The times., 1888-08-10
FACTS FOR THIRD PARTY MEN.
An Open Letter to Dr.. John A Brooks
Prohibition Candidate For Vice Pres
ident.

Rev. d. r. Lucas, Of this city, Z
prominent clergyman of the Christian
denomination, and one of the fore
most temperance workers of the
State, has addressed to DR.. John A.
Brooks the following open letter COZ.
cerning the attitude of the third party
in the pending campaign. Mr.. Lucas
is fully warranted in speaking for the
Iowa temperance men, for he has
done more to promote practical tenn
perance legislation than any score OF
men who are now engineering the
third party movement;
DEs MONIES, July 2I.-Dr. John
A. Brooks; There appears in some OF
your repMted speeches some things
that appear to me to be unfair to
those Prohibitionists who do not look
at the question as you do. You have
much to say of conscience votes"
and "men OF conscience" and such
phrases in which you assert that the
Prohibtionists who do not agree
with your wild goose third party
movements are not acting according
to their conscientious convictions.
AS you and l are coworkers in the
same church and acting together
religously, it is query to me when
you became the keeper of the con-
science of your brethern. You do
yourself a gross injustice as we'll as
others when you assume any such
position, for certainly, where there are
five Prohibitionists who will not vote
your ticket for one that will, it comes
with poor grace for one to charge
the five for acting hyprocritically in
their decisions. Now l have, as you
know, been a Prohibitionist all my
life, and it is not saying anything in
an egotistic sense if say have done
as much for the cause of prohibition
as you. have. You have been in
Missouri for many years where the
Democratic party has been in large
majority, and you have been a mem.
Der of that party and what have you
done in that party or with your third
party to get prohibition? Absolutely
nothing. have been in Iowa and a
member of the Republican party, and
have worked in that line, and with what
result? We have ONE OF THE BEST PRO.
HIBIToRY LAWS in Iowa that has ever
been made, and it is as we'll enforced
as any other law. l have followed
no jgnis fatuus or third party imprac.
tlcabllity. You have. Now what IS
the result? My State is prohibitory;
yours is not, and yet, forsooth, be-
cause | am not conscientiously fol-
lowing your method that has proved
failure, and abandon my own that
has proved a success, / am to be ac.
counted as lacking in conscience.
Did you ever think, my brother, that
it is possible you are mistaken, and
that the beam may be in thine own
eye?
Again, we have 10000 Prohibi-
tionists in Iowa. In that number
100000 will vote the Republican
ticket and 1000 your third party
ticket. Allow me to suggest that it
is possible that the I4o, may be as
wise and honest as the one. 1t is
true that one may be wiser than 14o,
but it is not very good taste nor very
good morals for the one to say he is
the only honest one.
And what is true of the State of
Iowa is true the county over. As 1 |
said before, you can not possibly |
hope to poll more than one-fith of |
the actual prohibition vote for your
ticket, and it is not possible that the |
four who refuse to vote it may be as |
wise and conscientious as the one |
who does? When you say they are
not, you are violating one of the car
1inal principles of the religion we
both profess, to "judge not thy bro.
her.
While / am at this matter there
Are few other things I wish to call
your attention to. The only States
N which prohibition is maintained
!oday are Republican States, and