The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-11-08
CAN TEMPERANCE EVER BE THE
BASIS OF A POLITICAL PARTY.

HhpAp VT n AlSfAh RAM
say no, for these reasons
|. National authority extends at far
thest only over this District of Columbit
and the territories, and even there the
! police of the cities and the territoria
governments would properly claim the
right to introduce or prohibit the intro.
duction of liquor, subject to the revision
OF Congress.
Congress might enact law which
would hinder or prevent the importa
zion of intOXicants-and | hope it will
do so--but this only among other laws
that affect our commerce, and because
| such an enactment might benefit the
whole country. y But the manufacture,
transportation and sale of spirits is very
properly under state authority, and
must ever remain there. For such a
purpose the people of a majority of con-
gressiOnal districts must elect temper
ance men and the whole people tenn
peranCe president.
3. Temperance is an individual vir-
tue. 1t indicates the self control of peo
Pile, and needs no other governmental
aid than that indicated. Government
should not facilitate drinking. 1t should
GUY I'NNhot lAlC bdlt vi 6pilNb az POo'
tive demand of the people and then un-
der such restrictions as would reduce
the sale to minimum. lntoxicants
only diminish the wealth, health and
security of the people, and may be sold
as a necessity under discouragements as
great as possible. But to antagonize
temperance To free trade or to protec
tion, to taxa ion direct or indirect, to ir-
rernaI improvement or strict Construc-
tiou Of The Constitution, to break up ore
party and then compel ITS scattered parts
10 adopt its policy in order to antagon-
lze another, is as wild phantasy as ever
entered the brain of fanatic. Temper
ance is not thus to be promoted. The
scheme is absurd. Dismember the Re
publican party and you disaffect Repub
llCans towards the cause of temperance
and do so much towards making them
enemies When majority of them are
diSaifected with such temperance pro-
ceedings where will the cause of tenn
perance find friends ? Let me say to
those who favor the election of General
Fisk, and with whom | have for the
most part acted for more than half a
century, "for your own safety don't saw
off the limb on which you stand"
az At present the adherents of the po-
Iltlal temperance party in the Northern
States are recruits from the Republican,
and they diminish the strength of the
Republicans by their desertion and thus
give the plurality if not majority to
Democrats. This enables that party to
thwart every temperance measure that
Republican legislature or Republican
[ 1,,,tl
or Hill of New York has vetoed, for two
successive years, every form of optional
or restrictive measure the Republicans OF
the House md Senate could pass, and
the implication is that he, or his success
sOr. or any Democratic executive would
continue to veto every temperance
measure that could be passed. 1t is GER
tsin, then, that every vote for temper
ance executive of the Nation, or for an
executive of nearly equally balanced
States, is virtually vote for free rum.
Under whatever guise or pretence it
may he given, the result is the same and
The Demucra can Only regard il ss ar
indirect and tfi'leut support tor them
selves and gher policy
| would also be useless to pretend
that General Fisk, if elected, could or
would do more or better for temperance
that General harrison. Neither could
do anything official without a favoring
Congress, and both the Republican and |
temperance party must furnish the men
who would even vote for such measure
as the Blair Iniquity bill or any other |
measure that tends in that direction. |
Any Democratic executive must by be-
hest OF party veto such measure. Our |
lir-t duty, then. is to elect a President |
who would not veto such measure and |
elect Congress which |
would pass it, a Republican Senate has
passed that measure without being elect |
ed or that issue that il Is presumable |
that Republican house would also.
They need not be pledged to do it. 1t |
would be insiinCtlvely done by them.
It. therefore, temperance men would |
not ruin their own cause, let them vote
for the men who can and will d. all that |
can be done to promote it.
For these reasons it seems obvious |
that temperance should not be promoted |
by truth widely disseminated, by ap- |
peals to mems reason and conscience, by
liTusing through every party, man by |
man, an adequate knowledge of the |
wants and requirements of individuals.
Of the Nation and of the race, and then,
electing the best citizens to places of
power, call on them to enact such laws
as in their judgment are right and nee
eSSary. T. S. II.