Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1883-08-07

Yet the "hoic uumUSt VI nho"h Va
pected dram shops reported in these cities
is only 432-l56 Of these being reported
as practically open in three cities, (lS4
of them in one city, and 27S, As "sscret
or suspected places" In the remaining
$50 towns only 100 dealers are reported
and these, with 20 exceptions in twelve
towns, are all put down as only I" secret
or suspected"
To indicate what the correspondents
mean by "secet or suspected places
the following extract from their remarks
will be Of value:
mot certain, but think there is one
place in town where the initiated may OBJ.
tain liquor"
1.-Two places that have been searched,
and liquor found secreted, and they are
still believed to sell now on the sly, though
we are watching them"
"Ten places in this city kept in dwell
| ing houses, where liquor is kept buried
or secreted, which have been frequently
broken up and the owners jailed; but it
has been found impossible as yet to pre-
vent them from selling secretly little
now and then"
No place IL ;,.. where it IS known
tha, liquor is sold, but We believe it is
slyly sold at one place which we hope to
get evidence against"
There are SSS towns and Plantations
assuming those yet to come in show
the same proportion as those already re-
turned in which the correspondents say
in substance that there is no place IN to'cn
,rhere any one can buy glass Of liquor.
1t is observable that one or more Of the
fifteen places-three cities and twelve
towns-in which liquor is sold openly in
this State, are always referred to by enc
mics of the law as proof that prohibition
is failure in Maine. The SS3 towns in
which no, drop is sold as a beverage,
and the l52 in which it is sold only Sc
cretly, are shut out Of the account.
4 large proportion of the correspond
ents speak Of the entire absence of drink
ing places in towns where before the days
of prohibition from three to twenty dram
shops existed in each. They also speak
of the thrift which has taken the place of
squslor, the improved condition of the
people, the good order which exists at
public gatherings, the general sobriety
which prevails, and the decrease in the
number of paupers-a large number OF
the towns reporting none. Many of. The
correspondents refer to the fact that
thousands Of men who would drink II
dlamshops were conveniently accessible,
now refrain almos, entirely; and en-
phasize the healthy influence upon the
young Of the absence Of open drinking
places.
ARRESTS ron DRUNKENNESS.
Arrests for drunkenness are not reli.
able tss, Of the extern, Of drinking In any
community, for the reason tina, different
degrees Of in,ox;os,ion may be regarded
~ ius,ifyins apprehension; yet they AZ.
ford some indication OF the real facts.
On inauirins as to the practice Of making
Arrest, in tie cities Of Maine. and in liz
senss cities Ia other s.s.es, Il appears
CERTAIN that arrests are made 10 Maine in
a multitude Of cAses where In license cis=
les the pqlics would simply ai,is. the in.
.osicated home. In one license city
| lowell record vas kept Of persons
assisted home drunk" IS well IS sr-
rested, and il vas found that the
number Of the former was almost a.
large as that az the latter IN some
some par,s OF the country no one is ar
rested for drunkenness alone.
Reports Of actual arrests in sixty i.
cense cities, make the average number
81 to every .hoassad popals.ioa-ths A.
rests ranging from seven to ffty-siS per
thousand.
In the fourteen cities Of Maine the av-
erags number Of arrests the last u,unici-
pal year was seventeen to every thousand
population in ~ the cities except Ban
gor and Portland Il was ten per thou
sand and in Lewiston and Auburn II
was only three per thousand. It will be
seen ,ha, even taking cities alone, the
average number Of arrests is much less
under prohibition than under license,
notwithstanding the fact tina. Prohibi'
ton concentrates nearly all the drunk
enness in the cities, while license dis
tributes it. This will be seen by de-
tailed examination Of arrests for drunk
enness in Maine.
In Portland, which is the city usually
cited by enemies of prohibition, the ar:
rests for drunkenness, las. year, were u.
sal, or apparently, forty per thousand
or the same as in the license city Of New
Haven. But = gentleman who hes in:
yes,iQatsd the facts, informs me that the