TWO PROHIBITION PARTIES.
By W. S. G.
The attempt to carry temperance reform to ultimate success by means of a political party organization, has received another backset. The Prohibition National Convention, which recently met at Pittsburg, resulted in two parties and two national tickets. From the first the attempt to make the temperance cause carry a political party has been uphill work. Even the church element would not sacrifice political predilections for the much-needed reform. This fact was emphasized by John P. St. John, once a presidential candidate, who made the statement that out of 4,000,000 church voters the party could poll but 270,000. The party started out with the single issue of prohibition, but were induced to add some more political issues in order to win over certain “reform” elements to its support. So woman suffrage, Sunday lawism, government ownership of railroads, and a number of other planks, were added. While these additions to party policy drew some votes, many other temperance advocates found in them pretexts for not voting for the party’s nominees. But at the recent convention the process of platform making was suddenly blocked by the proposition to insert a free-silver plank. It would not be an up-to-date political party without striking on the rock of the free coinage of silver. After a heated contest, free silver was voted down. Then a single-issue resolution was introduced, and carried. Following is the platform as adopted:— “We, the members of the Prohibition party, in national convention assembled, renewing our declaration of allegiance to Almighty God as the rightful ruler of the universe, lay down the following as our declaration of political purpose:— “The Prohibition party, in national convention assembled, declares its firm conviction that the manufacture, exportation, importation, and sale of alcoholic beverages has produced such social, commercial, industrial, and political wrongs, and is now so threatening the perpetuity of all our social and political institutions, that the suppression of the same by a national party organized therefor, is the greatest object to be accomplished by the voters of our country, and is of such importance that it, of right, ought to control the political actions of all our patriotic citizens until such suppression is accomplished. “The urgency of this course demands the union without further delay of all citizens who desire the prohibition of the liquor traffic; therefore be it. Resolved, That we favor the legal prohibition by state and national legislation of the manufacture, importation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. That we declare our purpose to organize and unite all the friends of prohibition into one party, and in order to accomplish this end we deem it of right to leave every Prohibitionist the freedom of his own conviction upon all other political questions, and trust our representatives to take such action upon other political questions as the changes occasioned by Prohibition and the welfare of the whole people shall demand.” Because, as the Voice says, “the convention did not feel like leaving out the usual suffrage plank, which had for so many years held an honored place in the platform,” the following resolution was subsequently adopted:— “Resolved, That the right of suffrage ought not to be abridged on account of sex.” The candidates nominated by the convention are: For president, Joshua Levering, of Maryland; for vice president, Hale Johnson, of Illinois. Mr. Levering is a Baptist, and vice president of the Baptist Publication Society, while Mr. Johnson is a member of the Disciple Church. Prof. Samuel Dickie was reëlected chairman of the National Committee. But even inside the Prohibition party it has been demonstrated that politicians think more of politics than of temperance reform, so they can not consistently censure politicians in other parties for doing likewise. After the adoption of the foregoing platform, the free-silver advocates organized an independent convention. Their platform includes all the political points that might have been in that of the original convention had it not been for the free-silver proposition. It declares for prohibition of the liquor traffic; for woman suffrage; for government ownership of railroads and telegraphs; for no more land grants except to actual settlers; for the issuance of money only by the government, and that in sufficient quantities to supply business demands; for the free coinage of both gold and silver, at a ratio of 16 to 1; for a general Sunday law; for the abolishment of convict labor; for equity in taxation of the property and incomes of the people; for unsectarian public schools in the English language only; for pensions for ex-soldiers and sailors, graded according to disability and service; for the exclusion of paupers and criminals from other countries; for the election of president and vice-president by direct vote; and declaring that all money issued by the government should be a full legal tender for all debts, public and private. The convention adopted the name of the National Party for the new organization, and nominated standard bearers as follows: For president, Rev. C. E. Bentley, of Nebraska; for vice president, J. H. Southgate, of North Carolina. L. B. Logan, of Ohio, is chairman of the new party’s national committee. Among the more prominent of the seceders we note the names of Ex-Governor St. John, Helen M. Gougar, and Chauncey Dunn, the latter being a California champion; also R. S. Thompson, editor of the New Era, Springfield, Ohio. It is not to be supposed that the “narrow-gauge” party, as the single-issue party is styled, have laid aside the principles heretofore espoused in their platforms. It is not denied that the dropping of every issue but straight prohibition is a mere political policy. It has become well understood that no platform including current issues and disputes can ever unite the temperance element in a political party. Experience ought also to have taught before this time that comparatively few men will vote for candidates for high office on a single moral issue, and ignore those who represent the political issues in which they are more interested. It is a fact that all the practical victories for temperance, and especially for prohibition, have been won when one or the other of the old political parties were in power; when prohibition was before the people to be voted upon, without reference to candidates for office. Neither in Maine, Iowa, nor Kansas did the special Prohibition party carry the prohibition victory. It was the dissemination of temperance principles through temperance literature and lectures that aroused the sentiment among men of all parties, who voted for prohibition and also for their party candidates. This division in the Prohibition party while yet a mere handful, on purely political issues, is the strongest possible evidence that temperance reform can not be built up on a political foundation. When it has become a power as a popular sentiment that politicians can not afford to ignore, then all the parties will recognize it. But that position will have to be attained by other means than party politics. W. S. G.