The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1888-05-11

him may spoil many mans chances in the
next nominating convention at home, if he
does too much for temperance at Washing
ton. However others divide, "the trade" is
one.
Against an organized power such as this
all partial measures are predestinated fall
ures. Never yet was organization con-
quered by disintegration.
The fault of Local Option is that it is
local. A municipality mile square, a
township Of twenty-five hundred farmers,
starts out 10 fight the entrenched liquor
power of the United States. "What shall
the harvest be?" Who is going to be the
under dog in that fight? The municipality
will be so far under that the wriggling of
its tail will hardly appear, while the solid
liquor power of the nation spreads itself
growls and gnashes lis teeth on top. A lit
tie while ago we had Georgia held up to us
as beautiful example Of what Local Option
could do to destroy the liquer traffic. At
lanta basked and gloried in Prohibition for
two short years till the liquor men saw that
Prohibition did prohibit. Then, when At
lanta voted again, new elements entered
into the contest. That wonderful patent
medicine chief appeared with prescription
of such amazing efficacy that it could change
the opinions of men. We are reminded of
thar saying of Alexander the Great that no
fortress was impregnable into which an ass
laden with gold could climb. Politicians
were warned that if the Democracy tolerat-
ed Prohibition in Atlanta the Liquor power
would defeat the Democracy in the nation.
Henry w. Grady's moving eloquence and
unanswerable statististics were all in vain.
Now fnsillade of falshoods follows up the
defeat, explaining "the failure of Prohibi-
ton in Atlanta" The simple fact was At
lanta had gone into action against the whole
liquor power of the United States. The re-
suit was inevitable. Just now politicians
are developing remarkable facility of
granting Local Option in some shape. The
rum power does not quite like it, but has
learned how to handle it.
The same is true of State Constitutional
Amendments. Those in Kansas and Rhode
Island came as surprises. That in Maine
was the natural outcome of long established
statuary Prohibition. But, since Rhode
Island, in Michigan. Oregon, Tennessee.
Texas, the prohibitory amendments have
been going down like row of bricks.
Enormous sums have been sent into those
States by the liquor-dealers in the crisis of
the battle. Politicians who have voted for
the amendments in the Legislature have
combined to slaughter them at the polls.
Writers of great ability have been subsid-
lied into a literary bureau" and have
manipulated statistics and invented facts in
way to deceive, lift were possible, the
very elect. The liquor power has "got the
hang" of the Constitutional Amendment
business, and it is doubtful if another will
eyer be carried in any State by non-partisan
methods: II, indeed, all the States could
vote in one day on such an amendment,
many, perhaps majority, might carry it.
But voting singly, at different times, each
has the concentrated rum power of the ma.
ton 10 fight, and they are steadily and sure
ly beaten in detail.
Law aud Order Leagues-besides the OBJ
lection that they expect and provide for the
treachery of the regular officers OF the law,
experimenting where they should supplant
have the further weakness of being local
attacks upon national evil. Their statis-
tics of arrests, fines, and convictions are
delusive. When it costs the League 5000
TO fine saloon keeper $25, and the League
has the temperance men of one city behind
it, and the saloon keeper has the concentrate
ed rum power Of the nation at his back, it is
easy to see which can ''pound longest"
But if the Law and Order League were to
be made wideI as the nation, it would he
vast and cumbrous machinery for doing out
side the law what ought to be done by the
lava recognized impossibility.
Scientific education is liable to be captur-
ed State by State, and city by city. The
rum power has only to pack the boards Of
education with its pathizers, who need
not berecognized as liquor men, and it can
turn the very weapons of the w. c. T. U.
upon them, converting the public schools at
the public expense into bands of despair.
The books are already written for this purpose,
and their introduction strenuously demanded.
What hope is there then if we are thus to
be beaten ct every turn?
The rum power is working now upon ma
tional plans. Without neglectiug council
men. mayors and governors, it is going to
make Presidents. 1t will demand as the
price ofits alliance in the nation relief from
oppression" in the States, and it will get it.
Every rising politician in Prohibition
State will have before him as his life prob
lem how to make record that will be ac-
cepted by the rum power when he gets to
Washington, without offending his Prohi-