The Indianapolis journal., 1888-06-05
Playing "Go to See"

To tho Editor OF tho Indianapolis Journal
Did you ever watch bevy Of little girls from,
four to six playing keep house and go to seeY"
There is no harm in it, but there is world Of
enjoyment to the girls and Of amusement to
those who look on. They nurse their dolls as
tenderly as real mothers nurse sure-enough
babies, dress them Is fsntastically and address
them as tenderly. varying their attentions to
the dear little creatures by vigorous spankings
occasionally. and wellmerited seedlings. Then
comes the heaven Of motherhood, going to sse.'
and taking the baby dressed in its Sundays
Then the conversation and conduct wax doubly
interesting, as each mother tells what her baby
does and Gays. how it's health is and what doe
tor she employs when It Is very sick. and then
comes the elaborate tea The cups and plates
real but dimnitive, while the tea and cakes
are imaginary, but the table-talk and table man.
ners are of tho regulation style. He is a morose
old churl, unfit to live. who does not enjoy such
an occasion. The little girls evidently do. for
every generation indulges in it, Notwithstanding
these occasions often end in serious discords.
Well. the national convention last week
minded me very much of one OF these "Ro 10
SEQ" performances. the difference being chiefly
in the fact that these performers were full
grown men, and some OF them eminent men,
They went through all the motions Of . national
convention with much precision-temporary or
Ranization, permanent organization, committee
on credentials, committee on platform, and
so on, eliminating in nominations; differing
from ordinary national conventions In winding
up. like their prototype childs' party, with
more than one serious quarrel While they
stuck to prohibition alone and took on nothing
but the Sabbath. and polyeamy. and divorce
laws, there was no trouble; but the women in the
convention determined to have woman in the
platform, cost what it might. and they got just
enough in to drive off the cons and not enough
Tn fref0 fIa han ~
tion. AS the resolution Was reported from the
committee it was sufficiently free trade to pass
muster in any Democratic convention. but the
Pennsylvania delegate insisted on . genuine
Chairman ST. John put the amendment
and declared it carried, whereupon the howl was
immense and intense, and has not ceased yet,
because the official copy of the platform over
riding the decision of the chair omits the pro-
lection amendment while the truthful report,
sent out by the press contains it. giving occa-
sion for some peace-msker to interfere with tho
classic advice which many a mother has had to
use to auell the closing scene of the '1go to see"
party of her little ones:
Children you should never let
Your angry passions rise up so;
Your little hands were never made
To tear each others eyes out so.
The upehot Of all this remains to be seen.
When the women began to parse the woman
plank the next morning. they cried out with one
accord, sold! No womap suffrage there. This
whale will play with no such tub" or words to
that effect; while the others saw woman suffrage
there big as q mountain, and in the most offens-
i've garb. AS the protectionists saw in the
official report that their amendment was omitted
and the others saw it inserted 10 tho unofficial;
then there were hot words All that comes Of
scattering too much. II they had stuck to one
idea there would have been no trouble. But the
principal feature of this convention 10 the
gravity and evident sincerity with which they
play national convention while having
no following behind them. It is
more than twenty years since these
men began their separate political action"
yet in 1884 they gave St John only 150, ,0C0 in an
aggregate vote Of almost ii. 000 000 or ono in
seventy of the voters OF the Nation. In 1886, an
off year. they counted nearly 200, 900 on local
elections yet in 1897 the vote In the States that
held elections fell off more than % per cent OF
the vote of the preceding year. 1t looks very
much like child's play for grave preachers, pro-
fessors and other learned men TO 60 so soemnly
through the forms Of national convention of .
party which, in twenty years, has attained the
strength of only about one in sixty or seventy
of the popular vote; but they went through the
forms. however. humbly hoping that some time
in the ages to come the perverse voter would at
tain their heavenly ideal, and vote for prohibi-
ton straight. u. L. SEE.