Democratic messenger., 1894-06-23

sense, To gain the confidence not only
of Presbyicrians but of the country.
1t is simply statistical fact that there
are in this country thousands of clear
thinking, moral. Christian men who
do not give their allegiance TO the
Prohibition party These men see
and deplore the evils OF the liquor
traffic, they are willing to fight the
saloon, but still they decline to vote
the Prohibition ticket How shall We
account for it, This is the answer:
The Prohibition party utterly fails
10 give to the people of the country
any adequate assurance upon those
legislative questions which are aside
from the issue of prohibition. For
many years the voters OF this country
have been educated to believe that
questions of finance, OF tariff, of tax
alton are vital to the interests and the
destiny OF this nation. They NAV he
wrong or right. but that is not the
point. The point is that they have
been educated to believe and that they
do believe, that these questions are Of
vast importance The Prohibition
party has made the mistake OF treat
ing these questions us trivial, os pro-
claiming that they are of no importance,
and of failing to set before the country
its specific attitude upon them. DIR.
Boose. of Brooklyn, the most logical
and eloquent Prohibition speaker that
ever appeared in Snow Hill, said in
his speech that such questions rs those
of unlimited silver coinage and the
issue between prot .ction and free trade
were of absolutely no Importance, and
were unworthy to occupy the attention
OF party which had an issue so vital
as that of the prohibition of the liquor
traffic. This may be perfectly true.
but the trouble is that an overwhelm-
ing majority of all American voters
have been educated to believe that II
man who makes such statements is
talking nonsense We are afraid the
truth is that the Prohibition party.
being made up of those who formerly
belonged TO both the other parties, is
irreconcilably at variance with itself
upon these governmental questions.
and there is also suspicion that, n
the Prohibition party expects to draw
upon both the other parties for its
| .l.nIs.,oy a.. as-alf
to any policy that might weaken its
claims upon either of the old parties.
Perhaps TO the Prohibition leaders this
looks like good politics. To us it
looks like awfully poor politics. 81
long rs the overwhelming majority of
American voters believe that the
issues to which we have alluded are
vital to the prosperity Of the country
just so long will the party which
declines TO take definite attitude on
these questions fail to win the conf
dence OF the people and to place its
candidates in office. Many intelligent
voters, Presbyterians and otherwise,
reason this way. The Prohibition
party has never been in power and
has therefore never given an exhibit
ton of its capacity TO govern. Now
before we vote to put an absolutely
untried party in power that party
must give to us the most definite
information of the policy it proposes
to pursue on all governmental ques-
tions, and in addition to this it must
give us the most absolute assurance
that the policy thus outlined will be
carried out. The Prohibition party
declines to furnish us with this in
formation and this assurance. and
therefore we cannot vote the Prohibi-
ton ticket. This is the weakness of
the party with Christian men, who
indorse the one issue of the suppression
Of the liquor traffic, but whose Judge
ment will not allow them to believe
that this is the sole political issue
worthy of consideration in our govern
ment as it exists today. y. B.