The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-05-08

hands of fifty picked men and drive
the rufians who are violating the pro-
hibitOTy law out Of the city. When a
man entered the home of one of our
citizens Mr.. Rogers. and murdered him.
did we take the case before q Shawnee
county jury? TO. we did not You all
know that he would not have been
convicted. He was taken out and
hanged by the people. If an officer
holds UP his hand and swears he will
support the constitution we must i'm
press upon him the fact that he must
do so. If he does not. you have a
traitor. a coward and an infdeL When
an officer SWearS TO do his duty and
does not do it, I say that We should
hold him to it or treat him as he de-
serves.
Major J. K. Hudson charged the in
dividual voters with the responsibility
for existing conditions throughout
Kansas.
He said: This splendid audience is
an emphatic statement to the lawless
element that the saloon will never have
an abiding place in the capital city
In May. 1885. thirty saloons were open
ed IN Topeka. We passed the cOnsti-
tutional amendment in 1879 and the
next year the law was enacted In
1872 the people tried to deal with the
new problem. They found a large ele-
nent in every community opposed to
the law The law was difficult to en-
force because public sentiment had not
u
the jeers and jibes of every liquor COM
munity in the state. We saw that Of
ficers would not attempt to sustain the
law without strong public sentiment be-
hind il. In 1888 we held law and order
meetings all over Kansas and We began
to form sentiment which would make
possible the laws enforcement To
day there is less respect for the law
than there was then.
I do not altogether agree with Mr.
PETER that lawlessness should meet
IawlessnesS. We must subdue this enc
my by legal means What has brought
about this great meeting? The people
have been at fault. You may find fault
with your officers, but the fault lies
with each individual voter About four
wears ago the Republican politicians
whispered in the ears of delegates to all
the county conventions that We would
say nothing in our platforms about
prohibition. We listened to this talk
because that whisper was the hope of
the whisky vote. The other party left
il out for the same purpose Both par
ties played the coward because they
wanted the liquor vote don't believe
there was anything in the platform up
on which Governor Leedy was elected
that suggested this great issue. In the
Republican platform on which Cover
nor Morrill, was elected-and Governor
Morrill, enforced the law Just as Gov
ernor Lecdy is enforcing tt-there was
nothing about prohibition. When We
put more prohibition in our speeches
and sermons, the law abiding people in
this community will sweep the lawless
element from the face of the earth
The revival must begin at the family
bearthstone You must quit playing the
coward when you go into your political
conventions next fall When you Sc
Iect your officer, select man in sym
pathv with tho law and then give him
hacking Voice. a Democrat like
John Martin will do IT'D Yes, John
Martin cleaned out every saloon in the
cftv. He did it because ne understood
bfe oath of office and because his con
stituency gave him backing We ought
to 90 down upon our knees and pray
cod for forgiveness for our own short
couaings Let US rededicate ourselves
to This cause and defeat every man