The Meridional. (Abbeville, La.) 1856-1906, 1889-08-10
x'hnaep ~ ssae a,ssssar xasosse.n.

%'}itS'lft hft!SF tA' ~ NH tkS '-S''f a.
part nf Maine. while on 4 y,H,t to
New York, spoke witt, enthusiasm
Of the advantages n prohibition A.
its workings were Illustrated in that
place. THE law - strictly enforced
in my town. said the visitor, 'and
there isn't a single saloon in the
place, just think how mach better
it 10 for The young tDcn who are
growing up. and Tor older Iacn who
might he in danger Of becoming
drnnknrls. not II have ' e one
rnm,ahnp in the town. There la Il
generation coming on the stage Ill
that place which never q " . saloon,
while here in New York i. Gems a.
though there Was saloon on every
corner, and temptation WAS put in
the path Of the yonhg man, which
ever way he Turned
A few weeks ago 6 clergyman
from this Mime town was in New
York city. On the street one day
he a ncross a ma who used to be
a n%cighbor, but who had left Maine
some time before. Il didn't know
yon we're Ia New York" said the
clergyman. Hoy did you happen
to settle here Z" We'll" was the
reply, after q little hesitation, an
tell 20" just how it is vas. Yon
know that ] got to drinking too
much down in Maine. | made uf~
my mind to stop. bat I soon found
out that / had got to leave that
Gown i'll was going to do it. Yon
know there aren't any saloons in The
place, but you haven't any idea how
many places where men drink ON
the sly, That was what played the
mischief with me. Every day some
of my friends would be getting me
off into a quiet place-a little private
club arrangement, or something of
that sort where there was plenty
to drink, and / couldn't get ont of
drinking my share of it. | saw that
] WAS going to the devi! unless |
made a break and got away from
those Temptations. Hound a chance
in new York, and | came here. 1t
seeHs strange to you, suppose,
that a man should leave a Maine
where there isn't e single
saloon, aud come to New York,
where there are saloons all around
him, in order to reform, but that is
just what | have done. and what |
found myself driven 10 do. The
open FALCON has no temptations for
mc; it was drinking ION the sly with
title parties Of friends that was
running me-, z77 . n.
About the same time that the lat
ter conversation occurred, the first
mentioned resident of the Maine
towusreturncd from q trip to Europe
and a stay Of some months in a wine.
drinking country. Educated i'll the
theory Of prohibition, tho traveller
lad hooked forward to seeing SHOCK
ing scenes Of intoxication in foreign
lands which had never enjoyed the
advantages Aof tho Maine law.
Months were spent among people
who drink wine az regularly Us the
old ladies of New England drink
tea, .but the expected swarms Of
drnnkards did not appear. Indeed,
the most. impressive feature of the
observations made. as the traveller
was honest enough to confess, was
the absence of, mtox.cation where
the wine glass was present.
The returned traveller and the
visiting Clergyman met in New York
and CHANGED to compare notes on
this subject. Both were candid per.
aons, and both frankly admitted
TINT some OF their pr%cconceived
opinious mad been shaken. 1t had
been pleasant to boast that their
town had no saloons, but it was
rather shocking to learn that a man
who wanted TO reform had been
forced to leave the place for a city
ovcrrunnig with saloons, in order to
escape the Irresistible temptations of
secret drinking-places. had been
easy 10 maintain as a theory that
people who drank wine were sure to
become drnnkards, but it was call
cnlste,' to upset ones theory to End
that the strongest impression Of