The Portland daily press., 1885-02-24
Prohibition and Hts EnfOrcement i'm
Maine


Rev. H. G. Munson, Secretary and General Man
ager of the Maine Law and Order League. was in
vited to address the National Law and Order
League, which met in New York yesterday. but
owing to the demands of the work in Portland was
unable to leave and so sent a letter, in which he
says:
"The alcoholic liquor traffic has been entirely
suppressed in the greater part of the State and lin
gers more or less secretly only in the larger villages
and in cities. The last fifteen wears have
travelled many thousand miles through the state
and taken every means to learn the exact situa-
tion believing that nothing should be Disguised
but that the true situation should be discovered
have been surprised to find people 80 prosperous
so happy and so free from the evils Of intemper.
ance.
l. Forty years ago almost everybody drank. The
exceptions are the other way now and no man can
enjoy the highest respect and confidence of society
If 1t is known that he is in the habit of tipping
2 In 1882 we had one liquor shop, with large
sales to 20 OF the population the sales aggregat
ing S1O,OOOOOO, or $50 per capita Take from the
list of persons now paying the United States tax as
@ 9uor d dealers those who are druggists those who
of the business, and we have one shop with small
sales, to about 925 of the population, the amount
all purposes While in 1883 there was In the North
ern States one grog shop to 21O Of the population
one TO loo In New Jersey, and one to 90 In Casor-
MIA there was but one shop to 800 of the population
OF Maine.
3. In 1881, as taxes on distilled and fermeutsd
$3.50 per capita; Ohio s450; New Yer SI eE
| aud Maine eents In 1882 1t was So for indiana,
| sl.71 for the whole country, and cents mills
/ t0r Maine.
A. In 1882, with population of GAO I16 there
/ were but 1852 arrests for drunkenness In the
whole State, while in San Francisco there were In
single year 1880 arrests for drunkenness; in Bos-
ton, (Sept. lSI9-SO) there were 12 227; In Phila-
/ delphia, (lSS1) 27 ,229 and in New York, As, ,19l
| o. Recently, while California had / convict to
| 900 Of the population, Maryland l to $50, New
| York to $50, Maine had / to 1000. OF high
| criminals California had to 900; Maryland 10
| $500; New York, to $500; and Maine, l to
'6.cFrom 1870 to 1880, the increase Of crime WAS
| in Alabama, 1876 per cent; Connecticut, 6425;
| Dakota, 800; Illinois, 81; New York, $3.50; and
in the whole country sad TO say, S2.33, or nearly
three times the increase of population (3O.O6J In
Maine it was but 9.97 per sent less than anv other
| State in the Union save one, New Hampshire. n
| prohbitory State
Well did the Hon. James G. Blaine saw in a Iattar
| two years ago: 'Intemperance has steadilv Ia
creased In this State since the first enaetnsnt of
the prohibtory law, until now il can he sad MIN
| truth that there IS no equal number Of people In
the Anglo saxon world among whom SO small an
amount o. lhtoxlcstpg liquor Is consumed "a among
| the O,OOO inhabitants of Maine -
| Mr.. Munson says it is now necessarv 10 arfo.ca
/ the laws we have, and believes the Lay and 0Tder
| League movement in Maine and the Union viii Al
| great good. There must be obedience to law 10
| enact laws without enforcing them is a dangerons
thing. and to speak against law which wa Ia moi
happen 10 ike Is to encourage layylessness let onr
| nquor laws be impartially, thoroughlv and ner-
sstently enforced, and they will be Tesnected and
| ooeYed. The greetings of the state feague ara
| sent 10 the National League.