The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1908-07-24
BEASMAN HITS HARD
SAYS ANDERSON TALKS TEMPERANCE
and PLAYS POLITICS

hND LhIU IULlllUO
Does Not Understand the First Pfin.
cipleS OF Fair Dealing
Senator Johnnie E. Beasman, of this
county, has sent the following reply to
the recent letter of Superintendent
William H. Anderson, of the Maryland
Anti-Saloon League:
Sykesville, Md, July 21.
Mr.. William H. Anderson,
Baltimore, Md:
Dear Sir-I have your communica-
tion of the 10th inst, containing your
personal attack on my integrity and
honesty and asking me to appear be-
fore you and render an account of my
stewardship as a member of the Mary
land Senate. I was not aware that
the people of my county, or of the
State, had constituted you the judge
and arbiter of it's servants; and I
should treat your last bid for public
notice with the silence it deserves if
1t were not Tor TWO IaCLS.
One is, that your statement of my
position and record on the temperance
question is knowingly and Intention
ally false. This I will demonstrate
in my own way and at my own time,
not to you, but to my constituents,
with whom am quite sure my stand
ing for honesty and fair dealing, and
faithfulness to the public veal, is
quite as good as yours.
My other reason for answering your
scurrilous attack is that dislike to
let pass so excellent an opportunity
to give you a few kindly words of
advice.
1t is common knowledge that the
defeat of local option in the lower
house of the last Legislature was due
very largely to your own dictatorial
and demagogic methods. Your un-
called for personal attacks, on faithful
public servants; your gross pervers1on
of the facts; your palpable efforts to
play politics and assume the role of d
political boss; your clumsy attempts
to make it appear that you were the
spokesman of the churches, and that
all who were opposed to you were the
friends of iniquity; your blatant bluffs
as to your great personal Importance:
your conscious and intentional mis-
representations as to the public Senti-
ment behind you-all helped to weak
en- the cause of temperance day by
day at Annapolis. You know this as
well as 1 do; but your present career
is that of an agitator, and the moment
you cease to agftate, your livelihood
in this line, of course, would be gone;
hence you cannot admit these facts
as l present them.
| need hardly remind you that the
question of prohibition, or its firs1
step-local option-is one on which
many sincere and thoughtful men diff.
fer. Temperance is fundamentally 6
great moral issue. You make it youl
business to obscure this issue. Il
means dollars and cents to you to dc
SO. You get into the pulpits on the
temperance question as moral issue
and accumulate your lucrative re-
wards by appealing to the desire q
all good people to improve these con
ditions; then having thus secured {
following and money, you play poll
tics.
You are trying to get your hands
into the local politics of every count!
in this State; you are trying to make
the local leaders believe that you hole
the balance of power in their countie:
and that you must be considered no
only on the temperance question, bu
on all others. You are trying to say
who shall be Congressman and die
tate nominations and party policies
You are playing a cute political game
Are you playing it in the cause o.
temperance? Not at all. You are
after political power. 1t pays yor
well. -
On the great question of how best tt
promote the cause of temperance
am glad to meet and consult my peo
pie at all times. But I, for one, an
not willing to recognize you as a po
litical dictator, nor to further youl
plans to use the temperance question
for your personal pecuniary and po
litical purposes. Nor am I willing tt
meet you in joint debate, nor to gel
into any further controversy what.
ever with you, either in the mails OF
the newspapers, until you learn the
first principles of fair dealing between
men and are willing to recognize the
amenities which gentlemen in this
State usually observe.
You have come here from West
ern state preaching discord, upheaval
and hysteria in the hope of acquiring
power and influence. Let me suggest
that if you have the cause of temper
ance really at heart, you study the
temper of our Maryland people. They
do not like your ways, your arrogance
your personal abuse, your onesided-
ness, your Indifference to the truth
Perhaps, if the people of this grand
old State could acquaint themselves
with your unknown antecedents, few
er pulpits and fewer purses would
open to you.
You are, therefore, welcome, Mr.
Anderson, to attack my record on all
public questions. The people of Car
roll county are entitled to know my
position, and my course of action In
all such questions, and am always
anxious to enlighten them; but think
they will prefer to obtain it from me
and from the public records rather
than from you, who up to short time
ago were unknown to them. think
also that they will agree with me in
considering that your last cheap bid
for notoriety is as impertinent as il
is insulting. Yours very truly,
JOHNNIE e. BEASMAN,