Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1893-12-26
PRESIDENT CLEVELAND n
PROHIBITIONIST.

President Cleveland, with one
stroke of his pen, has swept aside
as rubbish every argument
brought against the principle of
Prohibition: and the whole Dem
oeratic Party has by its silence
assented to the oblitcration of its
whole ''anti-sumptuary" philoso-
ply. Governor Seymour veto
of 1855, the speeches of Roger Z.
Mills in Texas in 1887, David Il.
Hills recent "pcrsonal liberty
speech, arc all discrcditcd in one
sentence in President Cleveland ;
recent message. Read it and
ponder it. Here it is:
1T being the plain duty of this Gov
eminent to aid in suppressing the ne
farious traffic, impairing as it does the
praiseworthy and civilizing efforts now
in progress in that region, | recon-
mend that an act be passed prohibit
ing the sale of arms and intoxicants to
natives in the regulated zone by our
citizens"
CHE PLAIN DUTY OF THIS GOV
ERNMENT TO AID IN SURPRISING
THE NEFARIoUs TRAFFIC.! What
traffic Why, "thc sale of arms
AND INToxICANTs'! Sale by
whom. BY our own citizens and
those of other civilized nations.
Where! In the central zone of
Africa. Why! To protect the
natives in Central Africa.
Shades of Horatio Seymour
and Washington Hesing. This
goes furlongs, miles, whole
leagues farther than the Probibi-
ton Party has been trying to 90.
Neal Dow and st. John may as
well sit down in humiliation. The
only man in the United States
who can stand up and claim pre-
cedence with Grover Cleveland as
a Prohibitionist of the most ultra
stamp is Henry w. Blair, who
wanted Congress to declare all
commerce in liquors on the high
seas to be piracy.
Note these contrasts: The Pro
hibition party wants our Govern
mcnt to prohibit the sale of liquor
within our own borders. Presi-
dent Cleveland wants the Govern
mcnt to 90 clear over to Africa,
into the very heart of the Dark
Continent, and prohibit "the ne
farious traffic there. We have
claimed that the condition ofpub-
lie sentiment here justifies such Il
law; President Cleveland goes to
the one place on this terrestrial
ball where public sentiment is at
the lowest ebb and declares that
even there the suppression of the
traffic is justified. We have as
serted that the women and chill
dren of this land, our own wives,
mothers, children, are entitled to
protection against the ravages of
drink. President Cleveland, look
ing beyond all lines of race and
boundaries of country, asserts
that even the pickaninnies and
pigmics of the Congo valley are,
by the common ties of humanity,
entitled to protection from drink
at the hands, not only Of their own
Government, but of our Govern
ment, for whose support they
never paid Il cent of tax,
Some people say that Prohibi-
ton in America is violation Of
"pcrsonal libcrty.'' President
Cleveland replies to that argu-
ment by urging Congress to vio
late "personal liberty even on
another continent and among sub
jects of another kingdom. Some
people say you "can't make men
moral by law President Clevc
land replies to that argument by
urging Congress to try to make
even the savages of Africa moral
by lava far more difficult task
as all will admit. Some people
say that public sentiment isn't
ready. President Cleveland an
initiates that objection by urging
Congress to enact Prohibition for
a region where even the w. G. T.
Union has not yet penetrated.
Some people say that you can't
enforce the law. President C1eye-
land replies to that objection by
urging Congress to enact the law
for 4 country where we have no
police, militia, no detective corps,
no district attorneys and no courts,
Some people say that moral sua-
sion and the redeeming influences
of the Gospel are the remedies
for the drink evils. President
Cleveland replies to this objection
by urging Congress to enact
prohibitory law for the express