Temperance In Politics

Editor Couhiku - A " tcTiperance líepublican " takes nearly a column in the last Coukikr to convi'ice all temperance people that they sliould continue to vote the Republ'can ticket. He would liave us take it straight anti atk no quesUoos. But lie asks a good many ; to soine of which, witli your peniiisslon, I will brii fly reply. Hu fust wants to know " how moráis are to be advanced by politica] metliods iintil a majority of the voters are moral men ? " I reply the mort effectlve way to secure anyreform is by dUcuwlon, gitation, and Hniilly in politics by organization tor the purpOK of electing those to ili the public offlcpi wlio will establib and carry out the desired reform. Il Luther had remainefl in the Catholic church untll a inajorityof the people of Earope had reformed, wHat would have bccome of the reformation of which he was the leader. If Wesley had remained at home and HPqnlefced In tlie fmnis and doctrine ol bit day until a niijority of the people had becoine Methodist, ¦vrhcro would the Metliodist church nowbe? If our forefatbën had remained loyal to the British crown, who would hare established the Republiek U the antislavery men had oonllnaed to vote the Whljj and Democratie tlekets, the Kepnblican partywoukl liever liave been organized, and the slave holde r would probably now be hunting hia fugitive alavés through Michigan, and the entile North, and the raap of the atave drlver'i #hip woald still be board throughotit the Southern States. . He also coinpUins tliat a third ticket supported by temperance people divides the Kcpublican vote and electa the Demo cratic candidatos, If this argument gatnat a third ticket to be supported in the interests of a desired reform is sound, then no party can ever be orjranized out. of the old ones, and those who organized the KepuDlican party out of the other purties, were guilty of a great wrong. They defeated the Whigs nnd ran Fremont for President, and kept the Democrats in power eight years. But they elected Lincln President in 18G0, and turned the Democrats out of office, and then wliipped them into good behavior. Il' it bccomes necessary it can be done Bfaln. This temperance Republican also asks: " VVill our prohlbition friendsgoln again and help elect another Democratie Mayor in this city ? " I leply tliat in othcr cities and villages in this state party tickets are seklom uominatcd for municipal oíBcers at the spring elections. Ann Arbor Republicansand Democrats who assumeto control tlieir party machines daro not trust the people with a non-partlzan ticket tor fear a few " temperance fanática '" mlgbt be elected, They prefer to swing: the party whip over the heads of the faithfnl, and nomínate those for municipal officers who can be depended upon to do nothing towards cnforcing the laws enacted lo regúlate and control the liquor traille. ín this regard I see very little to choose between the two partiea in this city. Froin 1872 to ISSOa different practice prevailed. Men were elected who enforced the laws, and the ntimber of saloons in this city were reduced one-half. The Republicana liad a majority of the Common Councii. The people had confidence Ín llie noininees of that party and elected them. ín 1879 there was but ono Democrat and one Greenbacker left la the Common Councii. Tlien carne a change iu Kepubücan tactics. Temperance people were abused, slandered, and defeated at elections because they would not pledge themselves to sustain the saloons and ignore the laws and be dum as oysteis when they saw the laws violated. The result has been the defeat of the Reonbllcans sinct' 1830, with ti good prospect that n this city and county the Republicana will in a few years more become the third party In mimber of votéis. The only rood out of the wilderness is togo back to our former policy and practice and rely for success upon the sober and intelligent taxpayers instead of a few saloons and tbelr customers. When the Republican party through the present policy becomes hopelessly divided these allies will go over to the Democr.icy, and the 'Republicana Will be pulverized betweeo the upper and nether millstone. The Republfoan party lias been a party of progressand reform. The danger now is that it will fall behind the demands of the times and become a party of obstructlon- obstructing boih temperance lefoim and tariff reform. If the people bi-lieve this to be true, they wül surely translate it to the shady bankt of Sak River. Again this temperance Republican asks if temperance people generally are desirous of utilizing the temperance sentiment of all partlea to secure the most practicable enforcement of temperance laws by the eleotion of temperance man. Yes. indeed, this is just wbat they are and have been in favor of. They presented sueh a man last yea #or Mayor and nrged the Republicans to tintte and elect him. He was a sound Republican and conservutive in his views, and not a single objectiou was raised against him. But the saloons said No, and that settled it. A man was nominated to bedefeated and to secure the èlection of the Democratie enn didate. The Republican Citv Convention uas responsible for the èlection of a Democratie Mayor a year ago. Wil] the Republicana unite with the teraperancf people in supportingii jrood" tenipeíance Republican" on the seventh ot Api 1, or persist in the former policy and again elect the Democratie candidatef Will thcy vote as they talk? The most eil'ectuiil way to keep Republicana united and equelcb the ProntbitloiiisU is for the party to 8tick to it laws and votefor men wlio will try to enforce these laws. The most effectual way to multiply and replenlsh the earth with Prohibitionists is to take the opposite course. The course puiëued bv Kepublican caucusea and city conventions durinpthe past íour vea rs has converted more people over to prohibition in t his city. tlian al! the temperante lcctuivs. It has eonvinced the friends of temporalice more tliun any argument could, how easy it is to change into a farce the Kepublican plan of taxation and regulatioii of the üquor trafile. AkothBb Tejiterance Kepublicax. C0M5IENTS ON THE ABOVE. We should not consider it necessary to devote tnuch time or space to the above OOmmuutCCtlon on its merits. But as the city eleotion will be held before the next issue of The Cocrier, a few words of commeut inay be pertinent. First, it is a sufficient answer to a large part of the article to gay that :t 8 not trae ; much more of it is irrelevant, exajgerated, unfairly and inacourately stati-d. A man who believes the charges lie makes against tfe República!) party and then sifrns hlmtelf a Iíepublican, convicts himself of a subserviency to party, riffht or wrong, that tlie ordinary lionest Reimblican neither understands nor practices. He fails to appreheiid or answer the points of our last wcek's correspondent, that the prent eneniy of the Repnblican party is the Democratie party, well disciplineil, active, vifrilant, and eager to obtüin political control, tliieateninsr to destroy the Iruits of Republlean victoiie in aid of liberty and liuuianiiy . That tbn prohibitionists concede tliat tbey have received notblng and expect notlifng froin the Democratie party, yet Dractically withdraw aid fiom the Republicana and sive it to the Demócrata, and then fltid fault because tbe Iíepublican party does not triumph over its old tinieencniy ttrengthened by the fault finders, puttinr in operation thethreatof noitheni sec¦8ionisls in the civil war to " open a fire in the rear'' of tbe gallant men facinjr thcir country 's foe. That the function of political partlea primarily is to admiuister government. That in a governnient hy the people a!l are governors. That if a standard for one or all moráis is made eo high as to include but a niinciity of voteri, tlinse woikinjf it will defrat tlu-inIflven uud the imiuoral majoiily will Sovern. He asks: " Wïll the Republicana unitc with the temperance (r) people t Does he not kiiow hovv false is hisassump tion that only those are températe whi belong to the prohibition party ? He does not meet the fact that wliile the great majority of the Republican party, oqually Intelligent, houest anil températe with hiinself, do not bclieve the prohibition panacea will succecd, vvhei) laws now operative are not euforccd, but do bellere In restraining, controÜlog and lessening the evil imtil public sentiment of all partiet is strong enougli to enforce prohibition, and that notwilhstanding tlieir belief thcy were willing in deference to those who had faith in statutory prohibition to snbmit the question to the vote of the people. Yet our prohibition friends defeated the Republican candidates froni tliis county i.ledged to vote tor its submission, and helped elect the Democratie men pledged against it! The}' have asked and been fiven representatives on Republican delefrations ; tliev have taken part in the proceedings of the conventions without protest, anil Immedlately gone out and worked agalllBt tlie ticket they helped nominate. Is it Strange their political sagacity is distrusted? ïwo years ago the Republicana unanimously nominated the strongest, most earnest and eligible member of tlie Retorin Club for mayor, with a better probability of t'lecting him than often occurs ofelectinga clean temperance man, jet could not be elected. How, tien, could wenker men lie elected on such an issue? He statea that "in other cities party tickets ara sekloin nominated tor niiniici' pal offices at the spring election.'' Ytt ' bit new party (which liad not the conrajre ' to take the name of its " undeilying principie'') is airead}' in the Held wlth nominations for "municipal offlcers" whicli will be oflered as the üictum of léss than 5 per cent. to the otlier Ü3 per cent. of the votéis to accept, or have a Dernocrat. Are there "grapes," or anything else sour about our frieml ? Was it during his term of office in the city governinent. or lxfore, or after, that things ran so smoothly? It seems as though we remember hearing something of an offer from some of bis colleagues after his retirement from office to answer certain questions if he would ask them. But he did not ask! "We have 110 doubt the opportunity is still open. Luther stood for libtrty of cotwdenca agaiost Papal oppressiou. Wegley trove for a more experimental and emotional religión. Xeither was so foolish as to trust sucli great moral quwtíona to polltieal mcthods, nor to abuse and weakon their friends, nor to take up every adventurijsome Conwa}'. The anti-slavery men and early Republicans fought for human liberty and the rights of man to self-governinent, and they welcomed every helper. They were men of lurge heart, and soul, and brain. John Brown's soul "is inarchingon," but on no narrovv-guage. " They elected Lincoln" and "vvhipped the Democrats," and as our friend snys, it can be done again if necessary. But was it done then, and can t be done agaiu, by a few men with an linpracticabluitext, getting upon a little, narrow, hijrlí helt' snpported by a single br.icket labelled with one moral 'dea, who could only sit on their perch and survey the real con test and say: "I toltl you Kt," wlien the enemy scored a point? Kot at all. They vure invited to a platform broad enougb for all the human race to stand on. And in defense of that platform and of the life of the nation thousands upon thousands oftered their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor, and lost all but honor. Mr. Lincoln, in his memorable speech dedicating the National cemetery at Gettysbunr, sald: " It is f.ir u?, the livinr, r.ithcr to be dedicated here to the untiniahed work which they wlio fought here have thus lar so nohly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before usthat irom these honored dead we take increased v'e votion to that cause for which they gave the last full measnre of devotion; that we here blghly resolve that these dead shall uut unre mea in vain; mat tlils nat Ion iinder God hall have a new birth of f'rcedoin, and that the grovernment of tlie people, by the people and tbr the people shall not perish from the enrtll." Does our fricad claim to be a Republican and want to turn this still "unlinUhed woik" over to the Democratie party ? This is the Standard of Republicanism to ineasnre tip to "Get the mote out of thine own eye, etc," and try to attain to it.