Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-10-07
Wheeler.Brown Discussion on
Prohibition Question q
Rank Fiasco
BROWN IN wHEELER's EMPLOY
Speaker. Present No Arguments and
Cite No Authorities or Statistics
Bearing on Question Under Discus.
sion-Brown Wants to See Country
and Is Not Travelling for Health.

ever been perpetrated on an aud
fence in this city, the So
called Wheeler-Brown debate" pulled
off in the east court room Monday eve
ming under the auspices of the prohi-
bition party, was positively the worst
1t was debate in name only and
should rather be termed a prohibition
dressing party, where man in efigy.
who claims to be member of the re-
publican party, was put up as a punch
ing bag on which Rev. A. j. Wheeler,
of New York, could swing and counter
jab and upper cut at will. To call it
q debate is to misname 1t. 1t was rath-
er an occasion to give the York state
preacher an opportunity to cause pro-
hibition hands to redden with applause
and prohibition sides to shake with
laughter at hits and sallies made at
the large political powers thru an In
competent opponent in the person of Mr..
Joseph Brown, of Boston.
The east court room was entirely
filled with prohibitionists, few MEM
bers of the other political parties and
one or two pops" About six rounds,
'Of fifteen minutes each, were fought
Rev. Wheeler opening the addresses of
the evening with a plea that the au-
dience believe and trust the utterances
of his opponent, Mr.. Brown, whom he
knew to be speaking what he believed
to be the truth.
The subject, as given out for discus
sion, was Prohibition VS.. License"
but any other subject would have APP
piled as we'll, as both speakers wan
dered far from the path of the sub
ject into depths entirely foreign and
having no bearing whatever on it. 1t
was the prohibitionists' night to howl,
and Rev.Wheeler,w with afierce demeanor
and a laundering voice, combed down
and dressed up his manikin opponent
in a style that more than pleased the
people for whose benefit it was pulled
Off. Utter contradictions were the
theme of the hour, and what one speak
er said the other contradicted, yet
neither produced evidence nor cited sta
tistics to prove his assertions and the
nearer was compelled to judge for him
self which came the nearer to the
truth.
AS stated before 1t was prohibition
affair, conceived by that party, and
paid for by that party's money. Judg-
ing by the sympathy Rev. Wheeler
received from the audience 1t was
pleased, for that was the purpose, and
in choosing an opponent for the re-
verend gentleman they were apparently
careful to select one who could as
poorly represent the side of the ques-
ton that he stood for as 1t was pos
sible to find. BY Mr.. Browns own
statement, after the debate, made to a
representative of the T.-R., that is what
he is paid for. He says he is not
in the business for the love Of 1t,
but for the salary that Rev.
Wheeler pays and to see the west thru
which he had never before travelled.
incidentally he mentioned to present
his side of the question" But shall
the servant be greater than his master?
II, as he says, Rev. Brown pays him
for the happenings he receives, he
would indeed be i'll bred if he turned
and smote that master. Every fair
minded person is glad of the oppor-
tunity to listen to the presentation Of
two sides of proposition, in which
there is as much interest centered poll
tically as this one, but to be compelled
to listen to a man who will SO far de-
mean himself as to become the
tool for salary of party advocate
whose sole object is to hold UP in rid
icule the principles Of a great party, it
is too much. If Mr.. Brown is a re-
publican, as he claims to be, and
lawyer at that, he is indeed pitiable
representative of the party whose prin-
aciples he advocates.