The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-06-19

6. Fourteen years of misgovernment by the Re-
publican party since the close Of the war, now finds
every industry of the country PROSTATE, and labor
seeking IN VAN ror employment 1t has been rule
lists and there hope of restoration to prosper-
ty but in retrenchment and reform; and no nope OF
reform in the expulsion from power of the reign
| ing dynasty, and the restoration of the national
| Democracy.
| Z. Annual elections and annual sessions Of the
legislature are unnecessary 1t is the duty Of the
legislature to submit to the people for ratification the
amendments recommended by the late constitutional
commission, changing the elections and Sc ssions OF
the legislature to biennial also changing the ii Of
elections to November, and to abolish the Exc cutve
| Council.
As soon as the reading was finished Mr..
Clifford submitted in behalf of seven Of the
committee the following resolution.
We oppose all laws which are unjust, or unequal in
humber classes of society The existing legislation
in Maine in relation to the sale of liquors. as now
we believe is necessary So that the Suppression Of an
evil in society may be promoted without violation Of
the rights OF any citizen.
Mr.. Clifford urged at some length the
acceptance of this as an amendment to the
majority report. He recognized nothing
peculiarly holy about our liquor legislation
that exempts it from the amendment and
revision to which all other of our laws are
subject. However good in theory it had
worked i'll in practice. 1t certainly did not
check crime. If intemperance be as is urged /,
the origin of nine.tenths Of the crime commit
ted then has the law proved most Intellectual,
for crime has increased in this State with
every amendment. The law is hardship to
the poor man, for upon him alone is it ex-
ercised. Mr.. Clifford continued in this strain
for some time, quoting from statistics to show
the increase of crime
He was followed by Mr.. Colby of Portland,
the well-known bookseller, who expressed
himself with much vehemence in favor of the
resolution. He believed spiritnous liquors
rightly used on proper occasions to be an
eminenty proper remedy of the right to use
which no man should De deprived. Christ
himself had used wine, and, said Mr. Colby,
what was good enough for Christ is good
enough for me. He wanted to do away with
these agencies that sold rum which blackened
an exposure to the air. We all like good rum
sometimes, added Mr.. Colby reAsctigely, and
we want places where we can find it and
not be compelled to buy the poisonous stuff
the agencies dispense.
Mr.. Colby was followed by Mr.. R. NJ Mason
of Auburn, the young reformer who made so
great sensation in the convention last year.
Mr.. Mason made a short, sharp speech, in
which he denounced this attempt to commit
the convention to freq rum. However nuo-
Gently worded the resolution was it meant
license That was the object behind it. And
in order to make party capital, to find some
issue against Republicans we Democrats are
asked to endorse license. He really believed
If hn Rapublina IN @ chou1d dpolara y,oto hur
q nuisance some Democrats would be found
who wanted to make an issue on that
Mr.. SWEET of Portland followed in the best
speech on that side the question. He said:
MR.. SWEETS SPEECH.
1t is stated that we mustn't declare against
the prohibitory law because th ere are so many
reformed men in the state, II, GOO in number, who
vote with us, but who will not do so if their
temperance principles are not respected. 1t is
libel on the Democracy of Maine to assert
that IL 900 of its voters are reformed drunkards
or to intimate that so many of its voters were
once such confessed inebriates as to need re-
formation. l have been an active temperance
worker for some years, and speak what l do
know when assert that not only do due
proportion OF temperance men, who never ex-
perienced the evils of the Intoxicating cup,
affiliate with the Democratic party, but also
that the greater part of those men in the state
who habitualy tipple, and hypocriticaly pre-
tend to be total abstainers, are to be found
within the ranks of the self-styled "party of
great moral ideas" Particularly is this the
case with the leaders Of the Repu blican party.
They go to their conventions and nominate
candidates upon prohibtory platforms, and
adjourn to their hotels to drink success to their
temperance nominees That's the consistency
of the Republican party on the question of pro-
cratic party on this question for the last few
years has been no better. 1t is well known
that the vast majority of the Domocra tic party
in this state believe in the impracticability of
the prohibitory law, and the efficiency of
license law to restrain the evils of intemper-
conventions. Why? Because our leaders fear
the loss of the Democratic prohibitory vote in
the country districts. SIT is not policy" they
say, "to oppose prohibition while at heart
they care no more for temperance than the
leaders of the Republican party do. They re-
mind me of Mark Twain's speculation in pigs.
Mark bought young pig for ISL 80. He kept
him year and sold him for 81 80, thus max.
Ing Sc athoagh the pig had eaten in nth The mean
lit was the profit on the pig l was after, |
never calculated to make anything on corn''
just so with our leaders. They wish to con-
struct platform that will scoop in'the largest
country vote possible; they don't Calculate"
would like TO see the Democracy of Maine
come down off the fence just once. [ would
like to see this question fought out, once, on
square, open issue.
Although temperance man, I am not an
advocate of prohibition. I believe our present
prohibitory law as now enforced, is positive
detriment to the cause of temperance, an in
cubus upon the mercantile interests of Maine
and curse to the city of Portland That law
was enacted for the purpose of lesseniug the
evils of intemperance, not to put money into
the pockets of our county officials, but its prac-
tical workings lead only to the latter result,
for the average emOluments of the deputy
sheriffs of Cumberland county for the last year
were about $2500 each. Not Que of them re-
ceived less than $4,000 My business is such
that am able to estimate how much liquor is
imported into this city, and declare that more
has come in here, in the last year, than in any
preceding year of my recollection. And this
in the face of the fact that the prohibition law
has been more stringent and more rgdly en-
forced than ever before There are known to
be 70 club rooms in this city where liquors are
| dispensed, patronized principally by our young
men, the very ones the temperance people wish
most to reach. The young man who spends
his evenings in these club rooms drinks five or
SIX times during an evening, who would not
disgrace himself by drinking at all if he had
to go to hotel bar to procure liquor, publicly.
That is one way in which the proh,bitory law
| is detriment to the cause of temperance
The utter prohibition of the liquor traffic drives
capital from our state for investment in Massa-
chusetts and other states where no such law
| exists. In that way the law works against
the mercantile interests of Maine. Our sheriffs
seize and destroy thousands of barrels of ale
and beer every year in this city, every barrel
| of which represented SO much property and
| capital OF our citizens utterly destroyed and
thrown away, while our city rum shop does a
| legalzed and lucrative business in supplying
our hotels and some of our Republican hypo-
critical total abstainers with all the beverages
| they desire That is one reason why declare
| the prohibitory law a curse to the city of Port
| land. In the interest of temperance desire
| its repeal. There is 40 doubt the law has shut
| up many hundreds of saloons upon the prin-
| cpal streets and banished the bars from most
of the hotels throughout the state; but nobody
pretends that he, who has got the money to