The midland journal., 1888-10-26


IN political economy that has not been rec
ognized by existing parties.
Our correspondent has clearly not adyanc
ed any argument why temperance workers
should not vote that ticket" (the iProhibi-
ton ticket if they want to. Swearing eter-
nal enmity to intoxicants, and voting to
license saloons, does not advance temper
ance any. One saloon will make more
drunkards than fifty pledge societies and
temperance orders will reclaim. Our cor
reference to the olden times
does not fit the present day. The general
belief then was that whiskey was great
benefit when used as beverage, and the
public had to be taught that il was the great
est evil known to mankind. To drink then
was fashionable. 1t is now questionable
A long course of teaching and moral sua-
sion was needed and fifty years of this dis
cpllne has brought us up to the present
status in the liquor business. What do sta
tistics prove is the status Of the liquor bus.
mess to-day? That the traffic is on tho in
crease and that the business is greater as
compared with other lines of business in
this country than it ever was at any former
period. There are about twenty saloons and
places where intoy icating liquors Of various
kinds are sold to one church or school house.
The pledge societies, the orders which have
kept the watch fires of temperance burning,
lecturers, tracts, periodicals, etc., have en-
listed large majority Of the business, the
moral, the religious, the Conscientious peo-
pie, in opposition to the traffic. Prchiba-
tory laws have been passed in localities and
in few States, but the traffic has not been
entirely abolished in any locality or State
and under existing conditions it cannot be
abolished. When these laws were passed
the liquor interest had not organized. That
interest is now organized most thoroughly
and has set about the work of annulling
those laws The distillers and brewers of
Massachusetts are shipping thousands of
gallons into all the cities ofMaine. In Iowa
and Kansas they are shipping in original
package and selling it under the decision
of the Supreme Court, that no State has a
right to interfere with the commerce between
the States.
When non-partisan work began to tell
against the saloon the saloon Immediately
organized for party work. The party pri-
maries are held largely in saloons. The ex.
ecutive committees, especially in the cities
are largely composed of men in the liquor
business. Their machinery is most complete
for mpnaging party work. for controlling
party organizatson. They never fail to nom
mate large number cf liquor candidates
for National and State Offices. They ap-
proach every candidate whom they do not
nominate, and if they cannot intimidate
him to silence, they combine to defeat him.
The liquor interest keeps the ablest attorney
it can employ on its lobby in Washington,
who ticks off every vote that has any rela-
tion to the grog interest, and the members
who dare to vote against the saloon are re-
ported to the associations, and the liquor
organization lays sfor him in his home dis
trict, and while the church people, the
Good Templars, the honorable gentlemen
members of the w. c. T. U. and temperance
people generally are voting for the grog
members on their party ticket, the liquor
party is cutting the life out OF the candidates
who dare to say word against the saloon.
Take one of the roaring lions of temperance
and place him on the legislative ticket in
this or any other county and his leonian
voice will be changed to that of sucking dove
Immediately. And why? Because he has
no temperance party at his back and he has
solid liquor party in his front. The iliq
uor interest has no party nome but they
have the most thoroughly organized polit-
ical party that ever existed in this or any
other country, and it is firmly established
in both the old parties. On the other hand
the temperance party, SO 10 speak, is not
established in either party.
Our CORES pondent has soured on the
W. G. T. U because they can't see the
sense of meeting and lecturing against
the liquor trade, and their husbands,
fathers, brothers and sons marching
up to the polls and voting the same
ticket the saloon votes and has been
largely influential in nominating. If
they had advised to vote for Cleveland
and our correspondent was Democrat
he would have been delighted withthem
If they had advised to vote for Harrison
and our friend were Republican he
would have hurrahed for the white
ribbons. But they advise in a very
common sense manner to vote for an
avowed temperance party that the sa-
loon hates worse than the devil does
holy water, and our friend being a
Good Templar spews them out. Oh
Consistency, thou art a jewel! The
trouble with our friend is he doesn't
discriminate. He puts the cart before
the horse as often as he puts it behind.
!