The Portland daily press., 1888-01-04
cARLEToN's CRUSADE.
Four Weeks Spent In Trying the Cases
of Rumseiiers.
Some Experiences of the Attorney
for Kennebec County.
Liquor Shops Closed, but the Express
Companies Very Busy.
Especial to the Press


AUGUSTA, Jan. 3.-The trial of criminal
causes for the December term of the Superb
or Court for Kennebec county, came to an
end tonight. The time occupied-four weeks
lis unprecedented in the history Of the
county. Every case tried, but three or four,
were what are commonly termed liquor
cases.
Your correspondent accosted County At
torney Carleton at the Cony House in Au-
gusta, just as he had got his ''gripsack'
packed, preparatory to taking ten-mile ride
across the country to his home.
In reply to the request to summarize his
years work, he said: "Two hundred and
seventy-nine indictments have been found
by the grand jury this year, and $40, $50 in
fines paid into the county treasury, in round
numbers; two dozen rumsellers have been
sent to Jail, and as many more have taken
leg bail out Of the State. More than fifty
rumshops have been permanently closed, and
our county jail was never so empty at this
time of the year as today. As result of
enforcing the law, crime was never SO infre-
quent in the county as at the present time"
"What is the temper of the.liquor sellers ?"
was asked.
"The liquor sellers now fight every case
for all it is worth, since the enforcement of
the new law, aud the very best legal talent
is engaged. Why, the other day. druggist
was being tried for being common seller.
The punishment, you know, is imprisonment
and fine. He employed four of the best law
yers in the county to defend him. We were
two days trying the case, but the jury were
only fifteen minutes in bringing in verdict
of guilty"
In answer to the question as to what effect
Judge Whitehouse's ruling on the constitu-
tionality of the law making the payment of
the special tax prima facie evidence of guilt,
would have on liquor prosecutions, Mr..
Carleton said:
''If Judge Whitehouse's construction of
that law is correct then the legislature made
a grand mistake in making such law. If,
with all the eminent legal talent in the last
legislature, it was not discoy cred to be un-
constitutional while passing through its va
rious stages before it could become law, it
simply emphasizes the fact that more care is
needed in passing laws, and especially in
piling up act after act to the prohibtory law
so-called. The Maine law has got to be
cumbersome thing. The payment of the
special tax does not appear to have any par
ticular weight in the minds of jury now.
Especially Is this so in beer cases, so-called
Why, l tried beer case the other day, as
clear case as l ever presented to jury.
The respondent had paid the tax, had sa-
loon, back bar, ETC., but he took the stand
and said cousin Of his advised him to pay
the tax A United States Marshal said the
beer sold was Boston hop, and under the
charge of the judge the jury disagreed. In
another case three witnesses Sw0re that the
beer was lager beer. One of them had drank
lager for % years. The respondent had paid
the tax as a retail dealer in distilled spirits,
had saloon, etc. The respondent did not
nation as to why he paid it. This was case
as clear as it would be possible to make out;
and yet it was thought best, in fact the jury
before going to the. jury, though | had some
of the beer in court: got verdict of gull
ty, however, in this case. The result is,
rumshops, under the guise of beer shops, are
springing up all over the county, and am
sorry TO say the officers do not appear to pay
any attention to them unless complaint is
made to them, and they feel obliged to by
the force of public opinion"
"What effect does it have on the amount
of liquor drunk by closing the salooDs?'1
in Kennebec county today. Outside the
drug stores, doubt if there Is that number,
not counting the shop beer" shops, "hay-
seed beer" shops and the various other shops
that claim they sell nothing stronger than
buttermilk. 1t is said that the druggists
have all paid the tax as retail liquor dealers.
If so, they have done so under fictitious
names. Not all of them, by any means, re-
tail liquor. My own judgment is that but a
small proportion of them do it; and yet
large amount of liquor is drunk, If you can
judge by the innumerable packages that the
express companies bring into the county,
from quart to two or three gallons. The
city marshal of Augusta told me he counted
of these one night, all address
ed to private individuals most of whom he
knew, and the largest one was only two gal
Ions. There is no law, and no law can be
made to stop it. So it would seem that
liquor is drunk in large quantities, notwith-
standing the law is enforced to the very let
ter. l tell you what is a fact. Law alone
won't stop drinking. There must be con-
slant agitation, constant work by the church
es, by the education of the young; a healthy
public sentiment must be behind the law all
the time.