Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1883-07-31

The books of the Internal Revenue office
for Maine show that for the present year sl3
persons have paid the L. 5. tax as dealers in
liquors. As the tax Is only S25. the penalties
for non-payment very severe, and the L. :.
detective service very vigilant, il is believed
that this covers every person who intends to
sell liquors however secretly. 1t covers also
nearly 200 of the druggists of the State. a
large proportion of whom claim that they
never sell liquor Ne beverage.
But counting all a. dealers, and we have
one liquor dealer to about every 500 inhabi-
tants, and ali secret dealers outside of seven
teen places, who are doing very small bust
ness under great difficulties while fifty years
ago there was in Maine one licensed dram
shop to every 225 inhabitants. The average
number Of dealers in Northern wholly license
States il one to every 2l0 inhabitants. or
nearly four times as many as in Maine; and
in not single wholly license
State in the North is the number
less than one to $50 inhabitants In
New York and New jersey there is one
dram shop to every $50 inhabitants, in Rhode
Island one to 200, in Delaware one 10 $50,
and in California one to 95. The average for
the whole Union is one to every 800 inhab-
itAnts.
Illus it will be seen that even counting all
persons who paid tax as dealers land the
number of those who sell as a beverage is
much less), and there are only one-fcurth ss
many liquor dealers per thousand inhabitants
in Maine that there is on the average in
license States. When it is borne in mind
that dealers in Maine are generally obliged
to do a secret business. with very small stocks,
il 10 evident that the sales of two or three
dealers in this State cannot be as large as the
sales Of one licensed open dealer in a license
State. These facts make it evident that the
sales of liquor in Maine cannot be one-eighth
what they are in license States. The amount
brought In from Boston by express for per-
sonal use, is not so large AS many imagine as
the packages are all small. and the aggregate
amount 90 introduced is not so much AZ would
be sold by a very few open licensed liquor
Embellishments.
The fact that the U. S. Revenue Report
shows that only cents per inhabitant was
collected on the manufacture and sale OF
liquors in Maine in 1882, while 81 40 per in
hsbitsnt we're collected in the whoio Union,
affords very striking contrast.
II has already been observed that prohibi.
ton practically abolishes secret as we'll as
open dramshops in the rural sections, and
con1ncs the traffic 10 tue cities and larger
villages where il can hide. This is striking
y shown bv the United States Revenue re
turns COR Maine.
In the fourteen cities Of Maine. with a
population of LA SOS, the number of persons
including about 100 druggists. who paid the
tax ~ dealers in liquors, is 496, or one to
about 500 inhabitants; or emitting Bange.
with lS4 dealers, where the Law is but slight
" enforced, and in the other Is cities there
u one dealer to every $50 Inhabitants. Sta
datics Of the number Of dealers in 60 license
cities (ail that have been reached) show one
dealer 70 every l55 inhabitants, or twice a.
many - in Maine cities. Tie actual num-
Der Of dealers who sell liquor ~ beverage,