The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-11-02
ALBERT GR1FF1N,s CHANGE.


startling For anyone to turn from
the principles of prohibitionist to the
opposition would be startling enough.
but for a man who has been a most
jealous worker and an ardent ex-
FOUNDER of the doctrines of temperance
and prohibition to suddenly take a
change of base is almost Incompetent
sible, at first thought.
here is no doubt that Mr.. Griffin is
now firm in his convictions that pro-
hibition is the wrong method for the
temperance workers to follow as he was
solid in the belief before that prohibit
ton was the worlds salvation. Mr..
Griffin's new views summed up seem to
be that prohibition as a legal means
of stopping the use of liquor is a failure
and that the successful way to stamp
out the evil of drink is to conduct a
vigorous moral campaign for temper
ance. Mr. Griffin in his pamphlet picks
the prohibition law to pieces. severely
criticises the political prohibitionists as
we'll as the politicians who have made
prohibition a catspaw, makes the claim
that the Kansas City liquor dealers are
reaping a harvest on account of the
prohibitory law in Kansas, advances
arguments to show that a prohibitory
law does more harm than good, and
that the best means of spreading the
cause of temperance is moral suasion.
Mr.. Griffin makes some startling
statements in his little book. He says
the temperance cause is losing ground,
and explains it as follows:
Years ago, finding that the temper
ance cause was losing ground every
where, I began diligent search for the
reason, and found it in the fact that
the general cessation of personal COM
mitments against the drink habit and
the substitution of the plan of COM
polling people to cease drinking trans
forms most drinkers from not unfriend-
ly neutrals into active, and, in many
cases, bitter enemies of every kind of
temperance work. In consequence, the
number of tipplers has steadily in
creased; that of total abstainers has
decreased; and the zeal of many more
has waned. In short, we have disin-
tegrated our own army. and needless
ly driven into the opposite ranks host
of neutrals that might have been drawn
into our own.
while many prohibitionists admit
that more moral suasion work is needed
they usually insist that prohibition
must be kept in the foreground as the
ultimate aim; and, in practice, from
nine-tenths to ten-ninths of their
efforts are expended on purely political
lines. Worse than this, they persist
emily inject their pagan method into
the purely personal work others try
to do.
Therefore, as might be expected, it
is no longer possible to persuade the
drinking element to attend such mis-
called temperance meetings. On the
contrary, it keeps others away, and
counteracts the influence of temperance
workers by every possible means 1t is
useless for prohibitionists to insist that
prohibition ought not to have this
effect-nor even to assert that it does
not-for the fact will remain that this
is the way it actually operates
Mr.. Griffins arguments will I'M
doubtedly be combatted by the pro-
hibitory forces. He has advanced many
arguments against prohibition that
were coined by the opposition long ago.
and the prohibitionists have the same
arguments to offer to refute them
Still many of Mr.. Griffin's statements
are startling, as coming from him,
and his action will be the subject of
discussion. Many men have changed
political beliefs, and as Mr.. Griffin
claims that prohibition is now regard
ed almost as political faith, his
change may be no more startling than
the going over to the enemy of poll
ticians.
There are a few things, however, that
Mr.. Griffin cannot answer in explaining
his change of front, so far as Topeka
is concerned. The fact is that when the
license system was in force in this
city, the town was full of disgraceful
tors in politics. Today there are no
saloons. Would Mr.. Griffin like the old
order restored? Does he think any
system for checking the liquor evil will
do away with moral suasion and with
any other good effort to support tenn
perance? There is no complete and
perfect method for solving the whisky
question. Neither is there for the pre-
vention of theft and other crimes.
With all it's faults prohibition works
better in Topeka than license ever did.