St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1888-05-10
THE PROHIBTTIONIsTS.
An Afternoon Conference and Evening
Rally.

Rally.
The prOhibitiOnists of Caledonia
county and one or two representatives
from Essex county held a conference
in Music hall Friday afternoon. Near
ly every town in this county was rep
resented. Conference organized with
w. P. Stafford, president and III. B.
Davis, secretary. Mr.. Stafford spoke
briefly of the necessity of organization,
and introduced to the conference Geo.
w. Penniman of Massachusetts, who
has been employed by the prohibitory
party for organizing work in this state
Mr.. Penniman briefly outlined the
work in hand, the purpose being to or
ganize prohibitionists in towns and
counties as far as possible before the
state convention of the party at Mont
pelier in June. At that time state
ticket will be put in the field, and it is
expected that candidates for county
and town officers will also be nominal
ed throughout the state, as well as
members of congress. On Mr.. Peapi-
mans suggestion the county was divid-
ed into districts, with district worker
in each, who is authorized to call on
prohibitiOnists for what aid he needs.
appointed as follows =
District l. Peacham, Barnet, Rye
gate, GrotOn. Rev. A. N. Woodruff OF
Groton, district worker.
District 2. Hardwick, Walden, Stan
nard. H. r. Mack of Hardwick, work
| or.
District 3. st. Johnsbury, Water
ford, Danville. w. 2. Stafford, work
er.
District 4. Lyndon, Sheffield, Kirby,
Wheelock. G. B. Simpson of Sheffield,
worker.
District 5. Sutton, Newark, Burke.
j. w. Boyce of West Burke, worker.
Reports from the various towns in
the county showed that the prohibit
tionists were wide awake and the prob
ability that largely increased vote
will be polled at the coming election.
Subscriptions amounting to over $40
were paid in to aid the state fund.
In the evening there was public
meeting attended by between two and
three hundred. w. P. Stafford pre-
sided. After prayer by Rev. Mr.
Woodruff of Groton, Mr.. Stafford in
troduced the speaker of the evening
substantially as follows:
-
WOW" which we held here this after
noon. This courteous and elegant
phrase is not ours but republican's
name for cur gathering-th Republl-
cans name. 1t will do we'll enough
Politics are made up largely of "pow-
vows" nowadays. Parties depend up
on them for their existence, especially
the prohibition party, for it is the child
of free discussion, the legitimate result
of the temperance agitation. We are
ready to let in upon every question all
the light there is. Some men who dc
have Il shrewd way of telling which
side is right. 1t is this: "The man
who gets mad first is pretty sure to be
wrong" In my profession they say
the lawyer who abuses the other side
as a disputant has good answer tC
his opponents argument he is temper
ate. If he throws mud it is because
his arrows are all gone. Now, most
prohibitiOnists were once republicans
They left the party "more in sorrow
than in anger" They had no hare
words to say at first. Unless l forge
it was not the prohibitionists who call
ed their opponents s"self-seekers, cranks
and kickers." 1t was not prohibition
lists who hung republicans in effigy.
believe it was the other end to.
This question has taken it's place in
active politics and whatever we thinl
about it it behooves us to listen can
didly to anyone who is competent t.
speak upon it. 1t will "down" at NJ
mans bidding. From this hour to the
hour of its final determination it will
rule the politics of this. country "witl
as absolute sway as the slave ques
tion did from 1850 to 1865"
Mr.. Penniman at the outset asket
his listeners to put aside all partisan
} restraint and to bring wholly unbiased
minds to the discussion of the question
The prOhibitory party presented, h
claimed, live issue. The prohibition.
movement was no longer a mere pro
test, but distinct political party witt
quite as promising future as either o
the other two parties. To the ques
tion what is the use of a new party b
retorted, what is the use of keeping a
the old ones, held together, as has bee
of nj m m
der. The liquor question is already i
:. politics and must stay there until set
tied it has been in politics since 1S5
when the liquor dealers of New Yor
first organized to defeat temperate
legislation. In answer to the question
what is the issue between the tw
, great parties today, the speaker de
clared that both parties were hopeless
ly divided among themselves on ques
tions of tariff and protection, civil sci
vice reform, labor, etc. What wa
t good republican doctrine in one sectio
i of the country was equally good demo
= cratic doctrine in another and vice vel
e sa. Neither party has the courage
take positive position on any live ques
= ton. AS to Mr.. Blaine, he defeate
d himself. AS to the democratic part
g that is already dead and the republ
e can party is rapidly dying; the forme
e always rum party and the latter try
d ing to gather in votes and friends frol
y both sides, though, as matter of fac
n he claimed that the democratic part