National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-02-11
GOV. D1NGLEY ON TEMPERANCE.
The Prohibition Mass Meeting Mt Ma
sonic Temple Yesterday Afternoon.

the prohibition Mass Meeting ut Ma
sonic Temple Yesterday Afternoon.
One Of the largest meetings ever held by
the ladies Of the Woman's Christian Temper
ance Union was conducted in Masonic hall
yesterday afternoon, Mrs La Fetra presiding.
Col. Charles w. johnson, chief clerk of tho
senate, had charge of the music assisted by
Prof. Battlefield Of tho public schools, Mrs.
Ellis and Wesley chapel choir Elphonzo
Youngs and sons with comets, and by at
least one hundred other voices The plat.
form was tastefully decorated with crayon
portraits Of Miss Frances l.. Willard, Mrs. j.
Ellen Foster, and Mrs. Mary A. Woodbridge.
Over the stand and draping tho por-
traits were the stars and stripes
Above the platform was tho motto "rhe
Home versus The Saloon" Under which,
drapod in evergroens, was a PHOTOGRAPH of
Mrs. Hayes. Hon. Nelson Dingey, Rev.
Alex Kent Rev. DIR. Chickering, DIR. Burk-
hart, Judge w. b. and Mrs. Smell, tho officers
Of the union and many others occupied seats
on the platform. After the opening religious
original, by John Howard Payne--was sung
as q solo by Mrs. Ellis, with full chorus by
the audience. A letter of regret at being
unable to BIO present was read from Rev. DIR.
Rankin.
Hon. Nelson Dingley, jr, Of Maine, was
then introduced, and said
I'VE are all in accord with the sentiment
expressed in the hymn just sung. Home,
Sweet Home The efforts of the Womans
Christian temperance union are directed to-
ward the protection of home. whose greatest
enemy is tho dramshop. There are two
methods of dealing with the evil, moral aud
legal suasion. Tho former is directed to the
drinker, the latter TO the soller. Thirty years
ago a prohibitory law was enacted in Maiue,
and after three years was repealed by the
efforts of liquor men. At tho end of two
years more, during which time they had
license, the prohibitory law was again en-
acted, and prohibition came to stay" That
was twenty-six years ago. Has prohibition
done any good2 The universal testimony of
members of congress and governors, whom
the people honored with their votes, for ten
years past is to the effect that it has done
great deal of good.
/ am told that one of your district commits
sioners has said: "The word Of the representa-
tives in congress must not DO taken, for they
are politicians"
Be that rs it may, which do the general
public prefer to indorse-thc statements of
the representatives of Maine or tho oppo-
nents of prohibition outside the state? What
surprises me is, if prohibition is q failure why
do liquor dealers oppose it? Why do they
fight with all their energy and money pro-
hibitory law whenever it is about to be
ten years to get congress to investigate the
liquor traffic, but the dealers have fought
every effort to throw light on the subject.
The most reliable reports obtainable show that
in Maine there is one retail dealer for every
700 of the population, while in the
northern states. under license laws, there is
one saloon for every 210 and in the District
of Columbia one saloon for every 175 persons.
Besides, an open saloon, it must be consid-
cred, will sell many times as much rs one
selling in secret, as for example, in Maine,
where they must sell in secret, if they sell at
all. Last year the tax on the manufacture
and sale of liquors was cents per inhabitant
in Maine, while in the United States it was
$1.75. 1t has been stated that there were
1900 arrests for drunkenness in Maine last
year, and Dio Lewis is given as authority,
but he was greatly mistaken If he made such
a statement, the arrests being one-fourth that
number.
Again, it is stated that there are more high
crimes in Maine than any other state. The
facts on this point are easily obtainable from
the court and prison records, and show that
there is less crime in Maine according to the
population than in any state wholly under
license. Maine, he said, is better off under
prohibition than she was under license laws,
and sho has tried both The same is true in
other states in which certain counties have
adopted prohibition, as West Virginia, Geor-
gia, and Maryland, where the facts show q
great decrease in crime and in the number OF
dram shops.
He did not claim that prohibition laws will
entirely extinguish the liquor traffic but did
claim that they will restrain it and lessen its
evils more than any other legislation. There
are those who will go to meet temptation, but
there are thousands who are drawn into this
danger by the open dram shop. The gilded
saloon is much more tempting than tho secret
drinking places of Maine, where a dram is
poured from dirty bottle dug from the sand
in the cellar or some place in the wall whore
it had been hid.
Gov. Dingley was followed by Rev. Alex
Kent and Mrs. Clara Roach, who, on con-
Guiding, announced q meeting at the same
place next Sunday.