Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1883-05-30
How the Prohibitory Law Fails In Maine.

How the Prohibitory Law Fails In Maine.
From Massachusetts and Michigan, from
Connecticut and California, comes the same
story Prohibition has been tried in Maine
and is failure" "The people are tired Of
It," "There is more drunkenness there than
in any other state" ." Any one that wants
liquor can get it anywhere" etc, etc. These
reports are echoed sorrowfully by many sim
cere temperance men, iudifferently by many
lukewarm ones, and jubilantly by the liquor
dealer and those who work in his interest.
II prohibition is such failure and is the
cause of 80 much increased liquor drinking
and liquor selling, why the rumseller should
be so anxious to proclaim it aud TO work
against the law is q mystery which disturbs
logical minds. Yet, it is true, that even
while making vigorous efforts to resist and
evade and repeal the law, the liquor interest
continues to shout, "The prohibitory law is
a failure in Maine"
Yes, it does fail to make liquor selling
respectable occupation, as license law too
often renders it. 1t fails also to make liquor
drinking the proper and expected thing for
the young man to do, as is the case in too
many places. The young man in Maine, If
he is bound to have spree, can, doubtless,
in many places, find the whisky, but he
must sneak away into disreputable places
to find it. He must dodge into a dark al
ley, or tumble up a rickety fight of stairs,
or drink his grog from dirty tumbler in an
ill-smelling Irish kitchen.
The prohibitory law in Maine, too, fails
to make liquor manufacturing profitable or
possible, as the only brewery in the vicinity
Of Portland testifes, which long stood lonely
and empty, until recently it has been util-
lied for the honest purpose of tin can fac
tory. If, in these senses, the liquor interest
means that the prohibitory law fails in
Maine, we fully agree with it.
But is there not drinking and drunken
ness in Portland and Bangor and other
large places in Maine 2 Undoubtedly.
The profits of the rum-seller are so enor-
nous that, in the face of frequent seizures
and constant risk, he will ply his trade and
make money by it. The large places, too,
become the centers of the liquor trade for
all the state, and to them thirsty countrymen
come from all the small towns, where no
liquor is sold, TO fill their jugs and often to
get full themselves. Thus the low rum
sellers of the cities have monopoly Of all
the business of the state.
But how is it possible" I said to one of
the most efficient officers of the law, "that
so much should be sold in spite of the nu-
merous raids you make upon the rum-sell-
ers ?" al will tell you," he replied. "You
see the dealers resort to all kinds Of lodges
to conceal the liquor. When they get a
barrel of beer they will bury it in manure
heap out at the back door, connecting it by
a rubber hose with the house, or they will
hang bottles of hard liquor down in the
vault, where We would not be likely to look
for it, Sometimes it is concealed under the
floor, which looks even and solid, and which
may be covered with carpet.
"1n one place where we had reason to be
very sure there was liquor, we were greatly
puzzled to find it, At last we went down
cellar. There was nothing suspicious in its
| appearance; the floor seemed to be of solid
cement, the walls of solid stone. We sounded
all parts Of it with axe and crowbar, until
we struck a hollow place in the stone wall.
On further investigation we found that there
was a heavy plank door which opened into
| a vault in the side. On this door were fas.
tened thin slabs Of stone and the edges were
| sealed with cement, which could be Clipped
away when new barrels were to be put in
or old barrels were to be taken out, while
| the liquor was forced up into the kitchen
above.
Sometimes the stronger liquors are put
| In box outside the window or under the
counter, and heavy weight suspended ovel
the bottles. These establishments almost
always have spy at the door to tell when
an officer is coming; word is given, q spring
is touched and down comes the weight
smashing the bottles and leaving only broken
glass and the smell of liquor for us to seize
Rather intangible evidence in court is the
smell, so we occasionally have to let the pro
| prietor 60, but his liquor is spoiled fol
that time.
| Sometimes" continued the officer, we
get hold of a carload of beer, but the rail
roads do their best to outwit us; frequently
hitching on an engine and running the sus
pected car out of harms way, so it is not a,
J easy as it might seem to get hold of the stuff
when it first comes into town. If good cit
| liens and temperance men would only assis
us by giving US information, our work would
be much easier; but they all think it's oul
business to find where the liquor is, and W.
seldom have any help from them. Abou
the only information from outside that w
get is what comes from the jealousy Of
those in the same business"
Yet, in spite of all these drawbacks, grea
quantities of liquor have been destroyed il
Portland during the past year. For many
months an average of nearly hundred bar
rels of beer a month was poured into the
sewer, and stronger liquors in a proportion
somewhat less.
"Since the second of July last" says tn,
Portland Press of March 80, "the sheriff
have made 255 seizures of liquors, on which
81, 400 and costs have been paid into tn,
municipal court. Twenty-Five cases hav,
been appealed on which at least $500
fines and costs will be paid and years in jsi
will be endured besides"
This record represents an average of NOR
than one seizure for every weekday, ant
this is how the prohibitory law in Main
fails to make it easy for the rum.seller.-
By Rev. f. E. Clark, Portland, in Congregd
tionalisL