Backbone. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. ;) 1897-1906, 1904-11-01
EDITORIAL.
Not a saloonist voted for Swallow.

Not saloonist voted for Swallow.
The country is Saved" once more.
That is to say, the saloon goes on.
Did your ballot differ from that of
hundreds of thousands of distillers,
brewers and saloonkeepers?
The so-called visible church was as
invisible as usual on election day, so
far as any fight with the saloon was
concerned
The saloon has been authorized to
drench the land in blood during an
other four years-but not by our bal
lots. Thank God for that!
1t remains true that all voters are
either saloon perpetuationists or sa-
loon destructionists. The test is not
in the intention but in the ballot.
The defense of profanity by Mime
sofa u. S. Senator would seem to call
upon former leaders of the Grand Old
Party to rise from the dead and de-
fend it from it's friends.
How many Republican and Demo
cratic candidates did you hear denounce
the saloon during the campaign? Yet
millions of saloon-haters supported
these candidates with their ballots.
Some of our Thanksgiving matter
has been compelled to give way to
election returns, which happily furnish
PrOhibitionists with much cause for
thanksgiving. This issue is also de-
layed, awaiting the returns of our vote
1t is amusing to note the interest
which is being manifested in our lit
tie family unpleasantness by not few
who have seemed to be profoundly I'M
conscious of the warfare which the
Prohibition party has been waging
against the saloon all these years.
One of the humors of the campaign
was the statement, made by Dunn
orator, that his candidate had not
drank liquor for four years. 'sHe
can't; said the speaker, ''liquor is
poison to him. Who ever before
heard of intoxicating liquor containing
any poisonous element?
We won, not so much because our
vote was materially increased as be-
cause we stood for what is right. In
a thousand conventions we declared
what the right was and on election
day backed it up with our ballots. It
is not sufficient to say that such a
course will win. It won.
What reason is there to expect Presi-
dent Roosevelt to say or do anything
toward pulverizing the saloon in the
next four years? Has he declared his
uriv, Ia
platform upon which he ran promise
relief? How many in the land voted
for any such thing?
Through all the years of her his
tory, to and including Sunday, Nov.
6, 1904, the church has been saying,
seek We first the kingdom of God and
his righteousness" On Tuesday,
Nov 9Th, however, the great bulk Of
her voting membership put the inter-
ests of the kingdom of God last and
gave the first place to continuation
of prosperity, imperial greatness and
the band-wagon.
Now that great army of good and
patriotic men have voted new lease
of life to the saloon and to have the
saloon issue ignored, they will spend
the remainder of the quadrennium
kicking at what they voted for. They
will wonder that the 'great and good
men, whom they have put in power
do not recommend and work and vote
for the prohibition of the liquor traffic
They will not realize that these mer
were nominated and elected by politi
cal parties which receive the support
of the saloon in return for their policy
of non-interference or protection.