The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-08-03
Gov. Dingley'S Address.

Gov. Dingley's speech at Lake Maranacook
is q valuable contribution to the literature of
the temperance cause just at this time. In
many of our States an active agitation is now
going on to procure the constitutional prohibi-
ton of the liquor traffic. Kansas has obtained
it, A Resolve in favor of it has passed the
Legislature of Iowa, and the Republican party
of the State with $4,000 majority has endorsed
it at its recent State convention.
In Michigan the Resolve in favor of constitu-
tional prohibition passed one house and failed
in the other by only one vote-while some
members voted no who were elected pledged
10 vote yes. In Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio,
Pennsylvania and other States the movement
for constitutional prohibition is in active prog
ress.
In all.these localities the chief opposition
comes from the brewers and distillers, and
they rely upon false statements of the effect of
prohibition in Maine, where they say more
liquor is sold than ever before, more in proper,
tion to the population than in any other State
with the result of frightful drunkenness, de-
moralizaton and crime.
This morning mail brings me letter from
Michigan, enclosing slip from the Chicago
Tribune. in which tho writer says there is more
drunkenness in Portland than in Chicago, and
dru Dkards are so plenty that railroad trains
run over them, as out West they run over army
worms which cover the rails for miles. He
says the train he was in killed two drunken
men in one day, and in each case the wife
and sister were waiting at the station toreceive
the remains, crying and Shrieking over
them dreadful" The inference is that in
Maine "wives and sisters are always waiting
at the stations to receive the mashed bodies of
their friends: The poverty and general dilapi-
dation of Maine are dreadful they say all
coming from the Maine Law, which causes
more liquor to be sold than ever.
Governor Dingley's speech at Maranaceok
was prepared with great labor and care ex-
pressly to meet and confound this crowd of in
terested falsfiers about the effects of the Maine
Law. A short time ago paragraph went the
rounds of the general press to the effect that
the supreme court of Kansas had declared the
constitutional amendment in that State to be
unconstitutional; and had overthrown the
prohibitory law there L supposed the latter
part of the story must be true, but yesterday /
received the text of the decision of the cour.
all the judges concurring. The constitutional
ity of the constitutional amendment was not in
question, but the constitutionality of the pro-
hibitory law was fully affirmed in every par
tlcular. The court took pains to travel beyond
the points of the case before them, to cover
the whole ground of the law and to affirm its
constitdtionality.
My chief purpose in writing this article is to
warn our friends in other States against any
unwarranted inference, that anti-temperance
papers will draw from the election of Gov
Dingley to Congress from tile second district
A "Prohibitionist'' candidate has been nomi-
mated against him, and many newspapers say:
''Now we shall see what the strength is, at
the polls, of the Prohibitionists of Maine"
But they won't see anything of the sort in the
vote for the prohibition" candidate
There is no man in the country more widely
Gov. Dingley. All his life he has been that,
not from selfish considerations, from hope of
office, but from a ,ttled conviction that the
liquor traffic is great public and social mis-
chief, inevitably tending to poverty, pauperism
and crime, and that the State is in duty bound
to protect itself from its influences and re-
suits. lie was Staunch friend of the policy
of pro hibition in Maine in those early days
when it had hard struggle to keep its ground
against the fierce assaults of interest, appetite
and passion, supported by wealth and social
position and the influence that those lend to
any side Of any cause, right or wrong that they
eSpouSe.
Gov. Dingley, from his official position and
from the influential press that he has long con-
trolled, has had many opportunities of lending
the help of a strong hand to the cauSe of tenn
perance and prohibition, and he has always
one knows personally better than / do. The
vote for the "prohibition' candidate, therefore
will in no way indicate the opinions of the
people of the second district as to the wisdom
or otherwise of the policy of the Maine Law.
NEAL Dow.