The leader., 1895-10-29
ster defines the word politics:

"POlitics-l. The science of gov
eminent; that part Of ethics which has
to do with the regulation and govern
ment of q nation or State, the preser-
walton of its safety, peace, and prosper
ity; the defense Of It's existence and
rights against foreign control or con-
quest, the augmentation of its strength
and resources, and the protection of
its citizens in their rights, Nth the
preservation and Improvement of their
morals.
80. The management of q political
party; the advancement of candidates
to office; in bad sense, artful or dis
honest management to secure the sue
cess of political measures or party
schemes; political trickery."-- Webster's
Unabridged Dictionary.
Probably in speaking Mr.. Thompson
had uppermost in mind Webster's Sec
ond definition, but If so, all the worse
for his contention. Surely a traffic
which costs the people Of this Nation
81, 0OO,OOO.OOO q year, sends 100000 per-
sons to drunkards' graves, produces
three fourths of the crimes of the land,
fills our asylums with inmates and
leaves in its wake countless destitute
widows and helpless orphan children,
does not contribute to "the preserva-
ton Of" the Nations safety, peace
and prosperity" And if Prohibition
will destroy this traffic and secure to
the Nation "the protection of its citi-
zens in their rights, Nth the preserva-
tion and Improvement of their morals"
unless Webster is wrong and Mr..
Thompson right, it is the most stupen-
dous unsettled political issue of the
day.
Mr.. Thompson, in his effort to belit-
tie Prohibition as q political issue, al
legged that it is as senseless to try to or
ganize an anti-liquor party as it would
be to try to organize party to prohib-
it the changing of tags on hogs or a
party to suppress larceny, etc.
To this we have only to say, let any
political party in this country go to IL
censing hog thieves or any other open
form of larceny and make the State q
sharer in the stealage as the Demo
cratic and Republican parties are do
ing in reference to the infamous, i'm
moral liquor traffic, and it would be
but a very short time before there
would be an anti-larceny party organ
lied from one end of the country to
the other. And we predict further,
unless Mr.. Thompson and others like
him, had the same loose and conven-
lent notions about common honesty
and political morality they are now
displaying on this Prohibition ques-
ton, they would be among the first to
join the anti-larceny party and put
down the thieves and their political
hackers.
Much ado has been and is still being
made over the tariff by the two
old parties as political issue.
A report before us from the
Secretary of the Treasury, giving the
receipts of the Government for the
last two fiscal years under the Cleve-
land administration, shows that near
~ as much money was collected in the
way of internal revenue taxes on alco-
holic liquors as by the tariff or
customs duties, included in the latter
being the duty collected on imported
liquors.
Here we have the general Govern
ment actually in partnership with the
bloody traffic to the extent of over
500, 100000 a year as Uncle Sans part
of the profits, and yet Mr.. Thompson
poo-poohs Prohibition as not being a
political question.
Time and space would fail us to tell
of the corrupting influence of the IL
quor traffic in politics, and the tre-
mendous power it Yields in that way.
Mr.. Thompson asserted incidentally in
another part of his speech that the Re-
publican party sprang into existence
and first attained to power on moral
issue, and he was correct in this. but
we suppose that was IAN of year" for
practical politics
The very truth is, the modern Dem
ocratic party itself has but one DOM
inant idea or principle. and that
is, stick to the partS-RIGHT OR
WRONG!
It has since dawned on few of the
members Of the Democratic club that
Mr.. Thompson ''sized them up" and
concluded that they were about as sap
headed and credulous as the snake
chasing Populists he described. At any
rate, some of the boys have been eau
cussing, and they have decided before
they call on him to speak again they
will give him q plenty Of time to pre-
pare and harmonic his facts and his
logic.
Presumably as q clincher to his 9TH
or extravagant assertions, Mr.. Thomp-
son declared that the editor Of TIE
LEADER, by carrying Prohibition into
politics, is doing far more harm to the
Prohibition cause than the three best
known antics in Brookhaven all put
together. OF course no sensible, un-
prejudiced man believes any such
thing, and IL Is more than doubt
full whether Mr.. Thompson, in his mo-