The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1888-04-24
Portland versus Prohibition.

"
The Hon. Neal Dow in an able ar
Ticle in Tbe TaicpcsGcH- Of Feb. 2Sri,
thus answers those who utter and a1Opf
fhe faI>eh heoi-.. Prohibition hSS failed
everywheTe.r
The truth i, that Prohibition has
failed nowhere that i. the result Oi II
wherever il has been adopted h@s been
70 diminish the volume Of the liquor
traffil- and in Creat many p7ohihi-
tory districts il has been. and iS entire
y sgpp7eSSei.
Before the adoption by Maine in 1851
% the policy Of prohibition. the liquor
traffic was everywhere in the state
wholesale and 7eTSiL There was no
village - small. no rural neiEhboThood
- remote ani Insignificant thai The
rumSelIer did not find i ana establish
rum-Crocery there Lverywhere
upon the lines q oCI highways
throughout the state. there were road
side ruI-shopS. n Erear many
ulsces there were wells and pumps and
watering ITouEh> Io- The r5tre>hmenr
uf g1-tle. and there was sure 70 be near
i. >hau1y where rum WAS kept for
Eravele-s- Many and many a time /
have seen the rUE>elle- fetch OuT 10
the wagon OF carriage OF equestrian,
the iDeyIJable glass oi rum, while the
oxen or horses were taking water.
The women and children would shane
II the lQuo- whatever il W.ss. There
Ee1e many lISiileri5S In the state in
IhOSe DAYS converting mOlstS>eS In
10 rum. potatoes into whiS6ey and
cider into brandy, called spple-
jack Now there i noI a dis
Iillery Or brewery in the StSte.
and nowhere within Its territory
viii the IraveIer >ee any sign OF
other indication of IguOr-sellinE. In
more than Ihnee-fOuTIhS q our terri
tory conIaininE far more than three
fOurlhs q our population the groE-
shop ! practically ) unknown, - that an
entire genenVi0n has grown up there z
never having seen one.
In proportion 70 population. Msine'
share Of the national irink-bill would
b now about thirteen million dollars
but one million viii more than cover
the co>- q au the liquor Smuggled
into the state and sold in violation Of
law. We Save annually more than
twelve million dollars directly. and an
equal sum indirectly s. the result q
prohibition. which bur Tor he Maine
II drink. In those days, Maine was
sald 70 be the poorest state in the
mon. but now II : one Of the most
prosperous. Signs ot unIhrift and
poverty were seen everywhere in
neglected. shabby houses. harms.
farms. school houses. meeting houses.
but now such indications u the saloon
and the drink habit are seen nowh ere.
John Bright said =, II the evil COM
ing 70 the community from inremper-
anee could ce put away England
could not Be recognized = the same
country Precisely that has hap
pened 70 Maine. Some time since
: stranger sat by NY side in rail-
way car on our way 70 Boston.
He knew me and said
am native of Maine. Twenty.
i've years ago I went 10 Minnesota.
where ] now live. I am now in Maine
for the first time, and the change Is 50
great in everything I see. that I did
not recognize il = the same. No more
Tumble-lOvn houses with old hats and
TaES in the windows instead Of glass,
no more dIlapidsIed barns and shabby
cattle, no more miserable school
houses and meeIing-hOuSeS. Every
thing now Is neat and in good repair
indicating industry and thrift This
j literally true. Maine i now 50
changed from what II was in the old
rum-Iime. that i cannot be recognized
n the same.
L this be true ot Maine. how can il
be possible that report can 20 out
from Il. however untrue, that Pn0hibi-
ti0n here i 8 failure and that no bene-
nj 70 the stSte results from IL Il i
even said by many intelligent men
and in many prominent newspapers
that = much liquor / nOW sold in
Maine 81 there was before the advent
Of Prohibition Observe, that these
athrm2UOns are never made By Maine
men, they come fnom outsiders,
whether originating or not in the
Literary Fund Of TIE Liquor League.
do not know. But when called upon
for reasons, these people say: Look
81 Portland and Bangor where the p70-
hibit0Ty law i not enforced"
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