OCR Text |
Show try and enforce the law, the people were subjected to an obnoxious and humiliating hu-miliating police surveilance, the privacy of their homes invaded and their rights as citizens infringed upon. Prohibition did not remedy organic crimes or political polit-ical inequalities. The republican and democratic parties were divided on the question of free saloons and no saloous. The republicans were and are divided on high-license and no-license, so that they now scarcely know which way to turn for relief. To retreat is to acknowledge ac-knowledge that they have made a political polit-ical mistake; to advance means the certain disintegration of their owu party. What will they do? In their dilemma dilem-ma the people may elect a democratic ticket, which will give the republicans a chance to reorganize on more intelligent intelli-gent lines and formulate a new policy. But the farmers; the poor farmers! Will they ever learn to get down to the root of all their troubles? Will they ever study primary causes? We believe they will. Their minds are now in a receptive condition. They have lost a little of the seed of bi-metalism sown in their brains and they are beginning to think. They have been told that since silver was demonetized, they experienced experi-enced a change from good to bad times. This they know to be true, and they only wait now to be convinced that it was the demonetization of silver that caused it. '.We are sure a conviction will follow their reasoning and that in two years from now Iowa will be as strong a republican state as ever and as much a silver state as (Colorado is today. We believe the farmers will in a short time see that free and unlimited coinage, will mean a difference to them of hundreds hun-dreds of dollars a year, while tho abolition aboli-tion of the tariff on binding twine will only mean a few cents at best. When this time comes Iowa will discard prohibition pro-hibition aud other vaporish and barren idealities. IOWA POLITICS. There is some probability that Iowa, which used to give republican majorities majori-ties of from 50,000 to 70,000, and which now has a democratic governor, will make a complete somersault and elect a straight democrat ticket. Should such a result occur the republicans repub-licans will have only themselves to blame, as they have toyed with too many side issues, one of which is prohibition. pro-hibition. The enforcement of prohibition prohibi-tion has caused a general dullness in business, a depression of real estate, and great disaffection among the farmers. farm-ers. Iowa being an agricultural state the farmers are in the majority if they unite on any political issue, and it is generally believed that they will attempt at-tempt to secure relief by putting the democratio party in power. There is nothing so effective in bringing a political politi-cal party to its senses as a rebuke at the polls. For years Iowa has been dominated over by a lot of demagogues who have, like tho Pharisee, stood in the streets and in the legislative halls and not only said they were holier than the vulgar vul-gar herd, but knew more. They knew so much that they diot ated how men should live, what they should eat, what they should drink, and almost how they should worship God. When a set of men proclaim themselves superior to their assoolates, they are dangorous to tho purity and perpetuity of American institutions, but in a short time they become be-come obnoxious, aud they are politically polit-ically decapitated. The farmors have been getting poorer and poorer every year and nearly as often some one has bobbed up serenely and told them all about what caused this condition of affairs, and hnw it could be remedied. From 1878 to 1870 they were told how their troubles were largely due to the contraction of the currency and resumption of specie payments. The remedy was to be the issue of an unlimited volume of greenbacks; but greenbackism never recommended it-Kolf it-Kolf to the financial intelligence of the country, and it accordingly failed. Just about that time the ladies who parted their hair on the side, aud the men with elongated countenances, discovered dis-covered what an enormous amount of money was spent annually for rum. They showed just how many homes this money might have built, aud even how many pairs of shoes and stockings it would have bought. So a tidal wave of reform iuundated the state; saloons and saloon habitues ha-bitues were socially tabooed. Breweries ami distilleries were dismantled disman-tled and properly interests destroyed. But the re-action was too great. The farmers anc" general mass of the people not only did not experience greater prosperity, but the quantity of liquor consumed did not decrease. Beer and whiskey came into the state in bottles, cases, casks, by the wagon, car load aud traiu load. To prevent this and to |