The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-07-20
1t Are You liolng to Do About It ?

pat Are You Going to Do About It ?
khe cause of prohibition has re-
red tremendous backset. a yeri-
PIE black eye, in the nine success
Ne defeats which it has encountered
@s many different States, and it
w becomes serious question.
Nat is to be done? Clearly there
<po present hope of success with
Institutional amendments in other
ates Except, perhaps, South Dakota
8ich ia making a vigorous effort to
pr right.
Nor is there any immediate pros
81 of prohibition through a prohi-
tion party. No doubt many mem
ms of the old parties will be forced,
aWever unwillingly, to accept the
aaeIusion that the party in which
ley have hitherto placed confidence
lbither. will nor can face the issue. .and
~ viii thus find themselves driven
rs the CONVICTION tls&e q lsew politiuat
Iparty is necessary to cope with the
exigencies of the present situation.
some of these will join the Prohibi-
ton party. But on the other hand,
tesweeping majorities against pro,
hbitiOn ona non-partisan basis show
tat even ifall who favor that meas.
Ue should join the prohibition party
iwould still be in an almost help
lss minority.
What then? Must we give up in
dspair and acknowledge that the
dvil is lord paramount on earth,
AID that we cannot Danish his vice.
rgent, King Alcohol That de-
pnds on whether we belong to the
Yrtebrate or the invertebrate order
o humanity. Invertebrate back
bneless) reformers will be very apt
Z, discover that they never did be-
live in radical measures, and only
vted for them as an experiment.
SINE of them will become bigoted
noderationists and aggressive do
rDthings in order to make sure of
tleir standing on the winning side.
| But there are men, and women
to, who have strong convictions and
mean to act upon them. With these
ills only question of how to renew
| tie war against liquor with the best
prospects of success. AS might be
expected, there are great varieties of
opinion on that matter, both within
The ranks of the Prohibition party
and outside of it, and the danger is
that there will be little accomplished
for some time for want of that unan-
unity which is essential to success.
One very important lesson Tor all
reformers to learn at present is to
cherish respect for the opinions of
Others who are equally sincere in
their desire to fight the evil, but take
very different views of the manner
in which the conflict should be car
ried on.
The Witness believes that the only
correct or effective way to oppose
any force that works only for evil is
to fight it with the sharp end of the
pitchfork in other words, to adopt
the most radical means of obliterat
ing that force. But we cannot get
any considerable number of the vot-
ers to agree with US in the matter.
Therefore we must find some basis
on which we can unite with as many
as possible of those who recognize
that the thing is evil and wish to di.
minish its evil consequences.
We are free to confess that we do
not expect that any measures which
a majority of the voters in the State,
for instance, could at present be in
duced to support, will amount to
much in the way of practical fruit.
But it will he a great point gained
when all temperance men can be
united in an honest war against the
saloon power. even if it he only pro.
posed to capture some of its least inn
portant outposts.
When the civil war commenced
only small minority of the people
of the Northern States would have
been willing to support it as a war
for the abolition of slavery. So strong
was the anti-abolition sentiment in
the North that Mr.. Lincoln, though
himself strongly opposed to slavery,
WAS compelled to snub two generals
who issued proclamations setting
free the slaves of all persons within
their military districts who were in
arms against the government.
But, as the war progressed, the
Northern people gradually came to