The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-03-19
The Maine Law i'm Maine

~ Ttc A@UNOf W Wt lFeSSs
No town ever had a more thorough trial than
Portland of the effects of rum upon its growth,
business and prosperity. / remember the time
when we had here-the town then, containing
not more than eight or ten thousand inhabi-
tants-seven distilleries often If not always,
running night and day. At the same time
great quaint ties of West India run were i'm
ported. Aud remember well that the same
time it was rare thing to see a new building
OF any sort going up, or even any buildiug
undergoing repairs, except perhaps the patch
ing OF shingle roof, or the nroopiug up an
old house OF barn that had strong list to port
or starboard as the case might be.
lew months ago one of our most respect
able and honored citizens. formerly large
wholesale dealer in groceries and liquors, told
me that his dealings were almost exclusively
with country traders, and that three-fourths of
the value of the goods sold was in liquors,
either West India or New England rum.
That these liquors went away pack far into the
country, leaving detachments all along upon
the route, and their course among the country
towns was as distinctly marked by the poverty
and wretchedness of the people, by dilapidated
buildings and fences and neglected farms, as
the course of fire through the forest would be
by the scared ground dead trees and blsckened
stumps. He told me also that all this country
is now wonderfully changed for the better
because in all that region there is no liquor
sold. The people formerly spent their earn
ings in drink instead of deyoting them as now
to the comfortable support of taeir families
and to the Improvement of their farms and
homestea0s. No one who knew what Maine
was IN the old rum time and knows what it has
been since and is now, can fail to see the
wonderful Improvements of the country and
people in everything that indicates higher
and better way of life, marking very distinctly
thrift and prosperity everywhere. Mr.. Charles
Farley, formerly well known and highly re-
spected citizen of Portland, afterwards a wine
manufacturer at Harrison on Long Pond, told
me this. The Cumberland and Oxford canal
formerly ran up into that county, by which
goods were circulated all through the region of
Sebago Lake, Long Pond and the chain of lakes
stretching far into the interior. This canal
was navigated by several men, each having a
line of boats whose business was the transpor-
tation OF produce from the interior to Portland
and from the town to the interior. One of
these men told him that the year before the
Maine law ho transported three hundred bar
rels Of rum in his boats, but the year after the
law not one. Perhaps each of the other lines
of canal boats did the same amount of rum
transportation, perhaps more, perhaps less.
Portland, in the old rum time had au i'm
mense Numbering trade and West Indian trade,
but the town was never the better for it, aud
doubt If any man now can indicate any benefit
that remains to our little community from all
that trade. The way OF it was this: the farm
ers and their sons in winter were living in
camps in the woods ''legging", as the phrase
was, an1 the leading article of their camp sup
plies was rum; in the spring they were ''driv-
ing the rivers as the term was for taking the
logs down the swollen streams, and in all that
work it was rum, more rum Arrived at the
mills, the busy saws were at work night and
day converting the logs into lumber, and in
The mills and all about the villages it was al
ways more run, and a great deal of it. This
lumber was transported to Portland and thence
to the West Indies, and the returns were al
ways in rum or molass-s to be converted into
rum at our seven dlstillieries; aud the final
product OF all this timber and all this immense
industry was taken back into the countr Y to
be consumed by the people. So that it may be
said truly that all the immense pine forests of
boundless value-if wisely disposed o-went
down the throats of our people in the shape of
rum. / hastily spoke OF the rum as the final
product of all this work, but lt was poverty,
pauperism, wretehedness. rags, ruin that was
the fiual wind up of this immense numbering
aud West Indian business.
were perfectly familiar with all this trade in
every part of it, that Maine is not now and
oever was dollar the richer for tue whole of
it, because the products of this immense in
| dustry were consumed 10 strong drink, having
most Daleful OBJECT upon the health, life, habits,
| and character of the people. In that old rum
| time the farms were mostly, at least largely,
| Iaortgaged to the country traders as security
| tor store bills, the larger part of which was
| rum.
| have before me now leaf taken from the
| book OF a country trader. chance leaf-not Sc
lected, and this is it: Que gallon rum, one gall
| Ion rum, two glasses rum, one quart rum, one
| quart gin aud one glass, two glasses rum, two
| glasses rum, grog rum, four glasses rum, four
glasses rum, three quarts gin-and all that
from the Sd to the 21st of September. l rave
| also before me now as l write, two leaves from
the book of a hotel, in the good old rum time
accounts against two OF our nice young men,
from the "first families" and this is one of
them: Feb. 1. Holland gin, 81; cider, 19,
champagne, 50 Sd. Drinks scored DOWN 20,
$3.50. 4tb. III. gin 50. 5th Champagne, 81;
drinks, four. 9Th. Champagne, 81. 9th Cider
| $780, champagne, 81; ale, SOC; corks that means
| various bottles of drinks; S1150. And 20 on
l for the month. the board beiog for % days S40
i the whole bill being S11313. For the next
| month it is worse (or better as some may think
| there being scored down for oUe day 20 drinks,
| So 25; and for the month 10 bottles of cham
/ psgne and So 80 for Holland gin, the months
board being $46.S0, and the whole bill for the
| month $1,000. The next month is still worse
or better. there being $24 charged for cham
| pagne, $4 for Sauterne, IS sherry, S4 Madeira,
81 80 seltzer, 75c for brandy and % drinks 1925
The board for that month was S42. Sc, the whole
bill $2O6.34. Well, this nice young man having
done enough for his CITY and country in ths way
of increasing its business and wealth and max
ing things lively generally, concluded 70 sacri-
| flee himself for the public good once for all,
| and so he jumped overheard one fine summers
| day-or winters day. do not know which,
| and so an end.
The other bill is curiosity in its way, and
| the young man, Mr.. j. w. Blank, must have
bsen very nice-the very top of the ton! On
one day, Sept. 9th, the charges are ale SOC,
ale 25c, bar 1915. ale 25, and II drinks scored
down. On another day, champagne 81, ale
| %, bar 2 50. On the next day are scored down
| So drinks $40 63 All the drinks for the month
l scored down are 1Sl, cost $2264; then came
| ale, 81 so; several charges, bar $34 39, whiskey
| 80 brandy 81, ''corks-liquor' So, cigars S7.36.
| That is all in the month of October, a cool
month"; but this nice young man with his
l pocket full of "rocks" must have made it rath-
er warm. A industrious young man doing his
| best to sustain that most valuable industry,
| the liquor trade and build up the business of
| the city. Now, L am sorry to say, he has no
| mo,e "rocks' not a solitary one. The bottom
tumbled out long ago and he fell through; no
more useful work for the city from him.
NJ.