The Portland daily press., 1873-06-24
A Little Letter from ''the Great Centre
of the State.o

AUGUSTA, June 49, 1873.
Mr.. EDITOR The Kennebec County Con-
vention will be held at Augusta, Thursday I
mean the Republican Convention, of course
for who has heard of Democratic Convention
this year? The question is seriously raised
~hether there is any longer such thing in ma
ture as Democrat
COUNTY OFFICERS.
A County Attorney, County Commissioner,
County Treasurer and two Senators are to be
nominated by the Convention. There is no op-
position to the denomination of w. P. White
house, esq, and Hon. Alanson Starks of Au-
gusta, for the positions of County Attorney and
Treasurer, respectively. For County Commis-
sioner in place of Nathaniel Graves OF VIENNA
Joseph B. Lowe of Readfeld and ID. ID. Inins
of Mount Vernon, are candidates. hon. "A. n
Abbott of Augusta, will be renomina'eo Ior
Senator as a mi after of course. ana understand
that Hon E. f.. Webb of Waterville is to be
ioined with him on the Senatorial ticket But
don't vouch for this, or in fact for anything
have said or may say.
AT THE STATE HOUSE.
after July 1st, Henry Pishon, esq.,, chief
clerk in The Office of Secretary of State, whose
handsome face is familiarly known to all fire.
quenters of the Capitol retres from that posi-
ton. Mr.. Pishon has done the State good ser
vice, and will carry with him, whatever new
avocation he may follow, the kindest wishes
of all his old associates here.
RURAL AND Too-RAL-Loo-RAL.
In the country round about they say it is be-
coming fearful dry. The crops, though they
got an excellent start at first, begin to look q
little sick and faint But not so the farmers.
If they are dry, then the most perfect system
of constant irrigation ever carried into opera
ton is a failure. Let any given moment in any
given day be selected for observation, and then
let there be a computation of the size of the
stream that would be made up by the conf1u-
epce of all the brooks that are at that time
gurgling down yeoman throats, and the result
would astonish the world. 1t would be an acid
ulated Amazon!
Though your correspondent is not unfamiliar
with the taste of apple-juice after "fermenta-
tion has converted TIE saccharine matter into
alcohol" yet he feels bound to say that he be-
lieves from careful observation extending over
several years, that cider is doing more harm in
the country than the distilled liquors are in the
city. Country districts are saturated with it
the very regions whence, almost from the very
first, prohibition has driven the stronger bever-
ages For years drunkenness was almost un-
known in the country towns in central Maine.
Now there are many villages where you may
find half the population ''boozy" after o'clock
at night. 1t is my sincere conviction that tenn
perance men will be compelled to place cider in
the same category with whiskey and rum. In
some respects, laugh as you will, cider is a
more dangerous intoxicant than whislkey, chiefly
because it is accessible to boys who color their
noses and muddle their brains with it at sur
prisingly tender age.
am brand-fre new convert in the anti
cider movement, and something of the prose-
lyte's extravaganza may possibly be discerned
in my statements, but if you ever have an op-
portunity to see how the thing works, I have
no doubt you will substantially agree with me.
PION-PION