Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-05-27

The Iowa prohibition,sts convened
this afternoon at 2 o'clock in the eas
court room in their annual convention
The attendance at the opening session
vas all that could be desired, and b!
eyening II is thought that 500 delegate:
will be in attendance. ready for the rea
work of the convention, which VIII D'
transacted tomorrow.
Rev. W. D. Elweil, Of Des Moines
state chairman, called the convention tc
order and read the official call. after
which he introduced the McColls, tenn
perance evangelists, of Des Moines. whr
sang. Rev. Elijah Brown Jones, D. d.
pastor of the First Baptist church, Of
fered prayer. and Rev. j. G. Van Ness
d. D.. of Mount Vernon, presiding elder
of the Cedar Rapids district of the
Methodist church, was introduced as
temporary chairman. DIR. Van Ness
styled his ADDRESS as Party Prohibi-
tion,' and spoke as follows:
.Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentle
men, Prohibitionists and Friends
Fer the honor conferred upon me
thank you. am especially glad tc
speak at this convention and in this
presence for before me are some tc
whom IL was my pleasure to minister
for three years. My pastorate Of the
Methodist Episcopal pulpit in this cit.
was a complete refutation that min
lister can not stand in a prominent pull
pit and speak emphaticaliy and un-
ed Spcally on the question of the pro
hibition OF the liquor traffic. Eight
hundred members without sign of pro-
test respected my pronounced person
al views and were answering in their
loyalty to the speaker The church
wants no automaton men. 1t prefers
men who speak out rather than ask
permission to say things; clergymer
who have @ reason for their hope ma!
tell II. Every door thus shut, the al.
mighty swings open bigger one. The
Creator made man first, clergyman
sfterward. All hail to Christianity
great enough to welcome tramplec
truth: TO bow it's head to traduceo
and maIigned yet righteous cause anc
reyerently listen to its grief. To lister
means in Fastening days to reach out
the hand of permanent help. But
came not to talk Of the church and Its
relation to the traffic as would quite
prefer to do, but to answer ques-
tlon.
.nrwo years ago returning from the
prohibition convention at Des Moine:
and sitting in the car, a gentleman
asked. What need Is there of pro-
hibition party?' Governor Shaw in.
stantly retorted, There is no need
..The evils Of the liquor traffic hard
Iy need restating. They are abundant
visible, universal, awful. Millions o
dollars per year are wasted over the sa
loon counter Twenty-Five bars in Mar
shalltown, $1,000 per day. $S15.00o pc
wear gone from legitimate trade. NJ
wonder your business men grieve owe
financial conditions here. Such waste
ia enough to ruin any town. From
seyenty-five to ninety per cent Of al
1he criminals that inhabit jails anc
nenitentiaries. until an almost unbe.
IieyatIe sum for cost Of trial, suppor
and loss to the state OF industrious NE
iei written as incurred by the whiskj
business. Accident insurance compan'
ieA pay $4,000 on each life lost. Iht
ltduor business buries each year loo,oo'
pdople in drunkards' graves, or nv
hundred million dollars in flesh an
! blood. flesh and blood! Alas, for thes
there is no compensation. Prayers an
+4ars and hopes and loves are as far a
STARS above coin and there are no scale
that can weigh the pain OF tears, 0
plurnmet line that can sound the dept
ef a broken heart. The matter or vast
and want and crime and pauperism an
wrecked homes and drunkards grave
are all sadly familiar, and yet GoVerno
shaw saw no need of prohibitioi
party.
"In all civilized lands there is al
established form of government. Tn
health. happiness and prosperity AM
perpetuity of the people demand II
Absolute monarchy holds sway in som
lands: limited monarchy in others
ours is supposed to be a goVernmen
! of The people, for the people and by tn
r;eople. We have chosen this way an
kntend TO preserve It, Men are divide
I into parties. as questions affectfn
Z the aims of government are perceive
q
eypress their opinions at the ballot bo,
This is practically their only way I
change the attitude of the sovernmen
toward an existing evil. The balio
is the voice of the citizen in his inhu
8 ence on governmental affairs. Two grea
4 political parties divide very large'
{ Americas citizens. Each champion
what it regards as the interests OF tn
state or what is expedient to secur
;ts own dominancy. On this grea
81 and growing evil, the parties alternat
,ne. IN rule. are profoundly, PERSISTENT
4 and perriciously silent. The repuh
4 ucan party does not claim to be pro
hibition party. The present republica
governor, hating the very principles c
! prohibition and thinking his party to
Z intimate with temperance Legislation
took his satellites and shone upon II