The Wichita daily eagle., 1896-12-27
HYPOCRISY OR WHAT

The district conference OF the Meth
odist church, at Topeka, the other day,
adopted a resolution protesting against
tue proposed repeal Of the Metropolitan
Police law. OF course this action is in
the interest of the whisky traffic, al
though that conference may not so
have understood it. The Metropolitan
Police law. as the Eagle has SO often
pcirted out, is the only policy under
which the whisky cities of the State
can practically license the sale of liquor
and collect revenue therefrom. The
controlling influences of no city in Kan
sas desires its repeal save those OF the
city in which the conference was held.
The Eagle fought the law from its in
ception, not because it was a good or
bad temperance measure, but because
of its disastrous results to the Republi-
can party of Kansas. While there
would be no other way, under the con-
stitution, for any city to realize rev.
enue from the traffic than that same
police commission rule, it is none the
less un-Republican, and has cost our
party dearly enough. 1t may be that
these conferences and preacher-conven-
tions oppose it's repeal upon the ground
that it relieves them of responsibility.
If there We're no such law. then the
Prohibitionists would be under the ne
cessity of getting together, without re-
gard to sect or Of party, and demanding
of county and of city conventions the
nomination of such men as would en-
force the law, or otherwise of defeating
such nominees at the polls. So far as
Wichita is concerned, the prohibition
extremist has always been found with
the whisky crowd at the primaries and
on convention days and against the Re-
publican party on election days. That
conference of preachers at Topeka. by
their action. tickled all the SALOON keep
ers of every first class city and met the
appreciation of every man of those
cities who desires the traffic and its con-
sequent revenues. Without the protec-
ton of police commission the saloon
men of Leavtnworth or Atehison
would be in hot water continually
with no better show Of carrying on
their business than they would in Law
renee or Emporia. Because the Eagle
has said these things we have been de-
rided by the 'cloth" as being opposed
10 temperance, and as favoring the vio-
lation of law. We have not cared SO
much for that, but we have cared for
the Republican party, which has suf-
fered defeat from the dictation of this
element who at heart has cared MOTH
ing for the Republican party except as
they could use it as a whip to supply
their own inefficiency as leaders and
took part in that conference have
thrown up their hands in horror and de-
nounced us as a whisky sympathizer
because we had said that We're we gov
ernoi of Kansas our very first act
would be TO abolish every Metropolitan
Police board in the state and follow
the act up with Recommendation 10
the legislature that it wipe ont the law.
Given any community, where a good
| half. or an influential one-fourIh of the
| people are in favor of a law. and the
| open violation becomes an impossibility
unless the yioiators have some author
| ity standing between them and the
aforesaid active and influential con-
tingent The Third Party Prohibition
lists of Kansas and its preacher-psrty
ally. with their three tickets in the
field at one time. and with all their
other inconsistencies and apparent in
sincerity. make us tired