The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1894-12-14
"Turn on the Light"

Mr.. Solomon G. Brown is disguised
with the manner the MIDLAND JOURNAL
treats the prohibition question and calls
for the light to be turned on and pro-
ceeds to turn on his arc light in the fol-
lowing vigorous manner:
would not be surprised to see you write as you
do against the prohibition party if you were still
a republican, but why did not you stay in dom
inant party to get what you wanted in the way of
reform? There much in it for you as for
prohibitonist, so please name some better way or
party for us, who thank God, are born again into
the light that vote a license platform is not
for prohibition. And believe the resolutions
passed by the highest authority of the great
Methodist and Presbyterian churches to be in
keeping with gospel truth, if they ere only prac-
tised by a fanatical band from of the brain of
Rev. Joseph Cook to myself Until you can do
this we think with John S. Wooley, with all its
imperfections the Prohibition party is the best in
sight for u.s.
A Gladstone says, Rum is the cause of more
misery than war, pcstence and famine com
bined" And yet it's licensed. But a prohibition
party vote does not sanction it. You say, "KI-
lions of prohibition people are sorely grieved to
For humanitys sake, if you are numbered by mil
lions, do something in your way different from
what you have done in Kansas, Iowa, and the
Pennsylvania Amendment, with all the rest of
such work on n non-partisan basis
The United States supreme Court declares that .
"No man has an inherent right to sell liquor and
no Legislature can barter away the health or the
morals of the people, With such decisions as
this mixed with your license laws, had you mil
lions Of prohibition people scattered in the diff
ferent license parties better not stop and inquire
where you are ''at''? Stand firm you PA party
prohibitonsts of Cecil county, believing with
Bishop Haven "that God can sail the Ship of
State with the mast up or down" And should
| the party of friend Ewing's choice get to Wash
ington first and want to add the 10Th Amendment
20 the Constitution, giving the right of suffrage to
woman, the most of us will be there and for
| national prohibition we'll all be at the grand
| ratification with our ballots, which will not be
said of any other party as we were the only party
| that cast a solid vote against license in Cecil
county. Turn on the light
Yours for truth,
SOLOMON G. BROWN.
Tour friend Brown is evidently in
quandary, and very much confused. He
confounds the good cause of prohibition
with the faulty method of the prohibition
party. Prohibition is the reform desired
to be accomplished. The prohibition
party is the tool by which the attempt
has been made to accomplish this reform.
At the end of twenty years effort, the
machine turns out like Greeleys dull
augur that wouldn't bore. We admit all
| that has ever been said against the rum
trade all the Presbyterian and Methodist
church authorities have said all that
Gladstone and the Supreme Court have
said. Always have insisted that licensing
the saloon was wrong and public injury,
and had hopes that the evil might be
abolished by the direct methods of po-
litical party dedicated to that purpose,
but after repeated trials it has failed, and
there is not single ray of hope in sight
that it will ever be able in its isolated con-
dition to effect anything on the line of
prohibition. No voter in the party be-
lieves it ever will elect majority of con-
gress and the President. In fact we do
not believe that any member of the party
expects to ever elect a single member of
congress, without, per chance. by some
accidental combination.
An economic principle founded in truth
is eternal. The human continuance of
party to promote that principle is the
thing of day, temporary tool. Here is
where friend Brown is "wool gathered. :"
He confounds the two. He has fallen
into the general error of his class of
thinkers of believing that his intentions
and cause being good his methods must
be also. "a vote on license platform is
not for prohibition" says friend Brown,
and like the Pharisee, thanks God he is
not as one of those. Neither is a vote
for the prohibition party of any avail in
preventing license. But why continue to
point out that this anguish of spirit over
the blight of the rum trade and voting
the prohibition party ticket are both
hopeless for any advance? An article in
| 1881 WICK JooKNAL met WI. Brown S
protest against our pointing out the fulfil
ity of the prohibition party, and his
grooming in spirit will not set aside facts.
The prohibition party can elect no law
makers and its members don't believe it
will, therefore must ever remain barren of
results, and with that eternal fitness of
things which moves throuoh human
affairs with the harmony of the spheres,
brother Brown calls upon the noble 244 of
Cecil's faithful to "stand fast" Ave,
that's it. The party keeps standing fast,
never moving forward, till it's threatened
with pertrifaction or ossiication.