The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-06-17
ERMs $500 PER ANNUM, IN ADVANCE.
The GrOg ShOps-NO. XIX.

A"o" tnere are many persons who do not
ike the law by which the grog shops are sup
pressed. Some of these people are intelli-
gent men and good citizens, but the great ma
jority of them are otherwise. On this issue
of the suppression of the liquor traffic, there
are but two divisions of people those who
favor the law and those who object to it. In
the latter company besides many excellent
people, will be found all those who care moth
ing for any good thing for any law, human
or divine. 1 have often wondered how it is
that man who means to be good citizen
can cooperate with such people without Sc
rious determination.
would help put a fire out if all the black
guards in town we're working with will, at
the engines or pulling at the same rope, but
if any question important to the general good
should come up for public consideration and
decision, involving religious and moral in
terests, if had made up my mind upon ii
should hesitate and review my reasons, if /
found all the blackguards, the Sabbath break
ers, the haters of law and order on the same
side. mean that should do this, if wish
ed really to take the part that would result in
the welfare of society and the happiness of
my fellow citizens. l should say to myself,
81 must be mistaken; know these people
hate everything good and like everything bad.
know they will go for anything that is bad
for religion and good morals, and against ev-
erything that will promote the peace and good
order of society; against everything running
in the direction of law and order. These
men have no interest in law and order, but
may possibly gain something in a row,
riot, great confagration, and certainly in
the general degradation and Generalization"
If should find myself by any chance, in
such company, should conclude that 1 had
made mistake and was in the wrong.
l heard John Holmes-(Senator Holmes)
once tell a story in great temperance meet
ing at the Third Parish church. He lived in
Thomaston at the time, and the question of
license or no license of grog shops, came
up at town meeting, few weeks before, and
there was an animated debate upon it in the
town house. The building was so densely
crowded that the vote could not be taken
within doors, and all the voters were directed
to form two lines on opposite sides Of the
street. 1t was wet, muddy day in spring.
The first one who went out full of zeal and
earnestness in the license interest, was a
drunken man, who kept crying out
at the top of his voice, 'follow me,
me, liberty hogs, follow mep' and
he stumbled and staggered to the opposite
side of the street where the licence men were
to range themselves-and blundered head
first into muddy, slippery ditch, crying
''follow'-but the rest of it was cut off by
his plunge into the mud! That was enough:
not man would follow him, but all return
ed to the house, and the Moderator announc
ed that ''No License was carried unani-
mously.
lBrWould'nt it be rather nice if we could
have all the people of Portland drawn up on
opposite sides of Congress street, some fine
day-women as well as men, divided from each
other by the line-License or No License;
Rum or No Rum? Pd walk hundred miles
to do it with pease in my shoes-boiled.
Some of these people on the 'License" side
of the street, would be among our best citi-
zens-unless they should conclude to stay at
no which is probable.
There is a trader in town who disapproves
the anti-grog shop law very much He is a
wholesale dealer in various matters, and
among other things has sold large quantities
ofliquors, making an immense profit ON them.
The new order of things has changed all that,
and he finds his gains much reduced. am
careful not to speak of this trader in such a
way as to identify him; / should be blamed
very much If l should point him out That
circumstance OF itself stamps the true charac-
acters of the rumtrade. 1t would be srd-
ed as an intolerable injury, If were to say
openly that Mr.. Black, has been a rumseler
on a large scale, in violation of law: and that
now he is angry, because he fears to break
the law any more; that he has no objection
to the character of law breaker, but he
would not like the reputation of it, and is
now afraid of the penalty. He is looking
longingly after the profits of the trade, re-
gardless of the infinite misery produced by it
to hundreds of thousands of his fellow-men
So carefully abstain from pointing him out.
should commit no offense against good
taste and christian forbearance, if should
point out my friends McKenney. Jones, Wes-
torn and the rest of them as great dealers in
-four and grain; my friends the Millikens,
Fletcher d Co. Haskell and Shaw and the
rest of them as great dealers in general gro
ceries; but to point out Mr.. Black as a great
rumseller in violation of law, and as desiring
to let in upon the community, the grOg shop
curse once more, that he might make money
out of it; that he might plunder the wrecks
that would everywhere be scattered up and
down; that would be regarded as an act of
sayagery, and therefore carefully avoid the
offense.
Now, strange to say, this trader is
church member in good standing; and OF
course, if he be a true man, he must regard
the moral and religious interests of his fellow
men, as above all price, and to promote
them, to be a matter of highest duty. Yet
he knows-eyerybody does-that the rum
trade is accursed of God, and is the deepest
curse to man. He must know, that to en-
gage in it, must draw down the Divine dis
pleasure, because it is inseparably connected
with human misery and degradation-to body
and soul. Yet this man-this protesting
Christian, this church member, would raise
up the grog shops again, if he could do it by
his vote. He would ignore all other ques-
tons of national, state or city interests, and
in voting, would have a single eye in favor of
rum; he says so; do him no wrong; he has
avowed it. 1t would be smaller sin against
God, smaller crime against society in me
to pick pockets, as l look at it; that's my
view. N. d.
BUSINESS NOTICES.