Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-03-26

which indorsed this policy, prevailed by
large majorities. Two years ago, and
again last year, even the Democratic
State convention voted down resolutions
condemning prohibition, and to-day no
political party dares go before the people
of Maine with ''repeal" on its banner.
1t is obvious to any candid man that
such state of sentiment could not exist
in this State if experience had not salts
fed large majority of the people that
prohibition is more effective than license
in dealing with the evils Of the liquor
traffic. No one claims that legal prohibi
ton entirely suppresses the sale of intox-
icating liquors as n beverage Laws pro-
hibiting larceny. robbery, or even muir
der, do not extirpate the crimes against
which they aimed What is claimed is,
that our laws against dram-shops are as
effective against them rs the laws against
gambling houses and houses of ill-fame
are against those evils and that they
rest on precisely the same grounds. VIZ,
that such places are detrimental to the
public interests.
A statement has been recently made by
a Maine correspondent Of the Waterman
and Rcfcctor, that ''liquor can be had
openly by travellers i'll the leading hotels
of Portland and other cities. In reply
to this, Rev. Henry S. BurraSe, of Port
land, editor of the Zions AdcOcatc Dap
tist), says that after careful investigation
he is satisfied this statement Is not well
founded so far as Portland is concerned
and can bear witness that it is not true
as to either Lewiston or Auburn. Mr.
Burrage says:
Secret grog-shops, private club-rooms, there are
in Portland, but no open bars. In moi one oil the
leading hotels, nor in any hotel. liquor be had
openly. In SEINE of these hotels there are secret
club-rooms IL Is tue and IN one of these last week,
there was seizure of liquors but let the location
OF such 4 club-roOm be known, and visit OF the
proper officers Will speedily follow.
.. To specify more partic ularly the
grounds for the conclusions reached by n
large majority of the people of Maine,
mention that We have found our prohibit
ory laws Il powerful adjunct Of moral
agencies, Ill forming public sentiment
against the use, us well rs sale, of lntoxl-
eating liquors Whatever is prohibited
Ny Law Siu-or Iii, octiy indirectly, Is
thereby deprived of a certain appearance
of respectabihty which attaches to any
thing that is under legal protection. As
u result of the reinforcement which NOR
al agencies have received from prohibi-
ton, We have succeeded Ill forming pub
lie sentiment which most emphatically
condemns even the moderate use of in
to1icating liquors as Il beverage. So
strong is this sentiment that few men of
standing, outside of narrow circles i'll
few cities, care to have it known that they
drink at all and candidates for public
Office regard it as important TO be known
as total abstinence men.
3. Prohibition has stopped eifectually
the manufacture Of distilled and ferment-
ed liquors in Maine. In 1880, when our
population was less than two-thirds of
what it il to-day, there were thirteen dis
tilleries i'll this State, which manufactured
over two gallons of rum to each inlabl-
tant, nearly all of which was consumed in
the State. To-day there is not Il single
distillery or brewery i'll Maine.
4. Prohibition has well-nigh stopped
he traffic in Intoxicating liquors i'll the
rural districts of Maine Forty-tive years
ago all the country taverns had open bars,
and all the country stores sold intoxica-
ting liquors as freely as molasses or cali
co. For example, the town Of Durham,
with less than l 800 Inhabitants, had in
1882 seven licensed grog shops. To-day
there is not drop of liquor sold in town.
.Readfeld had in 1882 seven open bars, at
which were sold 2,300 gallons Of spirits
annually. Now none is sold to be used
as beverage. Minot Cthen including
Auburn. with population of 1908 III
1888, had thirteen Srog-shops. Now
these towns, with n population OF 10000,
have not Il single place where liquor is
known to be sold as Il beverage.
). Fifty years ago, even i'll cur rural
districts, nearly every male drank liquor.
Liquors were kept III most of the houses
to treat callers Nobody thought Of hav-
ing company, or raising, without sup
ply Of ardent spirits. At musters and
other public gatherings, drunkenness and
drunken affrays were common. Now,
three-fourths of the males i'll the rural
districts are total abstincnts, and the prac-
tice Of keeping liquors i'll houses To treat
callers has practically ceased. 1t would
be considered an objectionable offence TO
furnish spirits ut II public meeting. At
large public gatherings, cases Of lntoxl-
cation are surprisingly few, and drunken
alterations rare This improvement is
strikingly shown by statistics. In 1888,
Secretary Pond of the Maine Temperance
Association reported that in the town of
Alfred there We're - men and , women
accustomed to get beastly drunk in
kenncbunk % notorious drunkards /; i'll
Topsham population ,5Gi) 40 0drunkards :;
in New Gloucester 10 &; Pennington 50 :;
Wayne 30. Recent reports from these towns
show that the present number of notori-
GUS drunkards Ill these and other towns is
not one-eighth, and many towns say not
one-tenth, Of what it was forty years ago.
The reports also show II marked improve
ment i'll the condition of the people.
G. In the cities and larger villnges,
representing less than one-tourth of the
population of Maine, the Improvement is
less marked than III the rural districts,
although undeniab,y real even there
| There are three reasons for tins less
marked improvement the greater facili-
| ties that wee has to hide itself in crowded
populations the concentration there of
II large foreign population which has
come into this State within thirty years :;
and the resort to the city of the drinking
men still left i'll the rural regions, for
supplies of liquor Ii the cities had
simply held their own under these cir
cumstances, 1t would bc II great gain
But they have done more than this As II
rule, there are no dram shops even here
Occasionally, through the fmlurc to elect
both city officials and county sherilis
friendly to prohibition, the law will be
neglected, and open drnm-shops will ap-
pear here and there. That is the ease ut
the present time III two or three cities
But generally speaking, even in the cities,
intoxicating liquors are sold only surrcp-
titiously, and are to be found only by
those who know the signs and passwords
Of the liquor fraternity-and then manly
in places kept by foreigners. The open
dram shop tempts no one. In the cities
of Lewiston and Auburn, with "a populn-
ton of nearly 10000 there is not II single
open dram shop; and no hotel has even II
secret bar. In the lnrger cities there are
many cases of drunkenness, but three
fourths of them are of foreigners, who re
sort to the most desperate cxpedicnts To
obtain supply of liquor. AS confirmed
inebrintes i'll the rural districts are obliged
to resort to the CITIES to obtain their puta
tiQns, it frequently happens that the po-
lice reports of a city like Portland show