The true northerner., 1888-10-31
Pertinent Remarks From
Straightforward Temper
ance Man.
Rebuke for Those Who Care
More for a Prohibition
Party Than for Pro-
hibiti0n.


ing for all honest prohibitionists and
which 10 as follows:
DIR. John A. Brooks: sec In the Inter
Ocean q reply to my open letter TO you.
Your bold and unjust attack upon the
honest purposes of those men who favor
prohibition, but not . prohibition party,
caused me to write the letter, and your
reply causes me to again address you, as
there are some things that / still think de-
mand your attention. AS you make .
special plea for conscience, let us test 1t
in tho light Of
Conscientious men, men who believe
they arc right, are not afraid OF investiga-
tion. The Inter Ocean publishes your let
ter, and Is willing that its readers should
hear what you have TO say. Now look at
the contrast. The Illinois RStorner, and
. number Of other third party papers, have
written columns of replies to my letter,
but not one Of them has been fair enough
to publish It, Because believe In stand
ing by the Republican party, and claim an
equal right with yourself to my conscien-
tious convictions, your party, claiming to
be the party Of conscience, refuse to give
me hearing, while they distort and per-
vert what have to say. We prefer men
who are fair and honorable, in preference
to those who are so conscientious that
they can only treat an opponent with gross
injustice.
coNsCIENcB AGAIN.
The Issue made you evade or seem to
ignore. 1t is this: Is 1t true that Q Pro-
hibitionist who believes that he Is doing
more for that cause by standing by the Re-
publican party is as conscientious as q
third-party manl In your speech you
virtually said no. Against this assump-
tion uttered my protest. You do not
plead guilty or not guilty, but say: ~
have called in question the sincerity of
those party leaders who framed your plat
form at Chicago, but have conceded the
honesty Of your rank and file." That is,
such men as myself who belong to the
crank aud file" are honest and conscien-
tious, but they are dupes and fools. am
not sure but ] had rather be called a knave
than fool. Ali my good brother, do
you know that such statements are un-
worthy Of yourself, and are too unchris-
tian for any man, even those who adopt
your methods, to accept. Verify it does
seem to me that you ought In honest
frankness to admit the honesty and intel
ligence OF those who cannot accept your
third party movement as equal to your
own. You would feel better and do your
cause better service. Besides, you are
not the person TO make such charges
against others, and you know that we
agree in the fact that conSO ence is sub
ject to educating influence. You were
oScB REBEL
against the government, and believed II
right to sell men and women; that slavery
was divine institution, and did what you
could in word and deed in the Confederate
army TO sustain that unholy cause. You
were conscientious then, but when you
were defeated by the Republican party
you admitted that you were wrong, and
your conscience underwent change. You
will pardon me for the pleasantly, IL sug-
gest that when your effort to keep the
whisky-Democratic party in power is de-
feated by the Republican party this fall
your conscience may be enlightened again.
/ always believed that slavery was the sum
OF all villainies, that rebellion was treason,
and did what could by word and deed in
the Union army TO oppose them. My con-
science approved my course then and still
approves 1t, and as conscientiously be-
lieve today that the true friends Of pro-
hibition are those who seek for the success
Of prohibition not . prohibition party.
HISTORY.
When Wade, Winter Davis and others
| undertook, in 1864, to organize third
party against Mr.. Lincoln because he was
not radical enough for them, because he
had common sense enough to keep to the
level Of public sentiment, opposed them
because the only effect OF the movement
was TO injure the Union cause. So when
We are moving forward by agitation and
non-partisan prohibition in the States, by
| local option in some and prohibition in
| others, you 60 off on . third party move
ment that divides the prohibition forces,
and whose only and sole result must be to
help the whisky power and more firmly
entrench 1t In rule. i should be recreant
to every conviction OF my heart and soul II
did not oppose you.
| IOWA AND MISSOURI.
said you ad done nothing with your
third party to secure prohibition in Mis-
souri,. You say you have local option
there, but you got that not by the third
party, but in spite of 1t, just as we got pro-
hibition in Iowa, not by third party, but
in spite Of 1t. And what is more, the only
danger that threatens prohibition in Iowa
today is the third party movement. There
has never been, in my poor Judgment,
hibition than ST. John 10 making In Iowa
today. He is seeking to divide the pro-
hibition forces here where we have been
united. When the Republican party in
Iowa pledged themselves to give us a pro-
hibitory law, they only elected ffty-one
members OF the House, just enough to
pass the bill. Not one OF that number
could be bought. We said to them az
Prohibitionists in Iowa: "If you give US
the law We will stand by the Republican
party" They did so, and are standing
guilty OF the infamy of breaking our
plighted faithf 1t may be that yourself
ana st. John can do II, but the real friends
| OF prohibition in Iowa are not so devoid
OF conscience and honor. know q Had
dock has been slain, but he was Repub-
lican Prohibitionist, and I cannot possibly
see how you can say that prohibition Is q
failure because of that. Has 1t come TO
this, that you have moro abuse for the
for the saloonkeepers who took Had
docks lifef
You speak Of my losing my "moral eye
sight In my old age" As / am three
Brooks, and have not commenced the use
Of glasses, nor passed the half-century
point, my moral eyesight is yet good. II
Is good enough TO see Just this, that you
prefer Prohibition party to prohibition.
Your course proves this beyond doubt. IL
you were in favor Of prohibition more
than party you would sustain prohibition
In the states where IL now exists and make
fight for II where IL does not exist. But
you do not do this. You go into the states
like Iowa, where prohibition exists, and
organize a party there, the only possible
result Of which can be to destroy pro-
hibition. Talk about party slavery and
party love. There Ia not a leader In all
your hosts today who had not rather see