The national prohibitionist. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1907-1911, 1908-02-06
THE NATIONAL lPR0HfBiT1oNlSf

from all parts of the country is the excuse of the
following detailed statement
Our campaigns have been middle -of-the-road
Prohibition party campaigns There has been no
trade dicker, fusion, job, truce other collision
with any other party, faction, ring We have
stood for Prohibition as the only means of re-
storing the government to the people, and have
insisted that it must come through the hands of
representatives of the people, standing the
platform of a political party openly committed
to that policy. Our campaign literature, posters,
cards and speeches have all been openly for the
Prohibition party.
These points emphasized, first, because
many have somehow possessed themselves of the
that we traded national, state or local votes
for legislative votes; second because in some
states where "Prohibtion" legislators were elect
ed they were fusion victories, the members in
some cases being officially recognized as the rep
resentatives of other parties; third, because some
of the prohibition" campaigns have been so con-
Quoted as to conceal the fact that the candidate
represented the Prohibition party or principle
The campaign card of a Prohibition nominee
from another state for the legislature in 1906 is
before me, on which no syllable or insignia of
any sort or kind would lead the most careful
observer to suppose that the was sympa-
thetic with any advance legislation on the tenn
perance question, though the card contains 1OS
words descriptive of the candidates qualifications
and his platform of principles.
Our most striking departure from the usual
mode of Prohibition campaigns is the applica-
ton of the military tactics of "massng the
forces" In setting forth of the consdera-
tons which led to be adoption of the plan there
is no intent to claim that it has the merit of DO
litical wisdom. This article is descriptive, not
argumentative.
The license system is a creature of the law,
and through that law the liquor traffic enjoys pro-
lection. The law is wrong 1t ought to be
changed. A good law ought to be substituted
by legislators. Hence legislators ought to be
Prohlbltlon1sts. Again, we felt that we would
have double influence with the voter if we could
establish clearly in his mind cogent and logical
reason for supporting nominees, based upon
the claims of the party, rather than upon the
doubtful basis of the personal superiority of our
candidates. This eliminated the clerical offices
from consideration. Finally we wanted to win
and it looked to us as though the "massng of
forces" with the legislature as the objective was
the way to do the job.
An army officer reported to headquarters, "We
put to rout it is tantamount to victory that we
escaped with honor" That was fine and brave
and makes good reading; but in practical warfare
it would have been better if they could have es-
capped with a few muskets, and blankets, and
ammunition trains, and pie wagons, in addition
to their honor. We have kept our honor and
brought away some goods.
So much, then, for our tactics, and the con-
siderations that led to their adoption
Now, briefly, to the methods. We started on
the hypothesis that the business of the Prohibition
party, reduced to lowest terms, is to get the
@f IL III -