The Portland daily press., 1879-08-02
TEMPERANCE PROGRESS IN MAINE
Remarks Of Hon. Nelson Dingley at the
Sebago State Temberance Convention.

After appropriate preliminary remarks Mr..
Dingley said he should speak of Temperance
Triumphs and Dangers in Maine" While on
the one hand Maine is pointed to by the friends
of temperance abroad as well as at home as an
example of unexampled temperance progress,
on the other hand it is earnestly contended that
there has been no real advance, and that there
is proportionately as much liquor sold and
drank in the State as ever
This controversy is due to the fact that
Maine has combated King Alcohol with two
edged sword-moral suasion and legal agen-
cies, instead of the former alone. Had we
been content to use only moral agencies, the
enemies of temperance would certainly have
found no fault with our policy. The activity
which they now show in representing that our
prohibitory policy is failure is evidence that
it has touched the liquor trade in weak
point.
Those who deny that there has been any i'm
provement in the drinking habits of the people
of Maine, endeavOr to create the impression
that we have abandoned moral means and are
relying entirely on legal agencies These men
wilfully overlook the fact that in no other State
has there been so general use of moral agencies
in promoting temperance reform as in Maine.
The most potent moral movements that have
ever been known, had their origin here. The
prohibitionists of this State have ever been
foremost in moral work. They have simply
used legal as a buttress of moral suasion.
They have done this in order that the men
saved by moral agencies might be aided to
keep their good resolutions by the removal of
the dram-shop temptations They have felt also
that in the realm of morals, as well as religion,
the law is q schoolmaster to lift men to better
life.
We are told that the use of law in promot-
ing sobriety and virtue, is inconsistent with
made sober by law. 1t is amazing that candid
men should present this objection, when they
see no inconsistency in the use Of other laws to
| aid moral agencies 1t is admitted that laws
| prohibiting gambling saloons and houses of ill
| fame are powerful aids to moral means in pro-
| noting virtue. They remove temptations
which would seriously weaken the influence of
| moral inculcatiOnS, and overthrow, perhaps,
good resolutions. So laws prohibiting dram
shops not only brand the drinking habit as
wrong, but also lessen the temptations which
| otherwise would stare men in the face, and de-
| stroy much of the results of moral work.
That this policy of fighting King Alcohol
with the double-edged sword of moral and legal
suasion has been highly successful, is shown by
| the following, among other considerations:
| 1. kThree-fourths of the people of Maine,
| who certainly would not be satisfied with any
| policy that did not produce good results, be-
| lieve that it has been grand success. There
| is little doubt that when the Maine Law was
| enacted in 1851, as buttress to moral suasion,
majority of our citizens doubted its wisdom
and only consented to it as an experiment
| The fact that the experiment has become a
| policy of over twenty years growth, and the
policy so we'll established that no political
| party dares to set up the banner of repeal, is
Convincing con- proof that the people of Maine re,
gard its wisdom as clearly established.
g Statistics show that the people of Maine
are not mistaken in their view of the success oi
our policy in prohibiting dram-shops. In 1882
Secretary Pond of the Maine Temperance AS
sociationfsecured and caused to be printed, re-
ports from over two hundred towns, showing
what the condition Of our State was as to the
sale and use of intoxicating liquors in 1880
AT that time, Maine, with population Of
100000, had thirteen distilleries which manu-
factured about million gallons of rum. To
day there is not single distillery or brewery
| in the State.
There were thenin the State, 1000 open bars
Zone to every 225 inhabitants); 500 taverns il
the State, all but 40 had an open bar; nearly
every general store sold liquor by the quantity
Secretary Pond estimates the annual sales a
between ten and twelve million dollars, ol
| over $25 per inhabitant.
OF course as the sale now is mainly surrep-
titious, it is impossible to obtain even approx
mate statistics. Outside of two or three cities
there are no open bars. In the rural region!
the traffic is emphatically stopped. In tho
larger places tits sold in out of the way places
known only to the initiated. From the yer,
nature of the case the absence of open bars ant
the stamp of shame put on the traffic by being
compelled to hide its head, has greatly cur
tailed the sales So far as 1 can learn, few
claim that more than million dollars wortl
of liquor or 50 per inhabitant, is now sold il
the State-only one-tenth what was sold A
years ago.
Specific statistics, gathered by Secretar,
Pond from various towns, more than confirm
the general view that have presented:
Kennebunk population 2239 reported 500
gallons of liquor sold in 1927; now none sole
openly and but fraction of this amount con
sumed. Durham had seven licensed grog
shops in 1888 now no liquor is known to be sol.
in town. Minot (then including Auburn) witt
population of 1908, had in 1888 thirteen grog
shops; now these towns, with a population of TO-
600, have not a single place where liquor is soil
as beverage. Westbrook in 1888 had A licenses
grog-shops, which sold over 1000 gallon
liquor; now there is no open bar in town, an
a small part of this amount drank. Andoye
reported 2000 gallons liquor sold in 1888; noN
not drop. Readtield reported at the sam