Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1853-08-13
For the Cincinnati Gazette.
The Maine LlQuOg Law.

umns Of your paper, to utter few thoughts
|. Ii is said, The Maine Law is unconsti-
,utional Then why have six, more or less, Of
our free States adopted it3 Are not gov
ernments instituted for the we'll being Of the
governedg And if the people find the man
| ufacture and vending of a certain article pro-
duces disease and death, have they not a
right TO stop its manufacture and It's sale ?
This right has never been questioned respec-
ting some articles: :hen why shunld il re
speet intoxicating liquor? Suppose a man
purchase in Paris, quantity Of obscene picfu.
res, aud brings them here for sale, is not the
whole of such properly seized and destroy ed 2
Yes; and Justly, too Does the Constitution
: prevent their destruction? Suppose a man
brings putSid meat into market; may he not
sell that for which he paid money? By no
means. If person keeps rd6id dog, any man
feels justified in destroying him, Why? He
is his property. Well; but the pul lie good
the public safety demand it, Apply this
principle to Intoxicating liquors. Who ever
doubted the constitutionality of prohibiting
the sale Of putrd meat-or Of killing mad
dogs--or of restraining gambling?
2. Vel 6m Hts iaw intsrfcreS NTH a mans
trade. Must not man sell what he pleases,
and where he pleases? By no means. Sup.
pose, as Gen. Cary remarked last night "a
butcher owns a vacant lot on Fifth street. and
he preferes slaughteling his beast there for
convenience, have we right TO interfere =?
Certainly; the whole neighborhood would be
up in arms against him." Is grog shop
any better? Does, or does not the public
good demand the annihilaton Of this trade
Said woman to me yesterday, on the canal
the mother Of large family-"I am panied
in my nmosl soul for my children to hear the
vile words which pour forth from that hell
house next door. What house was it? Why
one Of the 5000 Groggeries which curse our
city. What is to be done? Can you regulate
this traffic? 1t has been tried for centuries
without success Destroy the trade and nun
ydcfure, then, and not till then, will the evil
be swept away.
3. The safety and happiness of society, de-
mand such "a law. You cannot read single
daily paper Of our city, without finding some
one has suffered by the vile stuff. Whence
came Sights, as sassinations, and murders a.
mong US? We know well the cause. The
testimony Of Lecount, who was hung last No
vember, was"Drink has been my ruin; if
it had not been for the grog-shops, l would
not have been here" Many OF our citizens
are afraid 10 90 out late in the evening and
why? Because of the terrible deeds of vii
lainy perpeua ated under the influence Of lqu
or And yet some men tells us, this law sis
a violation Of the absolute rights of man."
How? BY placing beyond his reach, that
which makes HIM fool, madman, and ma
MAC! Which prevents him from scattering a.
round him fire brands, and death! Have drum
kards' wives and children no claim upon us:
Can no law be made to remove the curse
which hangs over them? Our present sys
tenn fines him imprisons him; but it never
will reform him. Remove the cause, the eff
feet will cease.
4. Drukords themselves desire such lac.
This have heard hundreds of times within
our prison walls. A poor, wretched woman,
who has been sent up times without number,
said; "Why don't they make law to put it
away? I'd go in for that" This is just the
feeling of thousands of the Incorporate
Such a law we must, and will have, or we
shall soon be like Sodom and Gomorrah.
"But," says some one "let it not be suppos-
cd that am blind to the evils of intemprr
i
time, l see the iacompetency OF Legislative
action to entirely suppress them" This is
candid admission of truth, and destroys all
reasoning on the subject Here comes the
Maine Law, the only one which found to eff
fectly destroy intemperance, with its black
list Of crimes; and yet men say "it is one OF
those arbitrary measures which can never be
submitted TO by q free people" This is |
strange logic. Do the people of Maine want
the law abolished? Do the people of Yer
mont and Michigan wish it abolished? No
indeed They know its value too well. They
have tasted its swects.
Shall Ohio have this law? By the blessing
of God we trust, we believe she will. If The
meeting held last night may be taken as a
test, the next election will decide that we
shall have such a law. The Melodeon was
fled 10 its utmost capacity many went away
unable to gain admission.-This vast corgre |
cation sat over three hours, listening to the
eloquence OF Quinby, Cary and Williams.
When the latter put the question. "You who
are IN favor of having the Maine Law in Ohio
signify it by rising" the people rose en- mosse,
For the contrary, not one!
The woes Of the drunkard demand such q
law--the wives and children dependent on
him demand t--our own sons and daughters,
exposed to the influence Of this widespread
evil, demand it. Our crowded prisons and
penitentiaries, dmand it. Our enormous tax
alton fcr prosecutions, and maintenance of the
intenlYerate. demand III Humanity asks for
i'll Justice calls for it! Religion requires i'll!
Let the quustion come fairly before the vo-
ters at the next election, and we shall witness
a large majority for the Maine Liquor Law.
May God speed the Gay when this shall be-
come the Law of our beloved Ohio.
JOSEPH EMERY.
Cincinnati July 26. 1853.