The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1874-04-17
THE MAINE LAW.
Results OF TweLty-thyee Years Experi-
ence Of Prohibition.

In re-p"n-" 10 inquiries from the edi-
tor of tn '.-.cagO AdrGHcc. several
prominent ci..s..I, OF Maine have recent
/ ly given their opinions of the efficacy of
the present Prohibition Liquor Law in
Maine. formed from their personal OBJ
Servations Of It's working. We quote 4
few Of their responses:
Governor Dingiey writes: - have 10
say that these laws have accomplished
great good, and have proved far more
effective i'll suppreSsing dram-shops and
restraining the evils of intemperancr.
than any other system of legislative re-
straint ever tried III this State We have
had twenty-three years experience Of
tire policy of prohibition, and the re
suits have been. on the whole. 50 far.
greater than those secured by any other
system Of legal restraint that the pro
hibitOry policy is accepted as a settled
fact in this State, and no considerable
body of men favor its repeal. In more
than three-fourths of the State, partic-
ularly in the rural sections, open dram
shops are almost unknown. and secret
sales comparatively rare. In some Of
the cities and larger villages. where pub
lie sentiment on the temperance ques-
ton is not so well sustained as in the
rural districts, the law is not 50 elTec-
lively enforced as to prevent open sales
TO some extent, although. even in such
places, prohibition is not without some
influence for good"
United States Senator Hamlin SAYS:
Il have not a doubt upon my mind that
the law has been highly beneficial in its
effects. In my judgment, less than
One-half the liquor has been consumed
in the State that would have been CON
sumed had there been no law. That is
INV opinion. The law has been. / feel
certain, of very great use in the suppress
sion of pauperism and crime. Nor can
| have doubt that large majority of
the people of Maine sustain the law"
Congressman William p. Frye says:
'It is effective in the largest cities, but
cannot entirely stop Illegal sales, any
more than the law against murder,
theft, gambling, ETC., can entirely pre-
vent those crimes, or punish all such
criminals What has been the general
result! Twenty-Five years ago, the most
OF our grocery stores, all druggists, all
hotels, both in city and country, sold |
liquors, and in my opinion the majority |
of grown men used them as beverage.
Poverty, crime, suffering and Ignorance |
prevailed; our jails We're full. our tarln- !
yards empty; the landlord rich, his neigh |
bors for miles around poor; his house |
well painted, glazed, and blinded, and |
full of comfort; theirs unpainTed, the |
windows stuffed with rags, tine rooms full |
of nothing but sorrow. How is it to-day, |
The sale of liquor has fallen off more |
than two-thirds; more than One-half |
of the State is absolutely free from il: |
the corner groceries and taverns have |
gone forever; so, too, have all the evi- |
dences of poverty and suffering. The |
iails in the three counties adjoining !
Franklin, Oxford and Somerset, have |
been tenantless for more than a year,
and | presume the same is true of sever
al other counties. In my own city, Lew
iStOn, of Is. 900 inhabitants, and in Au-
burn, Just across the river. of 10000 |
more, not n hotel-keeper. or druggist. or
grocer sells drop of liquor. Of course,
with our large foreign population, liq- |
uor is sold in shanties and dens, but It |
is precariOus business, for our warfare |
against the seller is constant and vigor-
Gus. When the law was enacted, have /
no doubt, two thirds of the people were |
at heart opposed TO it; now they could |
not be induced to repeal it. / know
that all good citizens will join me in tile
assertion that the law has been won
derful success"
Ex-Governor Perlam says: - am
satisfied that the general principle of our
law is best for Maine, and for all other
States in which public sentiment eN-
lists, or can be created strong enough TO
sustain it. If | were in Il State where
public sentiment would not sustain a
law like ours, would favor the strongest
and most effective law that could be en-
forced and sustained"
United States Senator Lot u. Morrill,
saws: ''As a measure of legislation. |
think it has been most efficient and sal
utary-efficient in that it has suppressed
the open sale of intoxicating drinks. with
its alIurements, branded the traffic as
Illicit, and enforced a privacy alike en-
barrassing to the dealer, and distaste-
full to the customer; salutary as attested
in the statistics of population and crime.
The number of persons supported NJ the
public charge in 1870, was 4,G17, against
s, 963 in 1860. The statistics of crime,
it is believed, would show about the
same reaction"