The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-08-29
aYoIIRs FRArERNAII.Y,. :.

YOURS F'RATERNALLY.b
 Anything which adds to the gayety of |so serious an affair as a presidential campaign is to be welcomed; and the prohibition candidate, Dr. Swallow, therefore deserves the gratitude of his Icountrymen for the choice humor of his ''open letter to the president. The Rev gentleman has no time 10 take the stump, but he does not intend on that account to pursue policy of silence; nor would any reader of this letter have him do so. It Is. in fact, fairly to be lcalled a remarkable production, Dr. Swallow writes in the kindest spirit; he | signs himself yours fraternally," and what he has to say, even in criticism, savers more of sorrow than of anger. He makes one curious mistake, how ever, in addressing his letter to His
 Excellency." The president of the Unit ed States has no such title, as a candi-
 date for the office ought to know. But Dr. Swallow wrote after sleepless might in the vigils of which the mind would not obey the mandates of the Iwill' There are many things to trouble candidate. Tn this case the use of what he describes as beverage drug" is the disturbing fact.
 Of the sincerity of his conviction that laicohol is the root of all evil Dr. Swal- How leaves no doubt. He not only argues Ithe case with MT. Roosevelt, but he largues him to make prohibition the chief issue in the present campaign.
 This he cuts the ground from under his
 own feet, as it were, and presents his Irival with the platform provided for himself. If Mir Roosevelt took Dr.
 Swallows advice there would De no lneed for pr. Swallow to run. Here is Q ifraternal spirit indeed. The president
 has written strongly about lawlessness+
 How can he account for labor riots, for ilynchings, for public disorders of every Isort? Dr. Swallow answers these ques- ltions easily. Back of, he says, "and Iprompting at least tWo-thirds of this
 violence, is the use as a beverage of a liquid substance, in various forms,
 known as alcohol, which frenzies those
 who use 1t to the extent of rendering them not amenable to persuasion, req ison or law" Dr. Swallow appears to
 think that any alcoholic stirnulant has 1.-the universal effect ascribed to a fine lmorning in England Tt is pleasant; llet us go out and kill something" is the
 French version of English sport. Still, lthere are people who use alcohol and are still "amenable to persuasion, req son or law" Probably the president is Ijust as much opposed to it's abuse as his Iprohibition rival.
 Yet Dr. Swallow would not think so.
 Indeed he points to MT. Roosevelt as Ian awful example. T am informed" he says, that you encourage the use Iof alcohol, by handing 1t out to guests lin the social functions you control in
 the peoples house, popularly known as the White house. and that all over the Hand young men are aping American iroyalty by beginning the use of this Isame drug, which sends yearly a hun ldred thousand of our people to the lgrave, after filling our criminal courts
 almshouses, prisons, and insane hos lpitals with it's bereft victims" Upon lone point, at least, the reverend doctor Lis probably mistaken. The handing Tout" is presumably done, not by the president in person, but by the butler. And it might be plausibly argued that linen, young or old, who wish to have a
 drink do not pause to reflect upon the Ipersonal habits of the president. If this lwere so the Hayes regime at the White lFouse would have established prohibi- ltion over all the broad land forever.
 I Whatever wickedness MT. Roosevelt lmay exhibit by refusing to undertake
 a campaign on the lines suggested by This fraternal rival, he really ought to be acquitted even by prohibitfonists of Ipromoting the drink habit. Their own Literature shows how long the habit has lexisted; and they must confess to hu- lmiliating failure if they say that things lare going from bad to worse. There is lanother historic inaccuracy in Dr. Swallows accusation. Men who drink
 heavily are not aping royalty; they are iharking back to the habits of those lstern foes of royalty, the Puritans of INew England, who had hard heads lit- tile affected by liquor even in deep po- tations, against which the men of colo. tnial Boston were warned in once fa- lmiliar verse. Doubtless there is much Hess alcohol consumed now at the White lhouse than in the early days of the re. lpublic to which many persons like tc fpoint as an era of Arcadian simplicity
 The reverend doctor really weakens his
 argument by his personal allusions. Il
 lis when he enunciates general principles
 that he reaches true moral sublimity Yet even so it may be doubted if the lpresident will accept his fraternal loal 'of an issue. Providence Journal.