The Ottawa free trader., 1889-02-16
PROHIBITION DODGES.

| The Prohibition Amendment was def eat
ed ia the senate at Springfield on Wednes-
| day by vote of 26 to 10. OF the 30 Re.
| publican members of the senate but 1G
coud be got to vote Tor the Sheets resOlu--
tIOn, 10 voting against 1t and the others
lodging. All the democratic senators
except six, voted against It, The vote of
the Democrats on the question was to be
expected, rs the party stands in a hundred
ways committed against sumptuary laws
and other legislation of that kind, though
we think even all the Democrats could,
without compromise Of principle, have
voted to submit to question TO a vote of the
people. But the whole bearing and action
of the Republicans in both houses or the
question has thus far been Inconsistent,
|shuitlng and cOwardly. While protesting
In all their newspapers and campaign
speeches before the election 10 be the only
true friends of temperance, they resort to a
hundred shifts in the Legislature to evade
the question. In the senate 1t is true, they
were forced to n vote, but the whole mat
ter was managed in such an Indifferent,
ship-shod way as to show they had no feel
ing but disgust for 1t. But in the house,
where the proposed amendment was referr-
cd TO the judiciary committee, no urging
could get that committee TO act upon it in
any form, the excuse being that five other
proposed constitutional amendments were
already before them, and as but one could
be submitted 10 the people at a time, they
were undecided which to give the proceed
ence After the vote in the senate on Wed.
nesday, of course the subject will not again
be heard of in the house.
IS sort of glass to cover the premedl.
tated dodge of the republicans, the question
of constitutional convention was sprung,
the "shakey" members insisting on that as
altogether better and more practical way
Of dispOsing Of the question than by sep
arate amendment. The aem secret, how
ever, of the sneaking, driveling course OF
the Republicans on the question was re-
yealed by toe iHtcr-O ocean correspondent
referred to in our last, that there were too
many districts In the state in which the
Republican party would lose votes by fav.
oring prohibitory amendment to make II
safe for the party 10 occupy that position"
The party, however, is not yet "out of the
clamps" of that troublesome question. No
sooner had the failure of fhe Sheets reso,
luton in the senate been announced than
Senator Fuller introduced prohibition
bill after the Iowa pattern, fully covering
all the ground intended by the proposed
constitutional amendment; and this bill,
after II shall have passed both houses ,hepro-
poses shall be submitted to vote of the
people at the next regular election The
plea that nothing can be done for prohibi-
ton because two.thirds vote of the two
houses In its favor cannot be obtained, will
not avail as to the Fuller measure, for that
can be passed by bare majority of each
house. AS that majority In both houses is
largely possessed by the Republicans yet
as nothing Is clearer than that the party
wholly lacks the courage and manliness to
meet this question freely and squarely, 1t
will be fun to watch their shifts and lodges
to evade II during the remainder of the
session.
One result, however, of all this driveling
of the Prohibition party. At least
two-third of the honest republican voters of
this state are at heart Prohibitionis,s. They
have hitherto clung to the &. o. p. partly as