The Cairo bulletin., 1908-09-04
Watkins Speech.

| There are many well meaning tenn
pcr6nce men who refuse to unite wi h
| the Prohibition party, believing at
more immediate and pract cal resu Is
cat be obtained through the influence
cf nCn-partsan organizations. TIE
ncnpartisan method has di a9roi lted
! It's warmest advocates but there are
many who are dissatisfied with tn s
method who still do not uuite with
| tho Profi iticn party. They have ey.
cusCs or reasons for refusing to do
SO. One cf the most common is Il do
mot want to throw away my vote" "
But let me ask in the beginning Of
this nhase ef the subject '"Nhy is any
| mll compelled to throw away his
vfte?a Tncause in tie Present plan
Of our government there Is no proyis-
| ion made for minor representa- On,
and this IL the most pressing need OF
euT govern ment today A party that
casts one-twentieth per cent Of 70 Q
Gf . state ought to obtain one TWEEN
| tioth Of It's representation IN corgre 's.
This is only fair and jrst, but the
party that has been in power has
sought to obtain all the power and
shut out the possibility Of The develop.
mnnt Of q new party, no matter how
pressing have been the questions reT-
resented by that party, for it Is a lOrg
AMI discouraging process to get votes
sufficient to obtain a plurality without
which no party secures recognition.
Another excuse for not voting tie
prohibition ticket has often been that
we ere too narrow in our platform;
we have only one political plank. This
has rot been true for a dozen years
and is yerv far from true this year
Whceyer viii examine cur brief aud
comprehensive platform will consider
that we have many panks of consid-
cradle Importance. We ask that b.
fore you present this excuse again,
YOU obtain cony of the platform and
read 1t carefully All excuses for not
voting orr ticket may practically be
summed up in one: If thought YOU
had any chance of success | would be
with YOU" We reply: The conversa
proposition is equally true, If you and
Ian ether Temperance men who believe
in prohibition as a principle, Wee
with us we would certainly succeed,
And this is a sufficient answer to the
excuse. Whenever the people of our
country break this vicious circle Cf
illogical reasoning, and begin to rea-
son III u straight line, then the sue
cess of the prohibition party is net far
III the future We believe that sue
cess is coming aud that signs of pro
aress unhcard Of hitherto are now j.
the air. The Prohibtionists have won
all battles except one Sentiment hes
been created and whoever labors now
me- ely for the creation of temperance
sentiment is wasting valuable tim
which might be better employed.
confidently expect that many who
are now before me will live to see
the saloon an outlaw in all the states
Of the American union. lt may not
be that MIR, Chain will be elected
president of the United States this
year 1t may not be that | will ever
preside over the senate, but some day
a Er0hibtionist will be occupying
each of those positions, and the gov
arnmcnt of the United States will
then cease to thwart the wishes Of j
citizens as expressed by the varioCs
state governments Toward this end
we ask the cooperation, the sympa.
thy, good wishes. and votes Of all who
desire a clean government in which
right eousness shall be euthron~d and
the sin which is a reproach to any
people shall be overthrown. Again !
thank you and the party you repre-
sent for the high honor you have con.
fenod upon me. which will give me
tho privilege of presenting this, the.
best and most necessary gospel that
| could preach from ocean to ocean.
AMI in almost all the states of the
American nation, and when the record
of the great temperance reformation
is written by the impartial historian
of the future. the convention which
nominated Mr. Chafn and myself will
take its place along with the Nir-
ginia convention and the Continental
congress as a landmark of American
progress and Of worldwide reform.