The Portland daily press., 1886-10-26
THE ORIGIN OF pRoHlRlTIoN.

Many Of the older citizens of Portland
probably well remember James Appleton,
who resided here from 1888 to 1853, and rep
resented this city in the legislature of 1897
he was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in
1876, and there he died in 1862 For many
years ne lived in Marblehead, and for twenty
in Portland. In the war of 1912 he com
handed regiment, and throughout his long
life he was deeply interested in public af-
fairs. The anti-siavery cause found in him
an able advocate and earnest worker, and
the temperance movement attracted his at
tention early in life and enlisted his warm
est sympathies. 1t is his service to this
latter movement that is made the subject of
a pamphlet recently prepared by his son, Mr..
ID. +. Appleton. and issued by the National
Temperance Society and Publishing House
of New York under the title of 1.-THE Origin
of the Maine Law and Of Prohibitory Legis
lation, with brief memoir of James Apple
ton"
prohibitory law was first enacted in this
State in 1851, and that date is commonly ac-
cepted as the beginning of the attempt to
suppress liquor selling by legal enactment,
and the agitators of that time have
come to be regarded as the pioneers in the
prohibition movement. 1t appears. how
ever, that fourteen years before, in 1887, Gen.
Appleton, then member of the Maine Leg
islature, as chairman of the joint select COM
mittee to whom was referred the petition of
Edward Kent and others, presented a report
in favor of the enactment of a law for the
suppression of the manufacture and sale of
intoxicating liquors except for mechanical
and medicinal purposes. Abiding to this
report the Temperance Waterman published
in Portland, in its issue of Feb. 10, 1853 said:
This is the first announcement Of the pro-
hibitory principle and is the origin of the
Maine Ldio." The report is very long, and
considers first the objections to license laws
which were then in vogue. These objections
as enumerated by Gen. Appleton were first
that they assert or imply what is false in
point of fact, viz. that ardent spirit is USE
full and necessary" second, 'that all laws
are necessarily Of injurious tendency which
directly legalize any trade or business which
is in itself destructive of the peace and yir-
tue of society,"" third, "the manner in which
the traffic is regulated is suited to give char
acter and reputation to the trade, and of
course to extend its evils far and wide:"
fourth, these laws oppose an insuperable
obstacle to the cause of temperance; so long
as these laws exist, just so long intemper-
ance will abound" The report then pro-
ceeds as follows:
Your committee are of the opinion that the law
giving the right TO sell ardent spirits should be
repealed, but that a law should be passed to pro
hf6it the traffic in them except so far as the arts
or the practice Of medicine may be concerned
Inc reasons for such law are as numerous as
Tor the same reason that we make a law TO pre-
vent the sale OF unwholesome meats; or the law
Tor she removal Of any nuisance; or any other
laws Whlcn nave for their object to secure the
good people of this State in the quiet and peace
aDle enjoyment Of their rights, and against any
pIacuce winch endangers the health and life of
Wy ,cluLen, or which threatens to subvert our
eeIyli rights and overthrow our free government
we would prohibit the sale of ardent spirits be-
cause lnteinperance can never be suppressed
without such prohibition: There is 10 more rea-
without law, than for supposing You can restrain
law. 10y '''ie 'i"' ~
FROM the above extract it will be seen
that the legislation which Gen. Appleton
proposed, and which he advocated in his re-
ports was quite as radical as any that has |
since been passed. 1t aimed at the total sup |
preston Oh the traffic by legislative enact |
ment. This, as the Temperance Waterman |
said, was undoubtedly the earliest legislative
movement toward prohibition in this State
and, as the author Of this report Gen. Apple
ton is justly entitled to the honor of being
the originator of the famous law which |
was passed four years later
But his report to the legislature of 1897 was
not Gen. Appietons earliest attempt to sup