The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1884-08-04


Mayor King in his reply to the Law and Order
League says: "The oral suggestion of Mr.. Carlton
Kimbal that officers should be directed to use their
revolvers under certain circumstances, cannot for
one moment be entertained AS he failed to name
the certain circumstances which called for the sug
gestion it is but just that the public should know
what they were. The reply of the City Marshal to
the question why the police did not make more
arrests, when it was plainly evident that liquor wa
being transported in large quantities through our
streets in broad daylight, that the liquor deal
ers would when an attempt was made to arrest
them whip up their horses and make them 20 at
such fearful rate that officer would put his life
In jeopardy in order to make an arrest My sugges-
ton was that when a known breaker: of the law by
his act or acts in resisting trying to escape an
arrest endangered or threatened the life of an Off
Ger, that oficer would be justified in using his re-
vofver believe it is considered Unsuitable in an
officer when arresting thief, robDer or burglar if
his life is jeopardzed by resistance or otherwise to
use his revolver / am sure the LIQUOR
dealer is on the same level as they, for both are
law breakers and in IA certain sense the rumseller
commits greater offence, for he robs of their
manhood and of all that makes life desirable He
also robs innocent women and children Of food and
clothingand why should not one resort to his revolt
yer in the one case as the other? No one deprecates
the use of firearms more than myself but it is plain
in a law abiding community their use under the
circumstances named would not be 'illegal reyolu-
tionary or unjustihable, does their seem to be
anything so very "astonishing' that the reply Of
the City Marshal should call forth such suggestion
from member of the Law and Order League. 1t
is a new version of law that an official who has
taken upon himself a solemn oath to execute the
laws faithfully to publicly announce that "as far as
practicable" he Will do all he can to enforce
ain law.
OHas the time come when public official holding
sacred trusts can set aside law of the people and
proceed to execute it according his own ideas of
its practicability? Is not such proceeding "ille-
gal, revolutionary and unustifable"? 1t it not as
tonshing that such an assertion should
come from the Mayor of Port land?
The communication of General Neal
Dow. in the PRESS of July 30th was
a fair, candid, impartial representation of what
took place at the meeting of the committee of the
Law and Order League with the Mayor. 1t is a
disgraceful fact, known at home and abroad, that
liquor is openly sold in our city, 0uly few DAVIS
ago gentleman from New York told me al one of
the mountain hotels, that he stopped on his way
there at one of the leading hotels In Portland and
that there was an open bar, that people were con.
stantly coming in and taking their drinks freely.
He interviewed the landlord asking him why he
was allowed thus to keep an open bar and was
told that the city officials knew all about it but
that they would not modest him. How long are the
good people of Portland going suffer such things
to exist? The editor of the PRESS says in closing
Its article. that the Mayor invites the cooperation
OF the Law Snd Order League, promising TO do all
In his power to make the force efficient to suppress
the liquor traffic "as far as practicable only This
very evident to any one who has carefully watched
the moving of things since the Inauguration of the
present Mayor. We shall, however, work on hop-
ing to do something to stay the curse of rum and
alleviate the misery 1t brings to so many.
CARLTON KIMBALL.