The Portland daily press., 1891-01-03
AN OPEN LETTER
From MRS. J. Ellen Foster to Cen,
Neal Dow.

of respect to your many years of honorable
public service, and in Difference to your
white head, so soon, according to the course
of nature, to be pilowed beyond our sight.
have hesitated to reply to your false state
ments. l am urged by common friends to
overcome feelings of personal reluctance--on
your accountant to make such reply as
self-respect suggests.
l pass over, as immaterial to myself or the
temperance cause, certain statements in the
letter which / believe to be untrue; make
reference to those only which touch my per-
sonal character, or the essential features of
political work in the interests of the temper
ance reform.
You say "the Republican Party is every
where committed to the support of the
policy of High License" This is untrue of
the party in Maine, Kansas, Iowa, the Da-
kotas, and in other parts of the country.
Your present denunciations of the Republi-
can Party, are in marked contrast with your
repeated ard emphatic testimony to the SER
vice that party has rendered the cause of
temperance.
YOUR APPROVAL OF THE REPUBLICAN
PARTY
was given in the years when you were the
universally recognized and respected cham
pion Of the temperance cause.
{ Now, not content with denunciation of the
party, you say, "Mrs Foster-for consider
dtion-is in active earnest cooperation with
the Republican Party" This is atnquali-
fedEy false the implication that my adher.
ance to the Republican Party is secured by
mercenary means, is unworthy an honest
citizen who would repudiate the charge that
such motives had influenced his own poli.i-
cal course.
For such service as have given the Re-
publican Party, have never received one
dollar; in no instance have / been, directly
or indirectly, influenced by any money or
consideration" past. present, or to come.
No man, woman or child ever approached
me with an intimation of money cOnsidera-
tion for such service. The only time 1t was
ever suggested that money was an agency
which might influence my political course in
the public advocacy of the temperance ques-
ton. was when Mr.. Horace Waters,
THE PROHIBITION PARTY HIGH PRIEST,
of New York City, urged me not to oppose
the Prohibition Party; he said the W0man's
Christian Temperance Union would have no
trouble in getting money, for since the soci-
| ETY. had supported the Prohibition Party, the
| Democrats felt very friendly, and that the
Union could easily raise 100000 IL it were
needed.
This Mr.. Waters is well known in Prohi-
bition Party circles, and has issued what he
calls Prohibition Bombs" among them an
appeal to conscience Voters"
| You will kindly notice II do not say or
intimate that the Womans' Christian Tenn
| rerance Union does receive money from
Democratic party sources. / have no knowl-
edge OF any such alliance with that party. L
believe the ladies who accomplished the COM
initial of the Woman's Christian Temper
ance Union to the so-called Prohibition
| party were actuated by disinterested mo-
t!ves, and desired by that means to accom-
plish the overthrow of the liquor traffic.
Itmay be of interest to you, Mr.. Dow, to
know that the
| PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL WOMAN s
| CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNIoE-
Miss Willard-said in answer to direct
| question from me, that she did not believe
my political course was influenced by any
money consideration.
Again You say sit is said of Mrs. Foster,
her husband has a lucrative
sINECURE UNDER THE GOVERNMENT,
and Mrs. Foster Is his paid secretary, help
| ing in the work."
This is also false. My husband has an
office under the Government. He gives daily
arduous seevice in a. department where in.
tegrity, economy, honor and temperance
principles are essential to recognized con.
tinuance In service. The Chief of this De.
partment-his superior officer, = has Ions
been distinguished for these qualities; x
call such an office "sinecure," betrays in
excusable ignorance, or fiippant carelessness
or Intentional injustice. Furthermore
am not my husbands paid secretary. have
no connection whatever with the duties o.
his office, or with the moderate remuneration
hsaH AaSxr Co. 10 all
from any source for public service of any
sort.
My personal income depends solely upor
my platform addresses. The outlay fol-
travelling expenses. and the cost of the gen
eral temperance organization work. with
| which L am connected, usually exceeJs my
income.
Again You say some lady told you tha
said among other things, "Pll smash thu
w. c. I. u" To this reply, such ,oord'
could lntellgently be construed to convey
such sentiment L never formed such {
purpose In my mind, or desired such result
in my heart. have loved the
WoMAN's CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION
from the beginning ; / was at its birth
have served its interests for many years;
never did better service than by continue
protest against its partisan Lolicy.
The best vindication of the effectiveness o.
that service is the present attempt of thu
leaders of the Union to persuade the public
that the society is in reality non partisan. Il
in fact just what pleaded it might remain
an earnest advocate of prohibition, bu
wholly free from any entangling party ALI
| ance.
l expect before many years to see thu
Union sincerely repudiate its present part,
alliance.
When history shall record the DETECTION o.
these passing years, it will be honor enough
Tor me, II 1t shall be said that my service
called attention to the actual and lncidenta
wrong of the party alliance, and that wa
in any degree Influential in turning into iii
old channels the course of this heayen-eOm
missi0ned host, who fight for God and Home
and Native Land.
Again You say sit is reported that Mrs. Eos
ter issued an attack upon 1t 0he w. G. 7. " tC
which was affixed the name OF prominent anc
| influential member of the Union, whom Mrs. Eos
ter enormously supposed to be more or less il
sYMPATHY WITH THE SMASHING BUSINESS
This was done in the absence of this LADY, with
out her knowledge and very much to her dis
pleasure. With much difficulty this lady is sale
to have traced this circular to Mrs. Foster: ther
taking train she sought her out and expressed
to her In unequiv0cal terms her sense of the
moral character OF such transaction. The LADY
is said TO have declined to forgive or in any wal
10 c0ndone what she considered great wrong t
herself as well as to certain rules supposed to bt
onaing upon all honest and honorable %n; people
smash the W. G. T. U. TO be successful must bt
carried on with clean hands, with an honest de
sire to do good and not as matter Of vengeance
Il Tor disappointed ambition or for payment of
| rum party, VIII Ose interests are supposed to re
quire that the w. c. 7. U. should be smashed.
The above statement is false. l never
signed aDybodys name as above indicated;
was never sought out and CONDEMNED as above
stated.
He who reports such wicked SANDER is
RESPONSIBLE IN MORALS AND IN LAW,
unless he can shift the responsibility upor
a creditable informant. What you imply
Mr.. Dow, by disappointed ambition" ana
payment by a rum party" can be best un
derstood by those who suffer from such dis
appointments, and are in league directly oil
indirectly with rum party"
Again You quote certain passages from
my reports of '81, 'S2 and 'S3 to the National
w. @. I. u, and conclude these inconsistent
with my present position; deny any incon.
sistency. and refer you to my pamphlet, en-.
| titled, The TRUTH IN THE CASE.
Those who wish TO believe me inconsistent
will not be con WINGED ''tho' one rose from
| the dead"
In conclusion allow me to state ! am 10.
tai abstainer and prohibiti0nist; believe
| prohibition will be accomplished through
| non-partiSan methods, when temperance
| people sustain at the polls the men who are
true to the interests of the home, when cleo.
ted to places of representative authority.
l OPPOSE THE so CALLED PROHIBITION
PARTY,
| r INols e