Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-03-03
Friday, March 8, 1905.
TwEEDLEDUM, TwEEDLEDEE

News having asked the question whether
the Anti-Saloon League is not polili.
cal organization, that paper quotes, In
reply, from the VIRGINIA tIrviugton)
CITIZEN, whose editor Is n prominent
member of the league. The CITIZEN
makes first the statement that 1--WE would
say with positiveness and with al! the
emphasis that we are capable of that the
league, as We understand it, will not
enter State politics." Then, after declar-
Ing its conviction that "even if the
leagues principles permitted it, the
astete men at its head remember too well
the history of the prohibition movement
and all temperance movements that al
lowed themselves 10 be drawn into the
political mselstrom," our Iryington con.
temporary adds: "The anti Saloon peo-
pie will divide up on candidates, and the
nearest they will get TO political fusion
will be to see that only temperate men
and men favorable to reasonable tenn
perance measures get the support
OF temperance people" No one will
question the sincerity of the CITI-
Urn In this matter or doubt its
earnest desire that the league be kept
out Of the maelstrom of politics How
ever, in commenting on the CITIZENS
explanation, the Lswrenceville Gazette
remarks: Except for personal reasons
II will be found that the anti-saloon men
will line up to man in favor of Judge
Mann as the only one of the candidates,
rs they claim, who is "a temperate man
and who is favorable to reasonable tenn
perance measures"
Just so. IfJudge Mann remains in the
field, while the league will not inject
prohibition into the fight, with few ex-
ceptions its members and those who
sympathize with It's aims and objects,
will do so. And In the event of his
nomination, thousands of Democrats will
not vote with the party; at the same time
he Will draw no votes from the Republl-
can side. Although without so intend
Ing, the CITIZEN makes @ distinction
without difference. For all practical
purposes so far rs the leagues entering
politics Is concerned, il Is a case of twee-
dledum and tweedledee. Judge Mann
himself should be able to see that, and as
the Williamsburg Gazette puts it, should
not risk jeopardizing the Democratic
party.-Richmond News Leader.
Without discussing with our Rich
mond contemporary its last paragraph
with which, however, we cannot
altogether agree-the CITIZEN will
try to make more explicit its state
ment of some weeks ago, so that there
may be distinction and difference.
The Anti-Saloon League dominates
no candidates, declares for no indi-
vidual and will not line up as an
organization for any particular can
dldate. Its purposes political are to
see that reasonable temperance legis.
latlon is procured for Virginia. To
do this it must be sought at
the hands of the dominant party.
We take it that majority of the
members of the Virginia League are
Democrats; minority Republicans.
1t Is fair to presume that these afiia-
lions will not be affected, but con-
tnued as in the past, and the cues
ton of parties will not enter this
year into the conclusions of temper
ance people. 1t is not expected that
the Republican members of the
League will declare for future Demo-
cratic affiliations (nor vice versa) or
enter into the coming Democratic
primaries. This should dispose of
our statement that the League will
not enter State politics. Let us now
deal only with the majority faction
the Democrats-as to our statement
that the League people will divide
up, seeing to it that only men favor
able to temperance will get their
support.
AT present there are three pro.
nounced candidates for gubernatorial
honors-Messrs. Swanson, Willard
and Mann. So far as we know all
three gentlemen are sans peur ct sans
reproche, consistent members of Pro-
testant churches and tenn perate men.
Judge Mann is the only one of the
three who is member of the Anti
Saloon League; this does not neces-
sarily follow that he is the only
friend of temperance in the bunch.
Judge Mann voluntarily announces
his temperance views; the others NAV
not deem it expedient so to do, even
If called upon-and this we would
deprecate, as verging too much upon
political organization. AS we know
them and as they now stand we could,
as temperance advocates and Anti
Saloon League members, support
with clear conscience any one of the
three. Not one has any faint at
tached to him in private life or
public act that should discredit him
In the eyes Of temperance advocates.
Nor can it be charged that either of
his competitors would attempt to
weaken the law that bears Judge
Mann's name. In fact it has been
stated publicly by press and politl-
clans that there is no candidate in
the field who has an inclination to
disturb the Mann law, and there
have been no denials.
These things being true no doubts
rest on our minds that each of the