The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-08-13

maintain these corporations IN robbing
the balance of the State.
Corporate power in this country is we'll
described by Hon. &. X. Davis, who re-
Gently said:
The modern corporation took high
proportions. The mortal put Oh immor-
tality. The ideal being became
hurtless by most penal Jaws. Ii occupied
domains to which the greatest feIIdal
holdings were mere parishes; il granted
supplies or withheld them as it chose.
The Legislature became IT'S committee,
the Judge its register, the executive its
puppet, the bar its pandar, the pulpit its
apologist, the laborer its vassal and the
State its prey"
The Prohibition party of Minnesota,
while it would protect corporations i'm
the exercise of all just powers, insists
that they shall not be permitted to be-
come the arbiters of the growth and
prosperity of one town or community
and of the destruction of the others. As
evidence of the sincerity of our party on
tins question, 1t has chosen us It's stand
ard-bearer gentleman whose record on
tins question Is above reproach and be-
yond dispute, and we ask the people to
rally To the support ofour ticket on cleo
ton day.
THAT OTHER MONOPOLY.
We approach this second branch of
our address with much diflidedce. Ii is
Il question SD vast in Its scope and 80 far
reaching in its consequences that it is
difficult, in an address of this kind, to
do justice to the subject.
1t is of interest alike To the labOrer,
the farmer, the mechanic, the merch-
ant, the capitalist, the professional man,
to our wives and our children. We ap.
peal To all classes to give the subject
careful and candid consideration, We
come to you as friends and brothers, moi
as an enemy, and ask you to consider
with us the danger which threatens not
only our prosperity us individuals, but
the life OF the nation.
To-day the people protect and uphold
the drunkard-m makers of the land i'm then
vile and wicked employment. TODAY
the voters composing the two old parties
are working side by side, arm i'm arm
with the saloonists, and for that work
they receive into their treasury the
money of the inebriate-money that
ought 10 be expended i'm clothing, feed.
ing and educating the helpless and
furnished woman and children who are
driven into poverty and disgrace by this
system of legaliZed robbery. To-day
there are thousands of innocent and
helpless children all over this broad
land VINO are Sunerlng the panys OF
hunger, who are Outcasts from society
simply because the men of America
have not the manhood, the wisdom Ia
abolish the dens of infamy in which
young men are made drunkards.
The question is: "What shall we dc
about il ?'
HoC much better are we, the people,
than our licensed agents, the liquor
sellers ?"
The people make this government
what 1t is. Intoxicating liquors to-day
are manufactured under the immediate
supervision of government officers. The
nation and the state are CO. partners with
the liquor dealers of the country, receiy-
ing us their portion of the plumber the
license taxes which are paid by the men
son and making drunkards. The doe
trine of the license system is fearful
one. Society says liquor selling is an in
formally mean business, wicked, soul
destroying, demoraliZing, ruinOus. But
it also says to the dealers, "If you will
divide the proceeds, we will uphold and
protect you"
The powers of government which
ought to be eXerted to overthrow the
demon which is killing thousands annu-
ally. are, by the old parties, used TO sus-
tam the foul traffic IN every portion of
our wide domain.
BY their practices they deny the re-
sponsibilIty of human action, so far as
politics are concerned. They hold that
the members of Il Legislative body NAV
pass laws licensing the liquor traffic, and
that those who enact such laws are not
morally guilty of all the crime and mis-
cry which result therefrom.
The Prohibition party will have no
part or lot in the business OF drunkard-
making. 1t plants itself upon the broad
doctrine that Complete legal prohibi-
ton of this wicked branch of trade is the
only proper and adequate remedy for
the manifold and serious evils which it
milIcts upon society, and to secure such
legislation and to render il effective III
wolves the responsible agency Of Il poiti-
cal party united and distinctly commit
ted to the prohibitory policy"
And this leads us to consider whether
or not it is properly a political question.
Political questions relate solely to the
affairs of government, and if this system
of liquor selling is Il subject with which
the government has to deal, then il is
clearly Il political question; and the his
tory of this government, from its infancy
settles that point. Not only has the gen
eral government legislated to it, but all
the States have made more or less law
the traffic. Hence it is strange
to an intelligent person that anyone
should express the OpiuIon that il is not
properly and conclusively Il political
subject.
And yet, strange as il may appear, the
Did parties have announced the doctrine
that the custom of misunderstanding
could not be abridged by prohibitory
laws.
This is IA modern phase of the question,
and the doctrine must have originated
IN beer congress. At least we find the
following resolutions i'm the proceedings
IF the first Congress (?) of the Brewers
Association, held in November, 1862:
"ResOLocd, 2. That the owners of
'breweries, separately, are unable to
exercise Il proper influence in the inter
'est of the craft on the legislature anil at
ADMINISTRATION"
"3. That ii appears especially neces-
'sary for the liquor trade that its inter
tests be vigorously and energetically
prosecuted before the "hgislatiue and
'erecutiUe departments, as this branch of
business is of vast political and financial
importance, touching national interests
generally, and exerting Il direct as well
as an indirect influence on political and
social relations"
1t should be remembered that this |
'tep was taken by the liquor men when
he nation was engaged i'm Il life or death |
struggle for existence. They took ad-
vantage of the nations weakness to fas-
en- upon it the odious system which has
vince prevailed.
On this point the politicians ofthe two
,ld parties stand side by side, hand IN |
iand. The leading papers of both par
les depricate any agitation of the saloon |
question, and rilicule any movement on |
he part of the whole toward reform. |
Both parties and their candidates stand |
pledged Ia maintain the doctrine that |
he legislature has no legal right to pass
avs prohibiting the manufacture, i'm
- "A &c