The Portland daily press., 1888-01-16
TEMPERANCE.
The Enforcement Of the ProhIbitory
Law In Portland.
Some Serious Charges by Portland
Clergyman.
Relaxed Public Sentiment the Under
lying Difficulty.
[A Sermon by the Rev. Y. I. BayIey.l

Il DrOtler'S DlOO0 cfetn unto me from the 9rOunu.f
cerning our brother In that we saw the anguish Of
/ his soul, and we would not hear"
| Prov xxiv: 1 l. "Deliver them that are carried
i away unto death, and those that are ready to be
| slain, see that thou hold back. II thou sayest
| Behold. we knew not this; doth not g that
/ wegheth the hearts consider it2 And he that
/ keepeth thy soul, doth not he know t2 And shall
| not he render unto every man according 70 his
i work?"
Some Of us have heard Mr.. Cough in that
thrilling soliloquy, uttered as he held before
| him the glass Imagined to contain strong
| drink: Here stand, in yigOr and health,
| with fine physical development and high
| ambition. have mother loves me tenderly,
| wife and children who cling TO me With
% spectsd. s Nv ambition 'Risi Is high my H hopes
| are bright. Now, loiththis / will ruin my
health; with this will blast my prospects; I;
| with this will stain my reputation; with
| this will destroy my manliness; with this
will break my mothers heart; with this
viii bring disgrace on wife, children, and
| all who love me; with this / will burn out
| the last principle of vitality from poor,
half-putrlhed carcass, and men will sweep
| me away with the pitiful leavings of the
dram shop, and, In after years shall speak
| Of me with bated BREATH for "the memory
| Of the wicked shall rot" We have seen
| him write with extended finger until il al
that terrific confession which ought to be
nailed over the door of every grog shop
''Delirium Tremens, Fever, Disease, Pauper
ism, Crime, Redness Of Eyes, Wounds
Without Cause, Rags, Wretchedness, Despair
or read the deliberate judgments of jurists,
political economists and physicians, with
the innumerable cries of men, women and
little children, too, who had learned from
bitterest experimental testifying that the
drink habit is the father of crime, the mother
Of poverty, the most prolific source Of waste,
and want, of woes unutterable and of
wretchedness inconceivable. And we all
admit the truth OF this joint testimony; we
dictment of the drink habit and the liquor
traffic.
shall attempt no portrayal of that which
cannot be adequately set forth by tongue
or pen. wish only to present this morning
some plain and specific facts. L want you
to consider, not now the extent and growing
power OF the drink curse In our land; not
the loss which it entails Of material sub
stance, of the very blood and life Of human
hearts and homes and communities through
all the civilized world. The cry which has
entered into my ear, and which l want you
TO hear. Is not cry from afar off, but from
hearts widowed, childless and broken by
the curse IN our own city; from souls that
are being borne past our very eyes upon the
awful torrent that sweeps to hell. want to
tell you that many wretch close at hand Is
saying in bitter despair, "Ohl wretched
man that am. Who shall deliver me from
the body Of this death? No man cares for
my SOUL" | want you To see, moreover. that
we, the good people Of Portland, in great
numbers, are saying, with the first murder
er, Am my brothers keeper? We know
something Of the evil and its fruits Of de-
structlon: but we are chiefly busy with our
own affairs; we regret that men should be
so foolish as to curse themselves and others
by drinking 0vermuch; aud we are sorry
that other men are base enough 10 supply
these with the means of indulgence But
we reflect that there always has been harm
Inl Indulgence since sin entered the world,
and that there probably always will be. We
remember that officers are appointed
whose business it is to enforce our laws for
the protection, so far as may be, OF the
weak against the snares of the saloon. We
consider, also and especially, how uIsbecom-
ing fanaticism is; and congratulate our
selves that we are not cranks. And these
reflections comfort us. Meanwhile, we hope
for the good time coming; and some Of US
pray that God will, in His own good time,
bring in the millennium. Meanwhile, God is
saying to us, Where is thy brother?" And
his holy word assures us that we are respOn-
sible for our brothers veal or woe to the
extent OF our utmost ability to do him good
to keep him from evil. Many a brother
OF ours has come to an awful end,
and many another is hurrying in the same
footsteps, the blood Of whose souls we may
sometime find charged upon us, because
we have not done what we might to save.
our brother men?" We can do much. We
can set the warning example of total abstl
nenee from all that can intOxicate; doing 1t
on the broad Christian ground of concern for
our brother; We can strive by careful in
struction iu the home and the school,
in the church and the Sunday
school, to forewarn the young. And
we may also help to save, by moral
Influences. such as have already fallen.
All these things we may do; and for the ut
most fidelity in all these directions God will
surely hold MS accountable. But we can also
do great and essential work, both towards
saving the fallen and towards keeping those
who are as yet unfallen, by destroying. as
far as possible, the traffic in intoxicants;
thus lessening to the utmost the temptation
TO Indulgence. / do not stop to argue either
the right or the value Of prohiDitoTy legisla-
ton. As matter of fact, we have pro-
hibltory law. 1t affords us our only OppOr-
tunity OF legal warfare against the traffic.
And Its efficacy when properly enforced has
been abundantly demonstrated. According
to the overwhelming testimony OF the most
competent witnesses, the State OF Maine
owes vast debt to this law. And In what
l shall say hereafter, wish to be under
stood as complaining, not of the law, but of
the non-enforcement of it. No law enforces
itself Every law Is but wedge; however
well adapted to its work, must be driven
home by the steady strokes of public sent-
ment and official fidelity. | am sure that
our failure has been griev0as In respect TO
all these duties towards our fellow men. We
have not wholly set saving example We
have not adequately educated the young.
There has been lamentable neglect in the
home, in the school and in the church. But
l propose to speak this morning Of the
failure to afford our fellow men in Portland
the full protection of law against the curse
of strong drink. l know very well that
there mas been, all along, a measurable en-
forcement; the records of the courts show
this. l fully, believe, moreover, that some
OF our officials are sincere and earnest in
their efforts to enforce the law. L would
most carefully and cordially recognize all Of
hcial fidelity. i am sure that the failure of
citizens to recognize and to praise it, is an
injustice to faithful men and a damage TO
the cause of law and order. 0fficials who
do their duty ought always to have the
hearty and expressed approval Of all good
citizens, without regard of party. But tidel-
ity to truth and duty compels Inc also to
affirm, and l do affirm most solemnly, that
the present enforcement Of our law is utterly
inadequate and shamefully partial; so much
so as to bring the law itself into open con-
tempt and to make the very name Of pro-
hibition bye-word in our city. am aware
OF the very serious nature of this charge.
have myself been slow TO reach the conelu-
sion embodied in 1t. But stubborn facts
have compelled me, and propose to state
some Of these facts in demonstration of the
charge.
The very large and constant sale Of liquor
IL Va tAdhu 10 q AdCt PdlCnb w dHJ ODoCANNAt
1t is indicated only inadequately by the ar
rests for drunkenness, for these by no means
cover all cases Of even gross intoxicati0n.
But the figures are fearfully significant, par
tial though they be. The arrests for drunken
ness from July 1, 1887, to Jan. /, 1888, a
period Of six months, were 922. And the In
crease OF drunkenness as well as its extent
is terribly suggested by comparison with
similar period two years ago; that is, from
July l, 1885, to Jan. 1, 1886; during which
the arrests numbered but 567. Here is an in
crease of 355 arrests during the six months
| just now closed. A sad proof Of the preva-
lent drinking among our fishermen came to
my notice during recent call upon city
official who, by the way, assured me that
the law against liquor selling was as well
enforced as the other laws Of our city. A
| gentleman employing large number Of fish
| ermen entered, to inform the official men,
| tioned that his fishermen were obtaining
! liquor with entire freedom; that they were
accustomed to 20 In crowd, after receiving
their pay, to a certain shop; where many OF
| them spent all their wages, leaving their
/ families to suffer want. know of no feature
| Of our present condition more distressing
| and alarming than the prevalence Of drink
| ing among young men and boys. Never, /
| believe have there been so many club
/ rooms where drinking is habitual as at the
| present time. 1t has been alleged that these
| club rooms were the direct consequence of a
1 urohfhiforv laU Tho cha rQa fc no ans