The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-04-18
T,ocxpopr Nv Anr;l 8. 1882.

the WOrlQ anu OF Q6u. lu6 tfaNOilnS 60 W
stage coach, and by steamboat on the lakes
and rivers, and on the Erie Canal by PACKET
Boats, as they were called-that is, canal
boats fitted up nicely for feeding and ''sleep-
ing' the Travellers numerous, for those days,
who were moving about the country on bust
ness or for pleasure.
That year was the first of the opening of "De
Witt Clinton's Ditch" as the great Erie Canal
had been called CONTEMPORARY by those ex-
cellent conservative people who were opposed
to its construction. a great many of the fore
most men of the State were bitter opponents
of Clinton In his endeavors to procure the con-
struction of this grand work, which may be
regarded as the beginning of the great career
of this country in wealth and population, and
in influence and power among the nations.
These same sort of men-I mean men of their
kind-are always opposed to every project,
whatever it may be, that seeks the improve
ment of society and the general good of man.
kind. Stephenson felt their influence and
power in opposing the construction of railways;
the experience of Morse was the same in his
early experiments with his electric telegraph,
and Fulton with his project of steam naviga-
ton, and the originators OF the attempt at
ocean navigation and of ocean biography 1t
is always the same old story. "You cannot do
it, and if you could no good would come of IT,"
AnGso all these people, intelligent, excellent
men, with the best intentions in the world,
always hang back, lending no help of head or
hand to any of the great enterprises which
have been at any time undertaken for the bene,
fit of mankind. 1t is within our time that
many of the best men among us resisted vehe-
mently the anti-slavery agitation and de-
nounced as infidels and disorganizers those
who were engaged in it. Clergymen, Doctors
of Divinity, Bishops, meaning to serve the
Lord not aware that they were really serving
the devil. Timid men, always taking counsel
of their doubts and fears. When the thing is
accomplished the good of it enures to them as
much as to to the workers in it, but it has been
done in spite of their active orr passive opposi-
ton.
Well, to come back to Clinton's Ditch. 1t
was new thing in 1925, and to travel on 1t in
packet" was something to talk about in
those days. So after much journeying in stage
coaches, came one night to Schenectady.
which in those days was as far away as the
Rocky Mountains are now. After delicious
sleep at a little Dutch tavern, / took a Packet
in the morning for the Far West"-there's
where Buffalo was in thoss days, a little viii
lage planted in vast sand bank on the shore
of the great lake. We passed through Lock-
port ON our way west, where was to be seen a
great engineering work, thought in those days
10 ne one OF tn6 won Q0TB OF tDe w Oriu-tn6
fTen Double Locks on the Canal, and the
people were eloquent in talking about it, and
among other marvellous stories told of it was
this, that in deep rock excavation, fourteen
feet below the surface, living toad was found
in a small cavity, just large enough to contain
him, in the centre OF an enormous block,
broken by blast of gunpowder. 1 find no
tradition here now of that wonderful toad.
Lock port was in its infancy then, being born
of the Erie Canal, which was carried for miles
at this spot through solid rock. with very
deep cutting, occupying many men long
time to accomplish. 1t is said that the infin-
ence of those men and of those days, yet clings
to the town and makes it what it is, or rather,
what it is said to be. put it that way to avoid
all personal responsibility. They say here-I
heard i6 at the Opera House, where was as
sembled a great audience, that there is not a
State Prison in the country that has not among
its guests at least one from Lockport. An in
heritance of decentralization probably from the
old time, when great numbers of men-such
men-were occupied so long on the canal at
this point However that may be, the city
"enjoys" an exceptional reputation, having in
it more SALOONS" in proportion to its popula-
ton, and more of all that comes from them,
than any other town in the State
There are here sixty licensed grog shops, and
one hundred and twelve others not licensed,
the Generalization resulting from them being
fearful Some of them are kept by retired
prize fighters, ruffians of the worst character;
others by broken-down gamblers; others by
graduates from the penitentiaries; some of
them, it must be admitted, by men who pass
for "decent" in the community, but all of
them working to the same end, the impover-
ishment and degradation of the people An
extraordinary work is now going on here for
the purpose of changing all that. Two years
ago Portland boy came here as a settlad pas
tor, and was Mortified at the state of things
coming from the soloons, those centres OF in
-saHisy; rIhsse YVES No Passite 9Rina0n a. al
here then-no feeling OF any kind upon the
subject. The people had always known these
horrors and had become hardened to them
But our Portland boy induced all his brother
pastors to join him in forming Council
to consist of the minister and two laymen of
each church, the Catholics helping with heart
and hand. This Council had regular meetings
to devise ways and means to rescue Lockport
from the slough in which it was wallowing.
After much work they have obtained from
the Legislature special law, permitting the
people to have a direct vote on the question,
Rum or No Rum, which is to come off on the
eleventh of this month, and for several weeks
the town has been stirred up by great meetings
held in the Opera House three times week.
The Council has laid itself out largely to Oh
tain outside help speakers from Kentucky,
and from Iowa and from the far East. They
say if they can vote down license" in Lock-
port it can be done in every town and city in
the State for Lockport, they say know
nothing of it's the wlckedest place ia it, as
MCAul6ys 8 saloon was the W1CkeQ6SI place IN
the great city of New York.
The ministers preach about it, laying out be-
fore their people not only the moral and relig-
ious interests involved in the great work now
going on here, but going largely into all those
relations OF the grog shops to the material In
terests of the town and to the happiness of the
families. of which hundreds are now in the ex-
treme OF wretchedness occasioned by the habits
of husbands, fathers, sons, led to ruin by the
grog shops. There are here seven hundred
drunkards and more than twelve hundred wo-
men and children in extreme misery and
wretchedness. all coming from the saloons, to
say nothing of fathers who have drunken sons,
or the shame and distress of sons who have
drunken fathers. All this in small town of
fourteen thousand inhabitants.
At the Opera House tonight it was said that
one saloon-had this evening over its door q
great transparency, on which was inscribed in
large letters: Fellow Citizens, Stand For
Yonr Rights. Visit The Saloons. Don't Take
Your Liquor On The Sly. Young Men, Stand
By Your Guns" This saloonist is recently
from Sing Sing, where he has been on a two
years sentence on nine convictions for liquor
selling.
At the beginning of this movement against
the saloons the gentlemen" keeping them
pose. On the evenings of the meetings there
were fires and alarms of fire in different parts
of the city. There we're many OF them. At
last the police caught two boys in the act OF
setting lire, and they turned states evidence,
having been melted to the act by one of the
most respectable liquor dealers in town.
This man was taken from his bed by the police
at midnIght and locked. up. a piece of summary
justice which has considerably cowed and in
tin idated the entire fraternity.
Notwithstanding the great intesest felt in the
question mere, the temperance workers are not
confident of success this time, as a great many
most respectable men, timid men, cowardly
men, ill probably fall into line with the
rougbs, rogues and rascals and vote in favor of
the Saloons. However that may be, the town
is pretty thoroughly aroused, and the work will
go on to triumphant issue.
1t was at Lockport that the Holly system of
public water works was devised, of such great
value TO towns that cannot obtain water sup
ply by gravitation. And this is the only town,
/ think, where the inhabitants are supplied
from common centre with steam for heating
purposes and for all household uses. This is
done through underground pipes. like gas and
water pipes, and at any time, by night or day,
the heat may be let ON in any apartment of the
house precisely in the same way as if it came
from an apparatus in the cellar. In my apart
ments here, parlor and bedroom, have
radiator in each, where have the temperature