The public weal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1906-1908, 1906-07-15
On 10 the Legislature!
Continued from Page ]

years later. Abraham LluCOlu, pTO-
tectionist, Hannibal Hamlin, free
trader, but both honest men, forgot
the ponderous problem of tariff-sched-
ules and espoused the "simpering,
silly sentimentalities" of the Adolf
tionists, as a great and mighty polit-
cal war-cry, and swept on to victory
the "rub-a-dub-dub agitation" which
Daniel Webster declared was too con-
temptible to even enter the mind OF
statesman! That the Abolitionists
ever elected a man to office was sig
nificant only as it was instrumental
in that most memorable service which
they rendered this nation-the election
of the mightiest moral issue that
ever quickened the civic conscience
Of people.
Five To Eight per Cent Will Do The
Business.
Whether the issue be right or
wrong, the polling for it of five to
eight per cent of the total vote of a
state or nation will in a free republi-
can government write it on the politi-
cal calendar for hearing at the next
general election. And the writing will
be so plain and indelible that the
hands of all politicians and statesmen
cannot erase it.
Another example. There had been
no long and vigorous agitation of the
free silver issue. Parity of metals"
''the divine ratio" sixteen to one,"
free coinage" the "crime of 49," and
the like were all terms foreign to the
vocabulary of even the cultured until
in 1892 there were 1,041, 900 votes for
Weaver and sixteen to one, and then
the nomenclature of the economist
was common to the gibberish of the
curb and the measured phrase of the
drawing room. And in 1896 a boot
black could get a larger hearing on the
money question than prophet could
on any other political problem.
Quod Frat Demonstrandum.
Now, therefore, to enroll, cast and
count $4,000 votes in the state of Min
nesota for the Prohibition party, COM
mitted to the destruction of the saloon,
will mark the liquor problem up for
hearing at the next general election.
And the saloon has no defenders. It's
apologists never defend the saloon on
man who is about to explain that he
votes for and supports the saloon pre-
faces his remarks by saying, Tam
just-as-g ood-a-Prohibition
b tt" And his subjunctive con-
junction, when analysed, will reduce
to two per cent prejudice, nine per
cent Indifference and eighty-nine per
cent hopelessness. About every ten
thousandth man is hypocrite and a
liar and does not mean what he says.
The other $500 are as honest and
patriotic as we are, but they don't
know as much-on the liquor prob
lem. The purpose of the proposition
to enroll $4,000 votes for Prohibition
is to give hope to the hopeless, make
the Indifferent different and turn the
two parts of prejudice for us instead
of against us. Every man ought to
have two per cent prejudice on vital
questions to give him stability
A Big Job.
1t is big job. It will take work.
While there never was a time when
men were SO ready to join such
movement, yet to enroll $4,000 we will
have to interview perhaps 100000
men.
We Can Do 1t.
But we can do it. Our highest vote
two years ago was 12,439. During the
past two years men of all parties have
Joined our ranks in numbers hereto
fore unknown. We can enlist 5000
volunteer workers who will take an
average Of five enrollments each. That
means $4,000 enrollments. There are
500 volunteers who will canvass given
territory and send in an average of
rs votes each. One man has already
sent in IS cards and the movement is
only five days old at this writing, July
9TH. That means 1880 more Our