The Portland daily press., 1892-02-09
1.-THE Swing of Conquest"

There is always the PhariScc mind the Sad
ducee mind the Nicodemus who comes by night,
lacking the courage of his convictions, although
in him there is no guile, only he is still welded
to the old-time views. And there is always an
apostle of the Gentiles striking out new paths,
blazing the trees, and taking as his portion the
cause, the curses and the consequences. This
is Just as true i'll religious things as it is in
things political Politics and religion divide the
world and are the two great realms. The DEM
ocrats answer to the Catholics, conservative
and stereotyped, but whose foundations rest on
the tombs Of heroes and the affairs of saints
The republican party answers to the wcll-to-do
Protestant denominations who hold to views
and polity not now requiring sacrifice, although
in the beginning based on martyrdoms.
The mugwumps with their culture and high
toned views, answer to the Unitarians Of all
stripes and shades. The prohibitionists find their
analogy in the Qualzers, with their fearless pro-
test against wrong; the holiness people, with
their eager search for the highest and best; the
faith people, who "stagger not at the promises
Of God, and the revivalists of every name and
sort. Thus these two great realms Of material
and spiritual power, forever at with one
another and within themselves, have farmed
out the world to the clash of their arms and the
din Of their doings and, as there is nothing
changeless except change, the minority eyer
tends towards being the majority, and is as
sure to become tho majority as the coral reef is
snrc to become the coral island. If we as tenn
perance people can only sec this we can look
with absolute amusement, and with no sense of
loss contradiction, upon the splendid battle
field, and take our chances as the minority, al
ready feeling in our hearts the grand enthusi'
asm and seeing in our gait the ''swing of con-
quest that comes from the overwhelming num-
bers sure to follow where we lead.
1t is said that the Bible has been upset
twenty-seven times in the last five years by
those who do not receive it as revelation from
God. But the Good Book is considerably like
cube of New England granite; when you upset
it you have only set it up; it is just as big one
way as another, and just as big after it is
turlbled down as it was before. Indeed
cit stands four square to every wind
that blows" The Bible and prohibition ere
alike in this matter. Both resemble the Irish
mans wall that he built on the side of bog,
and his brother said: Dennis, me boy, isn't 1t
going to be undermined, this wall that you're
building?" 'Faith, and it isn't" he retorted,
''becauSe it is three feet high and four feet
WIDE and if it tu1nbles over it will be higher
than it was BEFORE
Some temperance workers were wcll-nigh dis
hoartened when the original package agitation
arose, but the adverse decision of the supreme
court precipitated such discussion and called
out such congressional action as has helped thu
prohibition cause more than all the work THAI
ell temperance societies have accomplished ir
1890
Iowa is fortunate in having Judges Caldwell
and Shiras, who declare the Wilson bill and the
prohibitory law in full force. So that for the
present, at least, tho interests there seem safe.
In view of the recent decision In Kansas to
the effect that nrnhihitnrv states raust raenact