Prohibition -- Moral and ethical aspects; Prohibition -- United States
The initiative and referendum is good enough for the Prohibition Party
when applied to "all matters of legislation not distinctively moral;"
but when morals are involved, "the law of God" only is binding, and the
initiative and referendum is repudiated. Their =interpretation= of the
demands of "the law of God"--not actually the law itself--would become
the supreme law of the land, and all the power of the government, in
their hands, would be set to enforcing it. Need it be said that this
would be repeating the history of the Dark Ages and Medieval times in
the most accurate detail!
Mr. Eugene W. Chafin, Prohibition candidate for president, in 1912,
said:
"I don't want any person who claims to be a party Prohibitionist--a
middle-of-the-road Prohibitionist--ever to sign another petition, or ask
Congress or any legislature anywhere under the American flag to pass any
prohibitive laws on the liquor question. We don't want any laws of any
kind whatever passed. =All we want is to be elected to power....= Elect us
to power, and we will repeal a few laws and do the rest by
=interpretation= of the constitution and =administration= of the
government."
Mr. Ferdinand Cowle Inglehart, N. Y., Supt., of the Anti-Saloon League,
in the =Review of Reviews=, February, 1915, page 216, said:
"The pastors and members of the churches turned the State (Oregon) into
=an organized political camp=."
This was indeed a frank confession upon the part of Mr. Inglehart. He
might have truthfully added that it was the Anti-Saloon League which was
the moving spirit that invaded the churches and spurred on the "pastors
and members of the churches" to turn the sovereign State of Oregon into
"=an organized political camp=." A political camp is, beyond question,
organized for political ends. Prohibition in Oregon, as elsewhere, was
the "Cheshire cheese," and political power the goal of its ambition. And
now in Oregon, as elsewhere, we shall hear the cry: "Now that we have
Prohibition, we must fill the public offices with 'good men' to enforce
the law: 'turn the rascals out' and put good men in office"; and, of
course, "good men" must be Prohibitionists always. None others need
apply. Oh, it is a fine scheme; but unfortunately, it takes no
cognizance of the =minority=--those who are quite equal in American
citizenship, and who lose none of their civil rights by virtue of their
being the =minority=.
Political Activities at Washington
Mr. L. Ames Brown, in "Prohibition and Politics," published in the =North
American Review= of December, 1915, points to some of the features of the
Anti-Saloon League programme, in the nationalization of prohibition--a
very interesting and valuable contribution upon the subject. Very
accurately--and apparently without any prejudices--Mr. Brown shows the
workings of the Prohibitionists in the political.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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