The sun., 1896-09-27

The Party Doesn't Expect to Garry gtne.o
State, but Is ConductinE - Very nNvsN
Campaign for the sake OF Princ,pie-Ass
- Methods. Organization, and hAees'ne"'
The elevator In a building In Fourteenth
street, a few doors from Fifth avenue. hoiY
comfortably one passenger and the maneI
charge. BY this conveyance unless you WI
to climb one flight of stairs, you reach the neh'V
quarters of OF the national parties In tnV
pending Presidential contest. There are iouN
rooms. One is for visitors who nre Interested
the success OF the movement. Another 10 LOT
young woman who looks at you when you ente0
and for a cargo OF tracts. The third 10 Tor 81
young man vino is making out appointments totl'
meetings. He gets up from his desk and EreetsS
the visitor In a church-like manner and asks
whore he lives The fourth room Is the ono tnok1
contains the archives and the data. A youv
man occupies this room good deal OF tho tin
and his desk looks as II 1t had been mada1P
with 4S.,. o',ss:ss Sss ssn. Scripture. picture.
walls and the Autographs Of the Presid hnueh
and the Vice. Presidential candidates. Fheee
Autographs are entirely different from thI can,
vas representations of the candidates viii ~ one
sees from the street. And yet they arf sup
posed to be alike. y
In these rooms one may obtain oil thQtnfors
nation one wants about the Prohibition party
and its candidates. Joshua lowering amp Haze
johnson. There is no banner harging horose
the street. No brass band plays in frontpf the
building. No extra police are necessary 70
keep the crowd away from the entrance.
But ono of the men in tho heads
quarters is retired member OF the
metropolitan police force of New York. and no
is one Of the missionaries Of the party. A per-
son who Is accustomed to finding fault with the
police might argue from this that any party
that could convert q policeman to the cause OF
prohibition had chance to electf it's candidates.
This is not the place to consider such probabiii-
ties. however. O., Il
"Did the Prohibition party, unaided. ever
carry a State in a national contest?' asked The
Sun reporter of the three men in charge Of the
headquarters. Z
There was n scramble to answer the question:
They got mixed on dates. but after consulting/
book the Information was given out that
State had ever been carried by the party "
national contest; but attention was called to,
tho statement that in 1855 the party in this
State elected Governor Of New York. Myrou
II. Clark. One OF the young men said Clark
was not however, the regular candidate of the
party but was the nominee of the Whg party.
But he was an avowed Prohibitionist." said
the old policeman. "and on the strength OF that
he got the prohibition vote of the State and
was elected by 500 majority"
In one respect the Prohibition party. as repre-
sentcd at these rooms IN new 1Ofk, is uuhh0
two other parties in the field in this, that ft
does not expect 10 carry single State in the
Union. and is not counting q single vote In
the electoral college. And yet in many othefS
respects the Levering johnson ticket Is con4r
ducting q very lively campaign. 1t claims ~
stand upon higher ground than the Popocratto
ticket. and declares as evidence of that claim
that it represents principle.
Whenever you a man in q wagon in somes
A. .f., q. ;lra1,- t4 Ha -
Prohibition speaker. When speaker is as :
signed to one of these outdoor meetings he doe
not take the stump but takes the trucks Tha:
is the parlance of prohibition for outdoor NEE
ings. There are others. The church meetin3
are usually conducted by ministers, althouJ
laymen often take hand. There was an
stance OF this the other night which camevff
near breaking up in row. The preacher ;; D
proclaimed prohibition until his voice
sprained when one Of the laymeu arose and ;,
the advice good so far as 1t went. III
But" said the layman. what want
know is will the dominic vote for Leverin y
johnson know he won't. And what:s
use of his preaching II he won't practice Nss
Somebody. an old politician, perhaps. wtox
had at one time been Hill Democrat, spru E
the long metre Doxology. and tho meetIr;
closed with a benediction. IL
Another class OF meetings Is known as tn, t
parlor meetings These are held In homes an i
esmsd ehs saas ReT more thai
other meetings The outdoor meetings are wei !.
have the police been called upon to hustle any,
disturbing element therefrom. At q church
sad e
trying TO hitch up In some places with the he-
caused a disturbance and the first and only cry
OF Put him out" that has been heard In any
turbed the harmony Of the Occasion. Exciting
data OF this character form some of the news
current about Prohibition headquarters In
1t is also stated to the visitor in search of In.
e of he
for looking ahead. In 1876 the party polled g.
vG!ss oss hs a 1883 'ss sia545 i 5sf S 1899 ses 5
| 7lO. 1t is also given out that the strength of
Is in o 9se ot non shs 0eI and 1872
had 3s. 900 votes in New York. 10000 In Ohio
25oo0 each in Pennsylvanta and llin1is, IN
| 900 in Minnesota, and $4,000 each in Wisconl
1t costs money to conduct Prohibition can
| paign. but. inasmuch as there is not mucj
! chance of eecting district or county candida
except by some sort OF trade there are @ no oi
| poratons. An appeal /. made by the Executiv
| Committee of each district or county and tn
followers and adherents OF the % cause % contribute
its own affairs. If any town in the Unio
that town pays tho speaker and hi :
expenses. There no national fund for sue
headquarters. Albion, Mich. out Of which
| drawn money for the publication and dissent
nation OF prohibition literature. 1t partakes os~
the nature OF tracts. and the desks in the rooms
| in Fourteenth street. in New York. look ike
church publishing house.
| There are sevcnty-hvo speakers in the field.
! paid by local committees. The local speak ers are
| volunteers almost without an exception. The
| local orator is provided with few facts CLEANED
| from Government statistics, and Is told TO eab-
orste and color according 10 his ability. Tho
| basis of he average oratorical prohibition enors
| Is as follows: In the year 1893 there was paid
over the bars in the United States 81 200. 600
| for intoxicating liquors. In lS+O there were 2h
gallons OF liquor per apta in this country. Last
year there were 10 gallons per capita. Crime
| Increases three times faster than population.
and the increase in suicide due to liquor 10
alarming. And 100000 people died last year e
the direct result Of alcoholism. With this sort
OF array man who has good pair Of lupgs
and reasonable spread Of imagination can
make a speech that would be listened to even
among the distillery sections of Kentucky.
| The dissemination Of literature Is attended
| to largely by women. and tho Woman's Chris
tian Temperance Union is a powerful auxiliary
| 1t 10 estimated that the cost OF the campaign OF
| al, ..htl IN Nax~ Snrkf Ia