The Monitor., 1891-09-18
TARIFF. TAX AND THE SALOON,
Or McKinIeyfsm, Prohibition and the
Wage Earners


Exirlcts from an addIess delivered by MIS-.
Helen NJ. Cougar, of Indiana, sept llth,
in Lulu Temple Han. Philadelphia,
stenographicaliy reported for the
MONITOR by Elwood ;. steward
Hr. Chairman and Good Ffiends:-l
thank you for that hearty reception as l
come to you almost stranger. We know
no East and no West, no North and South
| in this fight; but We are bound together
without relation to creed or sect, or section
or nationality, to rescue our country from
the demoralizing influence Of the American
saloon. and upless God is dead. the Prohi
btion party will yet triumph in its glorious
work We are here tonight to discuss the
most important question confronting the
American people,-What shall be done
with the licensed liquor traffic ard how
| shall we do it. And if there are persons
here tonight who have never identified
| themselves with the Prohibition party,
ask you why, if you are prejudiced against
us, if you are believing that We are com
pany of political cranks, and / ask you to.
| night just as far as possible to diVest your
minds of these notions, of all prejudice
against the Prohibition party. Take the
injunction, Know all things, prove all
| things, and hold fast TO that which is
good. If | shall say one single word to-
night, il shall make any statement about
the old political parties which you believe
I, tix-
invite any one to interrupt me right in my
address, or at the close of this speech lise
and set these people right. What we want
| is truth, and it is poor cause indeed
| which cannot stand the truth. want you
| TO rise right hele in your seat, and if you
| believe anything stated is untrue to have
the bravery to tell me so, because want
the truth as earnestly as | want you to
have it. And don't want you Democrats
and Republicans to go away and say, II
don't like to talk back to woman. II it
had been a man I would have told him
what thought OF him. | am used to
being talked back to, and there is not a
man in this house who would not talk back
to hsswife and have the last word every
time. (Applause)
Some of the papers out West have been
denouncing me and they say l ought to
have a nom de plume, ard since live on
the Wabash near the juncture of the Tip
pecanoe and the Wild Cat, they suggest
that Helen NJ. Cougar be called, ''Tne
Wild Cat of the Tippecanoc. Isay to
you Democrats and Republicans that tho
practices in which you indulge in your
political campaigns are disgrac, to the
nineteenth century. Cease calling these
who differ from you names; cease hanging
them in efiigy; put your speakers On the
platform with us. Let us appeal to the
minds of the people with our evidence and
trust the American men to be our jury
and bring in the proper veidiet The Pro
hibition party has never resorted to calling
names. 1t has principles il its platforms
and it has morals in its aims. And so We
appeal to you tonight to come as far as
possible, leaving these epthcts out of your
sentiments, epithets that have been club
bed into you by vicious and partisan
press. Let us reason together and find out
what is the best for US to da in thecondi-
tion in which we find ourselves.
In the outset of this discussion let us re-
member this important fact, that it is a
law of nature that whatever We SOW we
reap. You cannot get away from this
truth. In the material world, in the intel
lectual world, and in the spiritual world,
whatever we SOW we reap. And let us re-.
member that every act based upon a wrong
principle is necessarily wrong in results.
wish could get every man to write that
down and place it in his hat, and hen you
vote for liquor candidate take off your hat
and read it. The wrong is to pay, and some
body will have to suffer. III * not you and
| to-day,It is our children or our children's
children who will have 0 pay the penalty.
Let us put our religion in our politics as
we do in our business and family life. The
best excuse that 90 out of every 100 DEM
ocrats can give for belonging to the old
party is because their ''daddies" belonged
to it.
Did you ever stop to think Of the fact
that men never rise higher than the written
law. | have seen the Irish tenant e.icted
from the West of Ireland to die because
the constabulary Of Ireland was sustained
in its cruelty by the acts OF the English
Parliament. Men seldom rise superior to
the written law. | have seen the evieted
coal miners of Pennsylvania within the
last two weeks living under iarpanlips,
under the shadows Of rocks, living ont
without cover because the law Of Penn
sylvania gives the corporations power to
outrage these impoverished men and their
wives. And want to say that ! have seen
in Pennsylvania within the last two weeks
more terrible scenes than ever have eeeu
in Western Ireland.