The Portland daily press., 1872-03-12
Gen. Neal Dow on the Grog Shops.

Gen. Neal Dow ON the GrOg Shops.
have heard from my friend, who assured
me that thousand Democrats would 60 with
us in putting down the grog shops. He says:
"They fully and conscientiously believe that
the rumselling business in the State of Maine
is its greatest curse and an absolute impediment
to its advancement The evils of permitting
the dram shops to have full liberty are as cry
ing and heart-rending as you describe them to
be, and all honest Democrats will, no doubt,
give their hearty support and sympathy to you
or any one else who will enforce the law; and
believe they will do it from the proper motives"
The rum shops in Maine are its greatest
curse" and they are an absolute impediment
to its advancement OF this there cannot
possibly be a doubt, and, in fact, nobody de-
MES that it is so. Mr.. Commissioner Wells of
the Internal Revenue Department, in his sta
tistics of trade, states the annual expenditure
in Maine for strong drinks to be over eight mil
lions of dollars-giving the exact figures-and
this enormous sum is less per capita than in
any other State in the Union, thanks to the
Maine Law, and to such an enforcement of it
we have had, poor as that is ess..fg an
This great sum Of eight millions of dollars is
a dead loss to the State-so much every year.
truly as if it were sunk in the ocean or
consumed by fire. Eight millions of dollars
every year! But this is not all of it, nor the
worst of it, for we receive in exchange for it
vast amount of poverty, pauperism, suffering
and crime which we should not otherwise have,
vast amount of decentralization and degrade
ton among the people, and, in addition to all
this, property loss of at least as much more
year by year, making the money loss to the
State through the grog shops at least sixteen
millions year. afI lIzau t13sH
For every shilling spent in strong drink at
least another shilling is lost directly and indi-
rectly, by lost time, damage and destruction of
property, misdirected industry, loss of indus
trial habits and of health and life among the
people. This estimate of a shilling lost and /
wasted for every shilling spent on strong
drink is within the mark. Now here we have
great numbers of intelligent, energetic and en-
prising business men who are busy by day and
taxing their brains through many sleepless 4
nights to discover some way, if possible, of in
creasing the wealth, population, business and 1
prosperity of this city and the State These
men-every one of them-know perfectly well
that all we say of the grog shops and of their
perfectly true, and great deal more yet strange
to say, many of them give us no help in our
efforts to throw off this dreadful load that holds
us down in our strivings after more business
and more prosperity-7-,. .5-t.,...,o ,a;a.,r
1t isn't more what man vr a community
earns that makes them rich than what they
save. The grog shops are prodigious leak to
the treasury of society as well as Of every indi-
vidual; and through it public and private
wealth is drained away, in perpetual stream,
day and night without ceasing day and night.
1t is computed that the industrial power of
Great Britain is reduced one third by the grog
shops of the country, and one of the conse-
quences is that more than twenty per cent of
the population are paupers! Yes more than
five OF her people in every hundred are paupers,
besides the immense number just living and
suffering on the narrow line of restitution, be-
tween private charity and the workhouse; and
nineteen-twentieths of all this poverty, wretch
edness and pauperism comes from the liquor
traffic. The foreign trade of England is con-
stantly increasing, and the domestic trade is as
constantly diminishing. Every year their ships
more and more cover the ocean, bearing their
flag into every cline and into every bav and
same time, year by year, their people are con-
Stunning less cloths, shoes, books and less Of
everything that enters into the wants of every
day life among the population. And why is
this? The reason is found in the fact that
every year the people spend more and more for
strong drinks and this dreadful policy is as de-
hberately and systematically fostered and en-
couraged by the British Government as is their
present policy of keeping out of other peoples
quarrels and their newly adopted policy of free
trade. ..ef .-..'t ..-.-..,'',s ..-..
Now, in this city, we are involved at this mo-
ment in an exciting controversy about more
city debt, more city bonds, more help to feeble
railroad enterprises. Some people are for it
and some against it. What is al the turmoil
about? 1t is the question of increasing the
wealth and prosperity of the city. Some peo-
PIE say, go in strong for railroad bonds and
the CITY Will GAIN. Others say, ''if you do the
CITY VIII be swamped" So there is difference
OF opinion. But this we are sure of ;f we
should go in strong for more bonds and more
debt, and it should turn out to be a mistake,
then we shall be swamped beyond all peradyep-
ture. But if we will turn to with hearty
good will and choke off the rumsellers from the
throat of our prosperity we shall certainly gain.
beyond all possibility of doubt or failure, as
much as We could hope to do by the railroad
scheme, even if it should prove to be a success.
Nd
ACCIDENT ON THE NEW BRUNSWICK & CAN
ADA hAILRoAD.-Sunday as two locomotives
from 81. stephens were making along towards
McAdara junction, with snow-plow ahead
ana mad reached point about % miles below
there, truck frame under the snow.plow
broke, and the pillow in consequence ran unon a
snow bank beside the road and turned COM
pletely around The forward engine was thrown
from the track, and the tender breaking away
was twisted square across the rails by the pres
sure OF the rear engine, which in turn left the
rails. A number of persons inclnd;nc Mr.
Crandall, the Superintendent, were ON board
the engines, and were thrown some distance
but fortunately received no injuries worse than
a few severe bruises. ...
a man named Ferguson, belonging in Dun
barton, was on the tender of the first engine
passing wood to the fireman when the accident
occurred aid as the engine turned one way and
the tender another he fell between them and
received such injuries as must have killed him
tnsoahtiy Another man was thrown on ton of
nun but was not hurt
Inc engines both laid on their sides and were
's 'i''asneu' as well as the snow-plow.
Monsieur Piantamour, the astronomer is kind
enough to assure the world in general that bo
has not discovered any comet which will do
stroy the earth ON the 18th of next Auoust
Crackers and prophets of evil who have ,noaa
the alleged prediction of Plantamour the ,ext
Tor hundreds of gloomy antcipations will be
pleased to know that the entire story had ;+s