The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-04-03
| AUTHORIZATION.
Iowa Republicans are Beginning
to Hedge.
SHALL IOWA HAVE LOCAL OPTION9
sons they Giye-Temperance Cru
saders in Missouri.

Dies MONIES, Ia, April 2.-The anti-pro-
hibition movement within the Republican
party eliminated in state conference to-
day, 1876 delegates being present, repre-
senting several thousand Republicans.
Chairman Collins, of Keokuk, said he had
been a lifelong prohibitionist, and done
all in his power to enforce the law in his
city, but had failed. Other speeches were
in a similar vein. Ex-Governor Kirkwood
sent letter in which, among other things,
he said: PERSONALLY, L favor local option
and high license, with stringent regula-
tions; but some of our prohibition friends
say if such a change is made the RepubG-
can party will never carry an election in
Iowa again. That looks to me very much
like bulldozing, and the Republicans never
took kindly to that mode of argument This
policy has been pursued for some years by
extreme prohibitionists in Republican
states, that have not adopted prohibition,
and now it is threatened here. 1t has not
won in the past and think it will not in
the futuren
Hon. 0. B. Cummins, of Des Moines,
presented the report of the committee ON
resolutions, which was received with great
enthusiasm. The resolutions declare I'M
swerving allegiance to the principles of the
Republican party as enunciated in the
| Chicago platform, and continue: 1--WE
recognize the liquor traffic, as one which
requires regulation, but insist that
| the object of such regulation
should be to minimize imtemperance
and mitigate its evils. Experience in this,
as well as in other states, has conclusively
shown that general prohibition, operating
upon all communities, without respect to
habits, conditions, circumstances or de-
sires is not adapted either to suppressing
intemperance or promoting morals, and
| therefore, the experiment should be aban-
doned and the law so modified that those
communities which desire change shall
have the right to determine for themselves
whether intoxicating liquors shall be sold
as beverages within their limits. We
are unalterably opposed to any at
tempt to introduce into the consti-
tuition a doctrine of state prohibi-
ton. The organic law of the state
ought not to be encountered with police
| regulations of that character. Political
organization has no just right to bring into
| its declaration principles or new doctrine
unless it be upon which substantially all
members agree. A large number of the
| Republicans Of Iowa are, and always have
been opposed to general prohibition, and if
the Republican party adheres to the pres
ent position upon this question, it is mani
fest that by such adherence it
tends to exclude from membership
all those who believe the policy fatal to the
best interest of the state. Inasmuch as
members are not agreed upon the subject,
there is obviously but one course which the
party can honorably pursue, and it is to
vigorously exclude from the party plat
forms every reference to it, leaving each
Republican member of the legislature full
liberty to act with respect to it as his judg
ment may direct. The experiment of gen
eral prohibition has been faithfully
tried and in many portions of the
state it has Iamentably failed.
The Republican party can not
justify further support as party
measure. These members of the party
holding our views cannot with favor to
themselves longer lend their aid to impose
upon many communities all the evils of
unlicensed, unrestricted and unregulated
liquor selling. For these reasons and in
the interest of morality, business and
social order, we ask the general assembly
now in session to so amend the prohibit
tory liquor law as to give to communities
that so desire to act, power, subject to a
minimum license to be fixed by the legis-
lature, to regulate the sale of intoxicating
| liquors through the medium of high license.
And we insist on such change in the plat
form of the Republican party as will
enable US to stand honestly upon it and to
assist in restoring the party to complete
supremacy"