Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1883-10-25
New York Sun.
DRINKING DESPITE LAW.
One City i'm Maine Where Men Drink
at Open Bars.
Changes That Have Taken Place in
Liberal BangOr-The Trickery Met
With Elsewhere in the State
PortIand's Low Dives.

BANGOR, October l5.-Under the IAN
atics the public bars of this city wereall
closed in 1877, and the liquor trade,
though not decreased in volume, be-
came degraded. The Republicans, who
controlled the Prohibition vote, had
made Jerrard Sheriff of PenObscot coun-
ty. There were searches and seizures
without number or stOppage, and men
lodged in by back doors, took drinks
from "bottle carriers and from fallen |
women, Joined so-called clubs, the pri-
mary object of whose formation was to
obtain liquor and place to drink it,
but which soon grew to be gambling |
dens, and formed the foundation of the
faro banks, which, until recently, curs-
ed Bangor. Not a drop less of liquor
was consumed, but the liquor that was
sold got to be the vilest stuff purchase
BILE. Jerrard's regime was a costly one
for Penobscot county, and prohibition
lost much.
In 1880 the Fusion or Democratic
Greenback party elected II set of county
officers very unlike the Republicans,
especially as regards the liquor ques-
ton There was decided change in
city affairs, and, although the police Of
ten descended upon dives and on retail
ers who had no Federal license, bars
were soon doing business openly all
over town. Thus matters have cOntin-
ued ever since, although the Democrats
only elected their sheriff at the last elec-
ton. Public sentiment seems to be de-
cidedly against prohibition in Bangor,
irrespective of politics. The Republi-
cans have played with the temperance
radicals for years, and the latter seem
never to have realized the fact until the
other day, when Neal Dow, in a letter
| to an advocate of prohibition in NIassa-
chusetts, declared that "The time has
come for us to break with the Republi-
can party"
The latest effort to enforce the law in
Bangor has proved an immense failure.
In fact not blow has been struck by
those who were expected to bring about
revolution. The Governor, at the re-
quest of a certain straightforward clique
and in the face of remonstrance by
many influential citizens, appointed
two constables to enforce the law of pro-
hibition in Bangor, and then lay back
imagining that he had done his part
and won the lasting sympathy OF the
temperance element of Penobscot coun-
ty. The appointments created consld-
erable excitement at first, but as the
DAYS passed on with no signs of war,
fears were allayed and the bars contln-
ued open. The next move was the pub
lished declination to accept the office
by one of the appointees, Captain Will
liam Flowers. AS there is no likelihood
that the other man will accept the post,
this will probably end the matter, and
the men of Bangor will walk up man.
fully as usual and take their drinks.
1t is estimated that there are two
hundred open bars in the city of Ban
gor, some of them finely fitted up. One
, small one, lately opened cost 81 500 for
, interior fittings. During the Eastern
Maine Fair one bar sold $500 worth OF
drinks in one day. The hotels all have
l bars, two of these being finely fitted up
. The hour for closing all bars is fixed by
, the city at 10 O'Clock p. NJ. AS every
restaurant has q bar, and as when the
. bar closes the whole establishment
= closes, and the hotels are all on tht
$ American plan. 1t will be seen that ;
! hungry man reaching Bangor at on'
: minute past 10 o'clock p. III. stands {
good chance of remaining hungry unit
: next morning. The hotels keep thei
s bars open until 10 o'clock for the publ
4 generally, and drinks are served t.
guests as late as midnight and on Sun
!. days. but there are no bars open OF
0 Sunday. One noticeable feature in th
@ trade in Bangor is the great extent t
10 which beer and ale have taken tn
20 place of whisky and other hard liquors
G There is less drunkenness in Bangor to
a day than there used to be in prohibitio
e times, and the business of the Polio
r. Court is not half what it used to be bt
l. cause the liquors are of better quality
is and they are drank more moderated
% and more regularly. These are fact
It supported by figures. Bangor is to-da
,e the most orderly of Names cities.
= Everybody seems satisfied with til
lr present state of things, and three-qua
al ters of the population would be please
% to have the Prohibitionists get dow
m and out for good. The Mayor of Bal
gor is temperance man, but not pr
hibitionist. He was asked by the Go
ct ernor of the State what assistance l
Sc would require to stop the selling of
If quor in Bangor, and replied: "Fort
er extra policemen and $50,000." I'll
le Mayor was aked by your correspondel
Sc if he though this assistance would
If sufficient, and he replied that he W
IS uncertain as to that. When asked
i'd he favored prohibition, he answer'
re mo-" very decidedly. -,
Sc Elsewhere in Maine, however, I'll
situation is very different, although
is next to impossible to find a settl
he ment in which drink can not be pr
IT. cured by some means. In Portland, +
nd instance, the largest and the most sta
ii, nant city in the State, public sentime
al tolerates a continuance of the war (
the liquor trade, and yet liquor is SO
there. 1t is to be found in cellars, ho1
ID. easements, and cheap groggeries,
We club rooms, and in houses of ill-repu
to which places pleople sneak wi
guilty step as though it We're crime
at drink. On last Fourth of July the a
IRE nual celebration was attended by all
ire Portland and considerable delegatio
from other cities, and one-half at lie;
of the men in this multitude dra
Dt- more or less, and got all they wantt
,as Some got more than they should ha
hn drunk. Instead of walking up to
he open bar and taking their drinl
ID though, they entered houses throu
is the back doors, and sought the sec
is sion of hotel easements, where wretch
er- stuff was easily obtained. The effect
100 the prohibitory law was that poor RI