlwnd. See,
these saloonists wrote the present Law, and
promised to obey it, but they never did. and now
because the people have condemned them by
electing a set of men who propose to regulate
them in way they despise, they have gone
clean daft. It puts me in mind of the slave
holders. They understood the logic of the cleo
ton of 1860. They said that even the mild regu
lation proposed by the Republicans meant death
crippling that would end in death. SO they
clustered and tried to scare US by firing on Fort
Sumter. Butwe didn't scare worth cent, yousee.
This buster of the liquor traffic is only the
firing upon Fort Sumter. They expect us TO get
scared and to let up But we will do neither.
We shall go right along and regulate them, all
the same and If they keep up this fire, as hope
they will, the regulation will amount to abso-
lutte prohibition where only moderate measure
was intended 1t puts me in mind of Fort
Sumter times to many Democrats swear
ing mad over their stratagem. Then Democrats
that had stood by the slave power under all per
secutions got on their and became enough
Republican to shoulder muskets and march TO
1he field. After all very much like their course.
Might as we'll fight this power now ever, and
we will fight it." continued the octogenarian.
Well, young will help, but let me
again say that that plank in our platform is an
anachronism. 1t might have done quarter of
a century ago, but the Phistnes be upon us
now; let US up and break the cords that our
beloved has tied US with, and clear them out
root and branch. 1t has to come to that. No
use of making two bites of cherry.
u L. SEE