The Brookhaven leader., 1890-10-02
OUTGENERALED.

The LEADER doesn't find it in its
heart to complain Of any honest, out
aud out whisky man for the defeat of
the effort in the Constitutional Con-
ventiou last Friday to outlaw the sa
loon in Mississippi. The Prohibition
lists and professed Prohibihonists them
selves are the only ones to blame for
that reverse. The Ants simply Outgen-
claled the Prohis, and are really to be
cOmplimented on their cleverness. In
short, if the Prohibitionists had not al
lowed themselves to be thrown off their
guard and divided by well-executed
scheme of the liquor men, the legal
lied dramshop in this State would to-
day I've thing of the past.
The State Prohibition Executive
Committee knew what this scheme
was when they issued their address
last spring and warned Prohibition
lists to I've on their guard
1t was, in brief, first to
get an anti PrOhibitionist nominate
wherever possible, and failing in this,
to pledge the Prohibition candidates
to policy of non-action, as regards
this particular issue. In many in
stances this was most adroitly done,
often through Jealous but unsuspect-
ing ProhibitiOnists themselves, who
were abnormally afraid of doing
something to disturb white unity or
iniure the Democratic party. The
great Overshadowing Importance of
the suffrage question favored the
scheme and made it all the easier to
work.
Non-agitation during the campaign
and non-action by the Convention was
The tip was given to the anti-Proli
bition press of the State and they
took up and echoed and e-echoed the
same racket.
When Prohibition candidate was
too smart to be thrown off his guard
by this sort of talk, suggestions of flu
ture promotion were made, and the
gilded pinnacle of political fame
pointed ont in the distance, if he
would only fOrego his "cranky no
tons" on Prohibition.
BY some means a powerful antidOte
was administered to Bishop Galloway,
and he spoke out against making Pro-
hibitiOn an issue i'll the campaign or
carrying it before the Convention,
and from that moment the division
among the Prohibitionists became
hopeless and the success of the Whis-
ky program assured.
We have never seen men more dis
concerted than some of those in the
Convention last Friday who had been
trickcd into making the iProhibi-
ton pledge and felt constrained in
to vote against their hon
est convictions. "Keep this question
out of the campaign, don't let it be
made an ISSUE" was the cry before
their election. Now they were coolly
told they could not vote to destroy
the saloon because it had not been
made an issue. Condemned men have
stood up to be shot and not felt any
more miserable than some of those
who were forced under this sort of
lash and their pledges to vote for the
saloon. Some of the poor fellows,
however, never discovered that they
had been duped to the last, and like
Saul of Tarsus when prosecuting the
early Christians, conscientiOusly be-
lieved they were doing God service
in voting to retain the dram shop.
No man was ever placed in a more
embarrassing position than Bishop
Galloway. He was in the hall and
anxious for Judge Chrisman's resolu-
ton to be adopted, but speaker after
speaker who had come to the Conven
ton pledged to nOn-action, quoted
the Bishops interview in defence of
his position, and the Bishop was pow
erless to undo the mischief he had
wrought.
The LEADER has some very decid-
ed views as to the policy Prohibition
lists should adopt for the future, of
which it will speak hereafter. For
one, we are tired of seeing this great
question traded off and side-tracked
by politicians for everything else, and
are not willing to longer tamely sub
nit to it.