Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1888-03-20
COMMUNICATED.
SALEM, March 10.


EDITOR CAPITAL JOURNAL
Your evident sympathy with the
principle of prohibition and your
fairness in discussion encourage me
to ask again the favor of your col
umns for friendly criticism of your
own position and for such vindi-
cation of the wisdom of partisan ac-
ton as l may be able to offer.
First, in an editorial published
last Tuesday, you ask what we eX-
pect to do without the aid of one or
the other of the two great parties
and answer your question by saying;
"of course nothing" Your answer
is not right. Now, let me guess.
In the first place, our ample eXpe-
rience with both old parties fOrbids
us to hope for aid from either as a
party but we confidently hope for
the support of thousands of the best
men from both parties, and, with
their aid, we expect to redeem Ore
con and the nation from their pres
ent thralldom. You further say:
ut is also true that every measure
for the restriction of the liquor traf-
fic or for its total abolition, that has
been brought forward in northern
state, has originated in and has been
championed by the republican party,
while the democratic party has
thrown every possible obstacle in its
way" If this comparison of the
two old parties were just, it would
in some measure justify republican
prohis in hoping for relief from their
own party and render partisan ac-
ton of doubtful propriety. But, un-
fortunately for your position, the
Voice of March 1st, contains state
ment in tabular form of all the states
which have adopted and which
have repealed prohibitory legisla-
ton under. each of these parties
from which statement it appears
that ten states and territories-sev-
en- of them nOrthern-have adopted
prohibition while under the demo-
cratic rule, and ten states,-all
northern-haue adopted while un-
der republican rule also, that the
republicans have repealed in ten
states, while the democrats have re-
pealed in only five. These facts
prove two things: first, that neither
of the old parties is worthy of a pro-
HIS confidence second, that the
republican is the less worthy of the
two. Vet, in Saturdays Issue, you
mention among cardinal repuhli-
can principles" protection for
American homes against the saloon.
An increasing warfare upon it by
the most effective methods"
would be glad to believe this to be
among the dearly cherished princi-
pies Of the party-it is worthy to be
theBe-but.is it there? On the con-
trary, in the national republican
platform, it's place is occupied by
"The Raster Resolution" You can
not find it in your state platform. |
Is the character of your leaders, Joe |
Simon, Harvey Scott, the city coun-
ell of Salem and their late distin-
guished host such as to warrant |
your party in claiming the princi-
pie?
d would like to reply to "'PrOhi"
but have sufficiently taxed your gen.
erOsity. Besides, everybody knows
that the defeat of Judge Waldo was
due to the action of whiskey repub-
licans under a competent leader, and
not to the prOhis, who Withdrew
their own candidate in order that
the temperance vote might not be
divided.
Party spirit seems TO nae to be the
worst enemy of prohibition, and
the situation will be very hopeful
when men generally discover that
their allegiance is due TO good prin-
ciples rather than to party names
that have ceased to represent these
principles.