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Image provided by: Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, KS
Newspaper Page Text
THE ADVOCATE. l'ubllaJiod Kvery Wednesday by tho ADVOCATE PUBLISHING CO. W. McLAM.Itf. Prflddcilt. J. 1. LiMKHUitNir.it, Ban. Manager, w. l. liiiowN, nee'y lrfiuurf B McLalmw I Mtrf. Anmir L. Dioon f IW1W ) Hole 'fl'roprlctori TKKM.1 OF HUlMGKIiTION Ouo Copy One Year II.M I welye copies one your . jio.rw UiuDi or I wcnty copies or over, .w nu n. AdTcrtiiiBff I Iain. Display Matter, lfl cents pur lino, Agatei men urement (li llriox to tho Inch) JU'iullnK Notices, 30 cent per line. Address all communications to the ADVOCATE PUBLISMKCI CO. Toptba Knii. TOPEKA, KAN., NOVEMBER ID, 1890. (EntorJaflooond oIbhh matter in th I'oHt Oftloo at Topokn, Kaiirtan.) Bl'KCIAIiCLUHLIHr. Tifii Advooati A National Economist. .$1.75 " " Chicago Express 1.75 " " Dexter Fro I'xvm 1.75 " Nonoonformini 1.75 " Kanuas Commoner..,. 1.75 " " Toiler 1.WS " Kanflftrt Farmer ..1.75 " Weekly Nationalist.... 1.50 1 WHAT DOEU IT MKANT This ia tho question republi can jwliticians and journalists are fuking oach other, and tho answors of thcr.0 blind leaders of tho blind, as sign evory cause but tho right ono. liUunply moans that tho pooplo ob cb to further discriminations in RCji$or of tho classos, and against tho i'i.Vcs; and that, after failing to ro TERMfif .juMtico at tho hands of tho hired j" " ifonsiaas of monopoly who have been entrusted with tho government for a quarter of a century, thoy proposo to replace them with men who havo some little regard for tho rights of American citizens. This is what it means, and tho balance of tho outfit not already docapitated will do woll to make a noto of it. Thk Advocate is recoivmg many camplimentary notices from tho press and from individuals throughout tho state. They are too numerous to ro coivo individual acknowledgement, and wo wish to say in a goneral way that thoy are fully appreciated and haltl in high esteem. We shall in tho fnturo abate no part of our zeal in tho cause of tho people, and shall carnostly strivo to merit not only the rproval of our roadors but the gon rrcrai support that has boon accorded We would add also in this con nection that the pooplo in every lo- c.:J,lty should ondoavor to buildup aad rtrongthen their local reform lrjw:ira. They have done a noble v, or!x ia tho campaign just closod. A p; ?r like tho Advocate, or any paper ct'ilH clans, though having a largo circulation, cannot meet tho local fo-cnos of tho many counties of tho tiria It must necessarily bo more funeral in its . character. Every county should have a good, well sup ported reform paper before the be ginning of auothor campaign, and all ,!hauld work together in harmony in Ceo future ca in the past for the corn won good. Let us pull together for IMPORTANT TO ADVKUT1MKU.S. Thk Advocatk now has the largest circulation of any paper in the utate of Kansas and you will do well to consider this fact if you wiVih to reach the greatest number of readers at tho smallest expenso. Our subscription list and pontage bills are open for in spection. We challenge comparison. A KKW lllOI'liMTS ON THK QUKSTloX OK I'ROHIItlTIOV. no. n. In a formor article wo havo en deavored to lay the foundation for a fair and legitimate discussion of tin character of legislative supervision of the liquor traffic best suited to the material and moral interests of the people. It is presumed that all good citizens will agree to tho necessity of placing this business under some form of legal restraint, and as one of the supporters of a young but power ful party that aspires to national su premacy in 181)2 it is deeiaod proper that we clearly cleline our position upon this great question which is generally regarded as of vital conso quence to tho welfare of the people. IJeforo doing so, howovor, it is but just that we call attention to what we regard as an unfair interpretation, by resubmission organs, of our introduc tory article Tho Kansas City Time 9 and others, with whom tho wish was undoubtedly father to tho thought, havo proclaimed to the world that wo had declared in favor of a resubmis sion of our prohibitory legislation to a voto of tho pooplo. Such a conclu sion is unwarranted by any sentenco or clauso in that article. Wo did do claro the undoubted right of the peo ple to resubmit whenever a majority of tho voters shall declaro in favor of it. This is an unquestioned and un questionable proposition in a republi can form of government; but wo did not intimate that we were among those who would favor such resubmis sion, either now or hereafter. The wisdom and the propriety of this are the main questions that wo started out to discuss. Evory caroful reader of what we havo written will not fail to discover that we havo presented, thus far, four principal propositions. First: That the practices of the re publican party, which has posod bo fore tho people as tho great and only prohibition party, havo not only failod to establish tho sincerity of its profes sions, but havo had tho offoct to bring tho law into disrepute and cause many honest men and. women to doubt its wisdom (is a means to ac complish the purposes for which it was ostensibly designed. Second: That some of tho very best elements of Rociety, including many of our leading and most successful and influential business men, feeling tho financial and business depression of the country, and remombering that this depression had its serious begin ning coincident with the adoption of our prohibitory legislation, honestly believe that this legislation ia one of the chief causes of disaster to the business interests of the state. Third: That the republican press and leaders of the party, through their hypocrisy, and their abtoluto refusal, from mercenary and olilical motives, to enlighten tho pooplo concerning the true causes of the prevailing con dition, and through their efforts to obscure those causes when others havo presented them, are very largely resonsible for the growth of the sen timent in opposition to our laws. Fourth: Leaders of the democratic party havo imagined that they could see in this growing sentiment a tidal wave upon which they could ride into power in opposition to their old an tagonist, and henco have encouraged it, and as a result of theso various in 1! nonces it has rapidly gained in strength and inlluenco. JJelioying theso statements rela tivo to the attitude of party loaders toward this question to be fully war ranted by tho facts, and believing al so that a largo majority of tho people of Kansas are in favor of maintaining and enforcing prohibitory laws, while a respectablo minority aro honestly opposed to such policy, wo havo thought it expedient to present such viows upon tho subject as seem to us in harmony with the principles and platform of the people's party. Thero can be no doubt that this question will present itself in some form as one of tho issues of national politics in tho near future. Aside from tho degrodation, the misery, tho want and the crime resulting directly from intemperance, the great liquor syndicates that havo grown up in our country havo acquired such tromon dous power and inll nonce for the cor ruption of tho people, of legislative and executive oflicors, and even of courts as to endanger tho liberties of tho people. Tho rum power aud tho money iower havo boon and now aro faithful allies, and their combined in tl nonce and combined capital have ruled the nation for tho past quarter of a century in tho interest of the classes and against tho masses. It has become a question with tho peo ple, not alone to restrain tho liquor traflic in the interest of morality and a higher civilization, but to arrest the growth of a power that threatens to subvert all other interests and under- mino the very foundations of the gov ernment. Tho growth of this power must be checked; and the instrumentalities by which this shall be accomplished must grow out of the people's party. For very evidout reasons neithor of tho old parties will over seriously at tompt it It is upon the allied pow ers of money and rum that they rely for tho slush fund with which to car ry elections, control legislatures and corrupt tho oxocutivo and judicial de partments of stato and nation in the interest of tho monopolies that are feasting and fattening upon tho stol en substance of tho pooplo. It is for those against whom theso pow ers are arrayed to rise up in their might and strike them down. How shall this be done? Does tho license eystom present tho remodyt Will this in any way curtail tho vast profits or limit the facilities and powers of corruption whose baneful effects all good citizens desire to destroy? Wo cannot see that it will The license aystoni is the proposed method of, regulation urged by the democratic and resubmission parties. Prohibi tion on paper and free whisky in the joints is tho method of the republi can party. Neither of these, an they aro generally understood, will bo the method of tho people's party. This party, which looks to tho nationaliza tion of American industries, the con trol of transportation, telegraph and telephone lines by the government in the interest of the people, will also urge tho absolute control of the man ufacture and sale of such distilled and fermented liquors as may be nec essary for legitimate purposes and their absolute suppression for every illegitimate uso. This we regard as tho only effectual solution of tho liquor problem. It is also in line with tho most advanced thought of tho ago. Nationalism offers the most rational solutiou of this, as well ba many other questions, most intimate ly related to the welfare of the Amer ican pooplo. This is tho end towards which wo should direct our efforts, and we believe this to bo the stand that the people's party should take upon tho liquor question in national politics. Tho discussion of our local issue and the proper attitude of tho party toward our state legislation will be reserved for a future article. AN' OI'KX CONFESSION IS i)01 FOR TUB SOUL Tin) Journal rcfusi'd to filter upon a cftni)u!gii of aliiK(! ami vituperation. When Ut, word wan UlvcntlHtttliat won to he tin; plan of the eam ;ui(?t, we refused to adopt It, and whllo Clio Journal did all In Its power for the HueeeKd of tlm republican ticket, yd It did not think Hie plan adopted wan either politic or Huht. The aliuso of the opposition candidate by the republican papers during the campaign lost to the party thousands of votes that could ha ve been saved had the campaign been a clean and argumenta tive one, Abuse never made convertM to any cause, and It never will. I lad t he republican pa pers of Kansas spent as much time lu showlngto t he alliance people the fallacy of their arguments and claims as they did In abusing Wllllts and Itoblnsou the result would never have been lu doubt. The republican "managers" have learned something during this campaign that tbey will not soon forget, and It Is by good luck and not by good management that the lesson did not cost the party the whole state ticket Uuvrtncc Journal It appears from tho above thit this systematic personal abuse was delib erately planned by tho republican loaders and the word passod along tho lino that this should bo the char acter of tho campaign. Tho naughty Journal is telling tales out of school. It is certainly refreshing to bo re minded, after the close of tho cam paign, by republican papers that still make some pretense to decency, that they refused to participate in such disgraceful methods at tho command of the party bosses, and that they do not regard them as either politic or right. Such assurances inspire hope of a hoalthful improvement in the fu ture. Were i4 not for the Topoka Capital we should 'be encouraged to hope that future campaigns might bo conducted with some littlo regard for truth and decency. The total de pravity of that journal, however, af fords littlo promise of the realization of such a hope. Both of the proposed constitutional amendments wero dofeated by large majorities. Subscribe for Tub Advocate now ct $1 until January 1, 1S71