The midland journal., 1888-03-09

They are aware OF the efforts being made at
present by the foes Of morality. religion and the
"Home" to again throw open the door Of the sa
loon in our county, to ensnare the young and
tempt the weak, they arc aware of the petition
NOW in every bar room almost where rum and
ruin" reveled in days OF license and sin and they
know the character OF signers Of the same; they
know the schemes and intrigues used to get
names and when the time comes delegation
will be on hand at Annapolis who will know ev-
cry citizen of the county to sft and classi fly the
names on said papers and explain their m olives
and lnow up their designs and select non-resi-
dents from genuine residents, -
Asleepi did you think. They win all Be wide
awake when tho proper time comes with truth
aud right. good order and good citizen1h p array
ed with them and they win lbeawake to purpose,
LOCAL oPrroS1sr.
I'VE have heard something very
much like this before. In the summer
and fall of '86 there was great deal OF
similar assurance and contempt of the
enemy, and when the polls werA count
ed the proof was plain that over a
thousand majority which the local
option law had received. all had
fallen asleep" but about 200 and o
bakers dozen. We have no faith in
still hunts for any but bad cause. No
good cause ever made any hea,i-way
by still hunt such as eur correspond
ent intimates is going or. amongst the
the temperance folks at present, but a
good cause to win must be proclaimed
from the house ,ops and told in the
streets. It appeals to the reason, the
conscience, the better nature of men,
while bad cause appeals to their avar-
ice. their selfishness and their worst
| nature The reasons given for treating
a celebrated temperance lecture worse
than a high license lecturer would have
been treated are too weak to bear their
own weight. In fact no be ter than the
priests of Diana answers to Paul.
Our esteemed correspondent calls the
present law Of Cecil, Local Option. =
There is no feature of local option
about it, and God forbid there should
be. 1t is broad bottomed, fiat footed
square toed prohibition law. Not q
toddling iafantile local option" law
that has to be helped along by the
hand from one election to the next. to
be set up at every election to give the
liquor parry chance to vote it down.
We hope our correspondent has ..ot
gone back to this weak pontoon bridge
over the river of death in preference to
| the strong cantilever prohibition struc.
ture which is not in danger of being
swept away by every little gust of fick-
| le, changeable public opinion.
The third party scare which our cor
respondent alludes to is phantom OF
the imagination. A bugaboo to fir ght
en- children in the dark. If third
party is n 1T needed by the best element
in this nation it will not materialize,
but if it does become a necessity to
plant the banners Of prohibition on ev.
cry foot of American soil then it will
come like an army wi h banners con-
4uering and to conquer, and it is a
shameful weakness for intelligent peo.
pie to hide and stop their ears. Do they
fear 70 hear something they can not
refutep The very act is an acknow-
ledgmen, to the publ of CONSCIOUS
weakness, and the public will so. in
terpret.]