The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-07-07


it is small, Most Of the great move
ments of history came from small
beginnings. 'fhe Prohibitionist party,
however, mas been nominating tickets
and making platforms for many years
and the tendency appears toward
weakness rather than strength Is
there any real need for a Prohibit
Zionist party? The Journal believes
that to this fair question reply in
the negative must be given. The
peopio"of Vermont and the people of
the UNITED States steadfastly have re-
fused in any considerable numbers,
to make a political Prohibitionist
party the custodian of the cause of
temperance I'm the ranks of the
great political parties will be found
millions of voters who stand for
real temperance but they do not
consider that a separate party is re-
quired for the purpose.
Every year, at a time when there
are no State or national interests to
distract attention from municipal
problems, the voters in every town and
city of Vermont are given the oppor-
tunity to express their temperance
ideas in vote on the question of IL
censing the sale of intoxicating
liquors. The great majority of our
municipalities, year after year, re-
fuse to sanction the sale of liquor
and the Journal believes that there
is more real prohibition in the State
than there had been for many years
under the prohibitory law. 1t is urg-
ed that one wet" town will corrupt
many dry" towns in its vicinity and
illustrations are cited to show that
murders may be traced to liquor sold
in license towns to persons from no
license communities. Those who
make this argument forget that MUIR
ders could be traced to drunkenness
in the days when prohibition was a
State policy. The serious error into
WHICH many NtLy SOOu pOopiC iU'' 40
in considering that the greatest pos
sihle victory for temperance is won,
and that righteousness is established
when prohibitory law is placed on
! the statute book. A vote to shut out
the saloon every year, keeps the is
sue live one, and represents public
sentiment. A State law prohibiting
the sale of liquor il much less like
| ly to command respect and the pub
lie become Indifferent.
The Prohibition platform demands
the resubmission of prohibition to
the people by constitutional amend
ment. The Republican platform en-
presses the belief that the local OPP
ton principle should not be abandon
ed without a referendum similar tC
that by which it was adopted. j
| the journal believed that majority
of the voters of Vermont desired an
other referendum on the liquor ques-
ton it would favor it, but it does moi
so believe. If such a demand exists
then it should manifest itself in the
election of members of the Legisla-
ture.
Temperance principles cannot be
confined to a single party any more
than any other virtue can be politi-
cally organized. The third party has
accomplished the defeat of good men
| in some instances by drawing away
votes from the better of two candi-
dates. Several years ago Sheriff in
a Vermont county, in the days when
the prohibitory law was in force, had
been particularly vigilant in enforc-
ing the act, and by his faithfulness
had incurred the enmity of the liquor
element. They attempted to throw
sufficient number of votes to the
Democratic candidate to defeat the
Republican official. No third party
man could have done better work for
prohibition that the man in office. and
yet a Prohibition candidate was nom-
mated. BY a very narrow margin
the Republican candidate won, but
! his success was imperilled by the
very men who claimed to be the hest
temperance men in the county This
is fair illustration of the most that
third party Prohibitionist ticket can
accomplish. There is no real demand
for the existence of such a party.