Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1874-01-15

vice interposed by men in their relations as
citizens, comes confessedly within the do
main Of law. Indeed, no government FIJI.
fills its mission which forgets that the State
can In this way do much to make 1t easy to
90 right and difficult to do wrong. So
large proportion Of pauperism and crime
arises from tntemperance, of which the
dram shop Is the prolific cause, and all cit
liens who have regard for the public safety
a1d welfare, as well as the highest court
OF the nation, unite In affirming the princi-
pie that the liquor traffic Is a source Of
grave peril to society, against which it Is
the right and duty Of the State to protect
IseiI ny such enactments as the legisla-
i've authority shall consider best caicula.
ted to that end.
On this well settled principle has rested
all the Legislation ever had In restraint of
the liquor trafi1c, whether involving the
principle OF license or prohibition. For
more than two hundred years, first In the
parent Province and Commonwealth, and
subsequently In the State of Maine, thor
ough trial was had Of the licence system.
IN every form that could be devised. This
experience led to SO wide spread cOnvic-
ton that any system of licensing dram
shops Is nearly powerless to repress the
/ "nsSu RAouAOSC incompetence,
and In 1881 this State adopted the policy OF
prohibiting drinking houses and tippling
shops altogether, and Of authorizing the
sale OF intoxicating liquors only for medi-
cinal and mechanical purposes, by agents
appointed for that purpose. This system
has had trial Of only twenty-five years;
yet Its success, In this brief period, has on
the whole been so much greater than that
OF any other plan yet devised, that prohi-
oitlon may be said to be accepted by
large majority Of the people as the proper
policy OF this State towards drinking
houses and dppling shops; and to be ac-
quiesced In to great extent by others, as
an experiment which should have as thor
ough trial as other systems that preceded
1t. by dealing in this spirit with q ques-
tion affecting so mOmentOus interests,
thre will ultimately be substantial agree
ment among all good citizens on such a
policy as experience shall have shown to
be most effective in repressing the evils Of
! the liquor traffic. To this end such an in-
vestigation into the effects of the raffic,
and the results Of legislation to suppress
or restrain the same, rs Is contemplated
by proposition introduced into Congress
| by one OF the Representatives from this
state, could not fail to be in the highest de-
gree beneficial.
1t would be unwise tor any one TO claim
that prohibition has entirely suppressed or
can entirely suppress the dram shop. That
Is no more possible than 1t Is for human en-
actments To entirely prevent then robbery,
arson. or even murder. Indeed, any effec-
tive enactments against practices which
are exceptionally profitable, and at the
same time pander to mems appetites and
passions. are peculiarly difficult Of thor
oush enforcement, rs has always been
found the case with statutes prohibiting
gambling saloons and houses of i'll fame,
as well as drinking houses and tippling
shops. The true test of the merits OF
such legislation, of whatever character, is
not whether IL entirely uproots the evils
| prohiolted; but whether on the whole it
| does not repress them as efiectually at auy
system that can be devised.
| Where our prohibitory laws have been
well enforced, few will deny that they have
accomplished great good. In more than
three-fourths of the State. especially in the
rural portions. where forty years since in-
toxicating liquors were as freely and COM
monty sold As any article of merchandise,
public sentiment has secured such an en-
iorcement OF these laws, that there are now
In these districts lew open bars and even
secret sales are So much reduced "a to
make drunkenness in the rural towns COM
| paratively rare. The exceptions to this
| state OF things are mainly in some of the
cities and larger villages, where public sen
timent on this question is usually not so
well sustained as towns more remote from
the tide Of immigration. But even in these
places our prohibitOry legislation has al
ways been enforced to some extent. and
not inirequently with much thoroughness :;
aud has never been without that important
influence for good which all laws in
I al rf
and impartial enforcement, to the highest
practical standard, Is required in any mu
ncpality, in order to obtain the full pene-
it OF any system of legislation in the IL
| quor trafNc. Under our system of povern.
ment, where the public sentiment of mnni-
cipalities even will have great influence
in controlling the measure OF enforcement
| of this as well as other laws. the only ner-
manent remedy for any Iaxity i'm this direc.
ton in exceptions, localities. ultimately
lies in such ouickening of public oninion
as will either give new energy and plirnos.
to local officers in power. or will serur,.
the election of other men in their places.
For it should be remembered that local
officers are primarily required to cufnrr,
the laws against drinking. bouses AMI I'm.
pling-shops, and can do tbi, work. If thex
will. much more satisfactorily and ef,ectiv.-
Is than any Others.
In addition to the duties thus imposed on
local officers. the act Of 1872. and the ex-
ecutiye orders issued in Compliance there.
with. make it the duty of sherifis to innnire
| into ali violations of these and other laws
| of the State. within their respective conn,
ties. and to institute legal nroceedin"s
against such violations. The act also in,
poses upon County ATTORNEYS the dntv of
directing ipouiries before 1he grand iurv
! into such violations and ~ nroSacr,;n.v.
persons indicted and securino the nromp,
Sentence of such az shall he convictad r.
either of these officer. shall wiIfmliv 70.
fuse or neglect tn DISCHARGE rho du,;..s i'm
posed mon him evidence of tba sn.c;,;c
instances OF such refusal or neo,srt az
contemplated by the act and the constitm'
ton. NAV he nresented 70 the execn,;va
| and If he is satisfied thai the charges ara
sustained. II will be his duty To hriny snch
fact to the attention of the Teoisiainr. a,
the earliest DracticaI dav whersnnon ,ha,
/ body NAV reQuest the removal of the da.