Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1905-11-02
ON THE TRAIN.

The day coach between New York
and Buffalo was pretty well crowded,
and naturally the general discussion
was the election
The attention of the passengers was
attracted to a clerical looking indivi-
dual who sat about the centre or the
car and was talking in a rather ex-
citedly loud tone of voice to man in
the seat just ahead
The reverend gentleman was say
ing:
mo, sir; / did not throw away my
vote; but you and every other man
who voted the prohibition ticket did,
curse. believe in prohibition, preach
for prohibition and pray for prohibi-
ton
But vote for whisky, quietly in
terrupte1 the man in the front seat.
You insult me, sir!' replied the
preacher in voice that startled
everybody in the car, and at once all
the passengers ceased their converse
ton and gave their attention to the
preacher. mo man shall tell me in
my face without being rebuked that 1
vote for whisky I have preached for
twenty years, and my voice has always
been for prohibition but | do not be-
lieve in bringing the matter into poll
tics. I have voted with my party for
over twenty years, and don't propose
to throw away my vote on a party
that never can elect its candidate"
Just then man sitting IN a rear
seat, who had been an Interested list
ener to the discussion, came forward,
and fastening two bright, black eyes,
which looked out through a pair of
gold eyeglasses, on the preacher,
said:
Pardon me, sir; did | understand
you to say. you are a preacher
Yes. sir,
That you believe in prohibition
Yes, sir. I have preached it for
twenty years, and believe the liquor
traffic to be the curse of this nation,
and that every rum seller ought to be
behind prison bars.
.sYou also said you voted yesterday
for the candidates of one of the old
parties?"
Yes, sir; the party have always
supported.
rs your party in favor of license
or prohibition
Il don't think the question has any
thing to do with political parties
Probably not, but did any rum sell
Ter vote the same ticket as your"
ooh. yes; probably many thousands
OF them"
DO you think that a single rum
seller in the United States voted the
Prohibition ticket yesterday"
Certainly not
''Why?"
why? Why, because they would
be fools to support a political party
that would, if it got into power,
sweep away their business into ever
lasting oblivion.
"Oh, I thought you said the ques
ton of prohibition was not political
one. The rum sellers evidently think
it is. Now, sir, If liquor man who
believes In license, defends license,
spends money for it, talks it and votes
it, would be fool to vote the Prohi-
bition ticket, would like to know
what you are, who believe in prohibit
ton, preach 1t and pray for it, but
vote the same ticket as the rum sell
ler."
There was a pause. The sharp,
black eyes of the questioner were
fixed on the reverend gentleman, who
evidently was not prepared for such
a thrust.
Finally he managed to say: l re-
fuse to answer such an insulting ques-
ton, sir. vote according to the die
tates of my conscience, and
Il beg your pardon, sir, but you do
nothing of the kind. Every time you
cast your ballot for your rum-ruled
liquor law party, you vote in direct
opposition to your conscience, and
you know it. You also know that the
liquor business of this nation is Ii
censed every year by law You know
that political parties make and main
tain the law. You know that your
political party could not, if it would.
pass or enforce prohibitory laws. You
know that fully one-third of the sa-
loonists and brewers and distillers Of
this land vote the same ticket as you
do
You know that your vote yester-
day will be counted as being in favor
of the saloon You know that the only
way you can inform the government
that you believe in Prohibition is
through a Prohibition ballot. You
know that there are 100000 Chris
tian voters in this nation who profess,
like yourself, to favor Prohibition, but
the most of whom vote every year
with you for whisky. You know that
the angel Gabriel could not pick out
your vote from that OF rum seller
as it lay in the box yesterday.
You know all this, I say, and yet
you raise your hands in a holy pro-
test when this gentleman here ven
tured to remark that you voted for
whisky. Let me tell you, sir, that the
rum seller who votes with the license
party for the protection and perpetual
ton of his business, is thousand times
more deserving of respect for honesty
and consistency than you, who profess
to favor Prohibition, but vote direct
ly for whisky. Your professions IN