Willmar tribune., 1909-10-06
The NECESSITY, INFLUENCE
AND FUTURE OF Tue
PROHIBITION PARTY,

AND FUTURE OF TUE
PROHIBITION PARTY.
Out Of grim necessities Of politi-
cal exigencies that followed in the
turbid train of Civil war, the pro-
hibition party was born.
The leaders of the republican
party in early days were prohibi-
tionists. So was its rank and file.
Abraham Lincoln, its first presi-
dent, took the platform for prohibi-
tion before he took it against
slavery. In one of his earliest re-
corded speeches he said, whether
or not the world would be vastly
benefited by a total and final BAN
ishment from it Of all intoxicating
drinks seems to me now an open
question. Three-fourths of man.
kind confess the affirmative with
their tongues, all the rest acknow-
ledge it in their hearts,
He signed his name to the fol-
lowing; ''The most effectual reme-
dy would be the passage of a law
altogether abolishing the liquor
traffic, except for mechanical.
chemical, medical and sacramental
purposes. That was prohibition.
Horace Greeley, the republican
party's greatest editor, wrote,
"What temperance men want is not
the regulation of the liquor traffic,
but its destruction: not that its evils
be circumscribed or veiled, but that
they be utterly eradicated. No
shilly shally legislation can endure.
1t would be good for nothing if it
would. Stave in the heads of the
barrels; put out the fires of the
distilleries; confiscate the demi-
joins. bottles and glasses that have
been polluted with the Internal
traffic. That was prohibition.
James G. Blaine, was equally en-
phatic. He wrote editorially, lit
can be no longer any question that
we have a powerful party =
with the flags Of temperance, free
dom and American enterprise proud
ly waving at the mast
Drive rum as beverage from all
the avenues of society and the tide
Of national prosperity and true
glory shall roll on from generation
to generation.' That meant prohi
bition.
Senator Henry Wilson, afterwards
vice-president under Grant said, 81
would as soon have this govern
ment license gambling houses or
houses of ill-fame; and it would be
just as creditable to this congress.
1t has been the struggle of the re-
tailers of rum all over this country
for quarter of a century to adopt
the license system and to get IL
censed. No laws are infinitely bet.
ter than license laws.'' That was
prohibition.
But in the turmoil of war all
else was forgotten. The internal
revenue law of 1862 was the truce
Of the republican party with the
liquor interests. James G. Blaine
was so far dominated by this spirit
of his party that he said to the
brewers convention, 1.-THE policy OF
the republican party is the policy
of protection and fostering for all
American industries. That meant
surrender.
The prohibitionist now had two
roads open to him-to dishonor his
conscience and his flag; or build a
new party which would be the
vehicle of his political convictions.
This necessity gave birth to the
prohibition party.
The party was felt little in the
politics Of the nation or of any of
the state until 1884, when it multi
piled its vote by ten and was &C.
cused of defeating Blaine for the
presidency.
Following upon that event the
old party Legislators of many states
passed remedial or prohibitory
laws, or submitted constitutional
amendments to the people. Prohi-
bition organs and party leaders
furnished the chief machinery for
original research and scientific in
vestigation upon which the litera-
ture and agitation of the question
was based, exerting an influence
far out of proportion to numerical
strength, an influence unequaled if
not unapproached by any other
agency.
AS to its future the prohibition
party is eminently and peculiarly
tits own architect" That future
will therefore depend very largely
upon the plans and specifications
not of political principles, but of
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