Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-08-31
ANOPEN LETTER.

ANOPEN LETTER.
Dr. John "A. fFOOks to the Rev. C. II.
Lucas.
Rev. Z. Il. Lucas, pes Moines, Iowa:
DEAR SRA f4cnd of mine hands me
clipping from tie Inter Ocean purportine
yourself.
Inc spirit OF tie letter is such that can
scarcely belleveyou were the writer. The
Justl1lcatlon vol make for addressing me
an open letter is the general assertion, based
upon 1ve solated words which you profess
to quote from newspaper report of one of
my addresses. in which you say that 1
assert THAT the Prohibitionists who do
not agre9with my wild-goose third party
mosemen| are not acting according to their
CONSCIENTIOUS convictions"
have 1lllcd in question the sincerity of
those parry leaders who framed your plat
form at Chicago. but have conceded the
honesty u your rank and file.
l have expressed my establishment that
upon a ,platftm affirming its devotion to
the modern doctrine of personal liberty
and rights" inthe interest OF the saloon, and
then attempt tS hold the temperance vote
OF the party byh resolution that distillers.
brewers and 81 loonkeepers laugh at from
one end Of the |ountry to the other. The
hypocrisy OF TIP members OF the conven-
ton is apparht to all observers. The
whisky men latgh at the easy disposition
they make OF ne temperance question in
the party. All this is not strange. but the
matter of wonfcrment is that temperance
Republicans Should be so easily deceived.
do not QUESTION the sincerity of this
class. but mOtl blindness has evidently
fallen upon tl$m.
You are defhding the party that declares
in its nationalp platform it's answering de-
votion" to thdwhisky despotism. Alas. that
my brother lucas should lose his moral
eyesight in hi old age.
AS to the Question whether the greater
wisdom is with the majority or minority of
Prohibitionist, as you put it. l have only
to say that TIP party of right in both church
and state hal usually been the minority
party. Chris. Paul. Luther. Wesley and
Campbell livfd and died in the minority,
and yet each pf them lifted and blessed the
world.
Wilberforci, Wendell Phillips and Abra-
ham LincolnMere long in the minority, but
their work will endure. 1t is this power of
the minolityIto move the world that COM
pels action Oh the part of the conservative
majority. 50 wrought Paul upon the tenn
pies of paga1ism until they fell crumbling
at his feet. Sb wrought Garrison and Greeley
until the ineit masses of conservatism were
moved to action.
This agitaiing, restless minority is NOV
ing now up1n the two old parties and will
compel dissolution.
Iowa and Missouri. to which you refer in
your letter 10 me, present a clear illuStra-
ton of thiJtruth. You boast much of the
grand thinfs you accomplished in your own
State, and attempt to belittle my work in
Missouri, tut what are the facts? Yours is
a Republican State, mine Democratic. You
have statutory prohibition and the party
claiming p be the temperance party in full
possession of the Government in all it's de-
partments. and yet. after three years of
trial, many districts are in open rebellion
against the law.
About eighty counties in Missouri are
under prohibition or without licensed sa-
looms. and the law is enforced without open
opposition in every county. No one has
and every saloon-keeper has. outwardly at
least. complied with it's mandates.
If what you claim for your party is true.
how easy your work as compared with mine.
But while speaking upon this question. how
strange that you should forget what had
that has been accomplished has been forced
from the old parties by the action of a third
party in both these States. The fear of an
exodus of temperance voters gave us every
temperance victory in these States.
If you are not willfully blind, you know
llldI Ill every hepuDllCtl Stillc hllI ilellAolltai
convention for years the one great question
has been How can we retain both the
whisky and temperance vote in the party?"
If the party to whose defense you so
promptly come is the true friend Of tenn
perance reform. how is it that the Cincin-
natl Commercial Gazette declares that there
are hundreds of saloons in Ohio which are
substantially Republican club houses" Ii
the Republican party is the sincere friend OF
reform, as you seem to believe, why does
the Chicago Tribune insist that the majority
of the beer saloon-keepers are Republicans
and that the majority of their patrons are
Republicans also?
ii your platform and your candidates are
the embodiment of the true idea OF reform.
why does the Indianapolis Journal. pub
lished at Mr.. HarrisOn'S home, declare us
follows? "A story has been started at Chi
cago to the effect that Gen. Harrison is in
favor of prohibition. This is lie. Gen.
Harrison is too good Republican to be Il
Prohibitionist."
1t was the Republican party that defeated
prohibition in Michigan, Oregon, and Ten
nessee and helped to their utmost ability to
defeat it in Texas.
Finally in National Convention your party
has taken Democratic ground upon the
personal---very. doctrine" and accepted
the already chosen position of the liquor
association on the question Of temperance.
When know these indisputable facts. and
realize that reputable minister can be
found in America willing longer to de-
fen the party, have Il right to be aston
ished.
Finally, as to the assertion that am fight
ing to kill the Republican party and turn the
country over to the Democracy. have q
Few things to remark.
l. am most cordially hated by the lead
ers of the Democratic party because they
believe that have done them harm.
g. That party has done as much for tenn
perance as yours.
g. You both now occupy the same ground
in your national platform. the ground Of
personal rights and liberty" Both conven-
tions were dominated by the liquor interest
Yours was presided over by a leading liquor,
dealer and yielded to the dctation OF the
traffic in the framing OF your platform
Neither your platform nor your candidate is
lin favor of local government OF the matter
by the States" as you most recklcsSly affirm
but both are opposed to the same.
Now. who is doing evil that good may
Gomez" am standing on u platform tina,
declares against the saloon and in favor OF
prohibition, not caring which Of the whisky
parties is in power. You are standing on d
platform .hat declares in favor OF the saloon
and against prohibition, thus attempting to
put out of power one whisky party that you
NAV put in another. That am right in this
view is evidenced by the fact that Republi-
can liquor-deulers are we'll satisfied with
your platform and candidates as far as this
nunStiOn is concerned.