The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-03-06

t1S55 law was passed prohibiting the sale of IN
koxicating liquors. with provisional clause IN
Favor of wine and beer With that kind or an
exception the law useless. and the temper
Ance advocates. as early as 1850. began to work
for absolute prohibition. But tho war came,
and after that the reconstructIon, to absorb
public attention. and it not until 1870 or
Aater that the temperance workers we're needed.
The idea Of constitutional prohibition was noe
suggested until 1878 the idea came from
county man in tn west of Iowa. who impaired
the suggestion TO Mrs. Foster When bne iat!eE
began to advocate constitutional pronlplslOu
she was ridiculed. The men told her she olan
understand. cit is very strange. SAID Mrs.
Foster, 'how these will cnanGe ABOUT
They will compliments a woman ana ten nsr
how she is; and then the very fno stS
happens to cross them on some suoJece the5 !. !,
tell her she is a woman and don't unoerstaha.
Nevertheless. the women DID nnoerstano anu
constitutional prohibition ultimately pTeVAleu-
And what relation did the political parsles Dear
20 the cause while it was adyanclngi Inc tenn
perance workers endeavored 10 get ooIn Pars'es
ofayor prohibition in their platforms; but they
did not do So The dominant lRepuolicanl par
", however in 1872 went so far as to say they
believed it right to SUBMIT tne question De-
fore the PEOPLE, and even said that 1t was the
duty Of delegates in the Legislature TO vote for
submitting the matter to the people. The tenn
perance people thought the party should have
came sduarely out in favor of pfohi otton. but
thew now see the convention was wiser than
they Then in 1885 the Republican convention
're-afi rmedr its position of 1879 and added that
ait was the duty of the Legislature to accept the
will of the people" IF legislatures would
only stand by the will OF the people," said Mrs.
Foster they would DO all that could be asked
of them. Let the legislatures stand by the
people. and Wen win In the name of the peo-
plen Then In 1856 the Republican State plat
form bore that remarkable sentence. Iowa has
no compromise to make with the saloons"
'And If there's any stronger sentiment than
that" added the speaker, THAT you people have
In Indiana to offer on the temperance question,
just send it TO Iowa and they'll put 1t in their
platform"
Mrs. Foster said that the dominant party of
Iowa had not made the will of the people nor
led in the advocacy Of prohibition. but had
merely kept abreast of the agitation. She re-
cited the manner In which the Democrats had
assisted in the campaign of So the Fourth ward
Of her own city giving large majority for pro-
hibition. although heavily Democratic.
She concluded by declaring that what injured
the cause of temperance in Iowa to-day, and
threatened it, the fact that it had been so
elosely allied to the Republican party. Prohi-
bitiOn would be vastly stronger there to-day II
1t were not credited to the Republican party.
1t was all the more important, therefore, that
temperance workers in other States should not
try TO force temperance political issue.
"Just much you can" said Mrs. Foster,
keep the question out OF politics. The formu-
lation OF separate political party for the pur-
pose of securing prohibition is mistake
Mrs Foster then enumerated many instances
which had come under her own observation or
the injuries to the cause accomplished by the
third party movement In Michigan fifteen
temperance men had been defeated by the third
party and whiskyites elected in their places
She named several earnest temperance work
ers-some on the Republican and
others on the Democratic ticket
whom she knew personally and who
had been defeated by the third-Darty movement
in Massachusetts, and New York. THE mission
of all political parties" she declared sis to elect
men. There is 40 grace IN defeat. To start out
with certain defeat staring you in the face is not
good policy. We must have legislation through
the votes of who hold seats, and we must
elect them before they will be seated