Blue-grass blade. [volume] (Lexington, Ky.) 188?-19??, 1892-01-02

ttent of results. With them nothing
succeeds like success, and nothing fails
like failure, especially in political af
fairs Only the sound moral basis and
high conscience-power of the prohibi
ton party could have sustained it in
the long arduous struggle of % years,
so utterly barren of political results.
The prohibition party is formed of in
dependent thinkers. nled by no rings,
voiced by no organs, and chained to nc
leaders They will think and act for
themselves. by blending with other
new organizations, unless held togeth-
or and led forward by some reasonable
hope of success in the near future.
Where does that hope lie? Only in the
Napoleonic policy of the combination
and concentration of forces By that
alone, Napoleon won all his victories.
When part of his forces failed to unite
at the time ordered, he lost Waterloo
and his throne. There is very sharp
analogy between military and political
tactics. Our greatest battle power is
the press Some years ago the proprie-
tors Of the most brilliant and potent
prohibition journal ever published,
The Voice." offered to establish a
daily edition of it in the city of New
York, if its weekly circulation could be
90 enlarged as to afford sup
port for the enterprise. i gave
citizens does this saloon vote consist?
It is plain that it is larger than the
number of persons engaged, both d.
rectly and indirectly, in the sale of
liquor. The voting strength of these.
in any specified locality. is but a frac-
tional per cent. of the total number of
voters. In an entire state, these men
are not numerous enough to affect the
result In any case, If voting by them
selves, without aid from others.
From whom does this aid come, then,
which gives to the saloon vote its nu-
merical strength? Who compose the
sometimes numerous class of citizens
who show their sympathy with the
liquor traffic by giving it their support
at the polls? This is question which
has not had the attention given that it
deserves at the hands of temperance
men, If at the polls the line were
drawn with only those who are en-
gagged In the traffic on the one hand,
and all other citizens on the other, it
crushing defeat every time.
Probably the thought of those whose
attention is drawn to this point for the
first time Is that the allies of the sa-
loon are composed of the low and VII
cious class of men who are hangers-on
around the lower sort of gin mills and
beer saloons. But their numbers are
not sufficient, even when combined
with the votes named above, to give
the voting strength that the saloon dis
plays far too often, when it Is menaced
by legislation.
The real strength of the saloon, not
only at the polls but in the community.
is In q more or less numerous class of
people who belong to the category of
respectable citizens" They do not
want the saloons abolished, nor inter-
fered with in any way. They are the
backbone of the saloon vote, and they
are Q large factor in public opinion
hostile to the execution of. all regula-
tive. or restrictive measures, such as
Sunday closing laws, or other statutes
of that nature.
It Is obvious that a saloon cannot
long exist unless it has patronage. As
soon as 1t ceases to be profitable, it is
closed. To be profitable, 1t must have
enough customers to make it SO. They
must be men who have money, which
they are willing to spend over the bar.
1t is these respectable drinkers who
keep up the saloons; it is they who
give the saloon their moral support; it
is they who are largely responsible for
strictive or prohibitory laws; and it is
they who must be largely brought over
to the support of temperance legisla-
ton in any community before it will
or can be made thoroughly effective
for the purpose it was designed ~ eff
feet
There is no use of prohibitory legis-
lation so long as this element is at all
numerous in q community. With its
tacit encouragement, the law will be
defied or evaded. according to the
strength OF this element OF opposition.
The work which must be the initial
effort of friends of prohibition must be
an educational one, with this very class
for its objective point. We know this
is difficult, slow and unpleasant 1t is
so much easier for your professional
agitator to stand in pulpit or on a
platform before an audience which
sympathizes with him, and abuse vo-
tiers because they do not abjure their
political affiliations and join the polit-
zeal prohibitionists. 1t is sweet to re-
ceive the incense of applause. from
those who think in the same way; it is
SO much easier and pleasanter than to
60 to a man and. in Christian spirit,
endeavor to lead him to see the error
of his ways. But this work, even If
unpleasant, is the first in line if we
are to be successful in the effort to
pulverize the rum power.-Toledo
R1ado