The Portland daily press., 1881-02-08
Lager Beer

!
Lager Beer"
10 the Editor Of the Press:
have to apologize for the frequency with
which l trouble you with articles on temper
ance and prohibition. The fault, if any, is not
wholly mine; for while there are many persons
IN THIS city and in the State who can answer
the frequent attacks upon them better than
can. there seems to be general expectation
shat the work shall be done by me-
The liquor traffic in Maine is much like
vicious horse down in the harness; several per-
sons upon his head and shoulders, hold him
DOWN and resist his frantic efforts to rise keep
ing clear of his heels all the while, with which
he lashes out savagely. Until the animal shall
be shocked in the head and done for once for
all this struggle must go on. We seek to ad-
minister the coup de grace, and shall do it by
aad by.
IA writer iu your issue Of the 9TH, calling
himself "Fair Play has undertaken to en-
tighten your readers on the whole question of
temperance. 1t would be particularly interest
ing to known who he is, because the value of
his opinions depend very much upon our
knowledge of the point of view from which he
looks at the matter. Sometime ago gentle
man kindly took us temperance men to task
for the unwise way in which we managed the
cause. He had the pen of ready writer, but
when we learned who he was, hidden behind
his A. b. g., we found him to be one ALWAYS
with short German pipe in his mouth, except
for occasional moments, when he took "a pull'
at bottle or two of "lager." Ny suggestion
is that it is hardly modest in such people to
lecture us temperance men on our methods.
There is very little in "Fair Plays article
that requires notice from any temperance man,
but will allude to two or three matters that
he speaks of. He asks:-"Is it not clearly
proven when Gen. Dow himself admits that
l3O rum shops now exists in this city, that the
prohibition law is not practicable for this city?"
No, there is no proof whatever in that direc-
ton. The law is perfectly practicable for this
city or any other in the State, except that
few tritirg additions to it are absoutel ly neces-
sary IN order to do its work thoroughly and
speedily For several years we have annually
asked for these additions, pledgng ourselves
that with them we would extirpate the last
rumshop from the city in three months.
One hundred and thirty rum shopsl What
are they? Low, dirty dens in Centre street,
Gorhams Corner, Clay Cove and Christian
Shore. Inc whole stock in trade of each of
them will be perhaps half pint or pint bottle
in coat pocket or pitcher or watering pot of
beer, the rumseller keeping sharp lookout for
the ofhce SO as to tip them over before
the officers can reach them. Sometimes it
is a barrel of beer hidden under the floor of
pig pen or under manure heap; sometimes
tin can of whiskey built into the plastering
under the stairs; sometimes small flat bottles
of rum hidden in the ash pit under the oven of
cooking stove; sometimes a jug of whiskey
hidden In trap cut in chamber floor under a
bed; sometimes two bottles of whiskay and
rum suspended to a woman's girdle, one each
side, beneath the onter skirt; sometimes
tin vessel, thin and fiat, worn by the rumsel-
Ter under his coat, with many other contriv-
ances to elude the officers.
We 20 To the Legislature with proposition
to stop all that. as we can easily do if we can
have small addition which we specify to the
Jaw as 1t is now. We are met with the answer
by all who know nothing of the matter that we
nave law enough now, if it was properly en-
forced. This is true only so fare as this: III
we had officers, all true temperance men and
true to their duty, who would not favor the
liquor traffic it could be done. But we have
not such officers, and are not likely to have
them, and we want the law arranged so as to
meet that difficulty as far as possible AT pres
INT, in this pull with the grog shops, we have
Fthe short end OF the yoke,' and we are fair
iy entitled to the long end of it.
We who have been at work all our lives in
the endeavor to suppress the grog shops ought
10 be allowed to know something of the mat
ter. We are perfectly familiar with the tricks
by which the rumsellers now escape, and have
been endeavoring for years to have a remedy
applied which we propose, but our friends from
the country, who know nothing of the matter,
object, and say 1--WE have law enough now.'
The PRESS of Monday morning is mistaken in
saying there are eighty club rooms here they
have all been suppressed but the two prominent
ones by the law passed last year.
The attempt to legalize the manufacture and
sale of beer in Maine is a desperate attempt of
the liquor traffic to get upon its feet again.
The pretext for it is that there are some sieut
breweries here that could be earning money
for their owners How? by creating values?
No! but by scraping in the hard earned wages
of working men. The liquor manufacture
and the liquor traffic creates no value. The
more of it in any city or State the poorer and
more wretched the people will be. No busi-
ness can profit community which destroys
values, and especially destroys the will, apti-
tude and ability to labor, whence all values
come. A brewer will become rich but his GUS
toners will inevitably become poor.
Governor Long OF Massachusetts recently
said in public address: "Just as far and as
fast as possible, the dram shop should be root
ed out. in the interest alike of good morals and
of the material welfare of capital and labor.
Abolish liquor selling and only about one-sev-
enth as many arrests would be made, and the
expense of the courts would be reduced one
half at least Give us the total5suppression of
this sale, which burdens honest people with
taxes and fills our prisons and alms-houses"
England is by far the most drunken nation
in the world, and its brutal drunkenness is on
Deers luey nave lnlS Oh all grades, ana the
degradation coming from the beer-habit can
only be realized by those who have taken the
pains, as have done, to see it. At the last
session of Parliament resolution embracing
the principle of prohibition passed by twenty
seven majority, JohnaBright, w. E. Forster
MIR. Chamberlain and other members of the
administration voting for it, and Mr. Glad
stone pledged the government to bring in a
bill to give force and effect to the will of the
House of Commons.
Kansas, Dy large majority, has recently
amended its constitution forever forbidding the
manufacture of intoxicating liquors, and the eir
sale except for medicinal and mechanical pur-
poses. Iowa is soon to vote on the same ques-
tion; and in North Carolina, Pennsylvania
New York, Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota
and Wisconsin petitions are in active circula-
tion to obtain similar amendment to their
constitutions.
Canada has adopted prohibition without
dissenting vote in either House of Parliament;
and every English colony is now agitating for
a similar measure. Even France and Switzer-
land are now inquiring what can be done to
check and diminish their abounding drunken
ness and consequent poverty and crime
l judge by the leader in the PRESS of Mon
day that the time is rapidly approaching when
there is to be break up of the Republican
party on the liquor question. L have feared
this for year or two, but have seen no indica-
ton tending in that direction so decided as the
article in the PRESS / allude to. L feel very
confident that the temperance men of Maine
will not be slow or unwilling to accept the
hot Han vt,nr, =