The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-12-18
ISN'T 1T WICKED?
The Way Prohibition Organ Tries to
Deceive Its CreduIOus Readers.

To the Editor of the indianapolis Journal:
1 suppose that the wickedness of any
given act depends very much upon the way
the man was raised. For instance: 1 do
not imagine that the Hawaiian who ate
missionaries and other people hundred
years ago was as wicked as a Hawaiian
would be who would eat missionary or
''the sons of missionaries to-day. The Ha-
waiian, a hundred years ago, did not know
any better; the Hawaiian of today does,
though it might be all the same with the
missionary. The difference is in the rails
ing
a few days ago I read flaming headlines
I'm The Voice, published in New York, the
national organ of the Prohibition party. The
line read, Immense Gains" and so on as
though that party was Just sweeping every
thing before 1t, and would certainly be
top at the next election, or as soon as pos
sible thereafter. To see how that party was
gaining I turned to the files of the Voice,
and / found by its own figures it had, in
1886, 294,S53 votes in an aggregate vote of
S526,4SS, being three and forty-five hun
dredths per cent of the whole vote. AS the
party had been growing for about eighteen
years, this did not look like coming to the
throne very soon. Turning to the Voice of
1892, six years later, and almost every NUM-
Der containing something about immense
gains" l found that in 1892 it cast only
270nO in an aggregate vote of LII l02, or
just two and three-tenths per cent. of the
whole; in other words, to have kept even
with it's relative strength as shown in 1886,
IL should nave cast 42ViS9. being In lS92 only
a little more than half as strong relatively
as ii was in 1856. But as 1892 was not
good year for the party, l turned to the
elections, but there were enough to indicate
the rapid growth of the party. Here are
figures taken from the % Xoce Nsw York
Pennsylvania, in 1893, 2l.35S in 1892, q. 14S;
In 1885, g. ass Ohio, in 1898, p 4o6; in 1892,
1897 s s 1855 in sS 49, Ns sso Jersey in 1s l
dd@se for oo o0@a in 1888. c oa
with the prohibition faction of the Repub-
1o.1O7 Now isn't IT wicked, Mr.. Editor, for
preacher who knows better to deceive a
few country people who do not keep file
of the Voice, by forever harping upon i'm
mense galns?'
There is another thing about these figures
from the Voice. In seventeen States the
question of prohibition has been submitted
to direct vote. 1t received in these sew
vote in the same States of 4,7S4 164, or
"a 2-10 per cent of the popular vote. Yet
in these States the highest aggregate vote
only A-100 per cent Of the prohibition
vote as shown by the votings upon pro-
for a peacher to publish to the world that
the Prohibitionsts of the Nation consti-
tute less than 3 per cent of the voters
whereas his own figures show that they
constitute more than 81 per cent? or
course the Voice will continue to speak OF
immense gains" and country people who
do not keep file of the Voice will echo
Immense gains" but isn't it wicked in a
preacher, anyhow? But even country peo-
pie will find him out some day and quit
fooling with a party which in twenty-five
years can muster only per cent of the
popular vote and growing less every year,
though town people who love to figure as
candidates and committeeman and the like
| will he slow to surrender their honors.
Indianapolis, Dec. IL. L. L. SEE.