Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-04-20

merits has stimulated all classes to 8 may be accepted as conclusively indi- cative of public feeling on the matter throughout the commonwealth. Ger tainly there has been an uncommon amount of information diffused on both sides of the controversy, and never has the question of prohibition been placed so exhaustively before the public. As Massachusetts declares, therefore, it is fair to presume the country would de- clare if it were called upon to pass judS- ment on prohibition and if the question were as thoroughly ventilated and as perfectly comprchended.
 In so far as appearances go, 1t seems positively certain that the prohibltory amendment will be defeated. Keen observers place tine ma jority against it as high as 5O. 900; while nobody. even those who arc struggling and hoping for it's adop- ton, ventures to rate it lower than 10000. In view of the oratory and in | tellcctual power brought to bear i'll favor of the amendment these estimates are remarkable, indicating as they do that the state is in no humor to try conStltu- tional prohibition where statutory pro- hibition has failed. That the latter has been failure, and that too of the rank est kind, is the teaching of experience as shown by the police and court records of j,l, ,l :, | since by the Boston Globe show that in 1874, the last full year of prohibition, there were 3l ,93l arrests for drunken ness, and in 1876, the first full year of license, there were only 26,65i. In 1874 there were in the state 22, IS4 convictions for drunkenness. and in 1876 only Is. 101. In Suffolk county the arrests for drunk enness in 1874 were 1S,490, and i'll 1876 only l5, ,467. In Middlesex in 1874 there were 4,663, and in 1876 only 2,S64. In Essex in 1874 there were 3,165 and in 1876 but 2,512. During the last five years | of prohibition there were 109. .i40 arrests | for drunkenness and in the first five years of license following prohibition | there were only 92, ,3S0. r ,060 less in five license years than ill five prohibition years. For fear that it might be claimed that in the prohibition years the law was not stringently enforced, and the liquor sellers not prosecuted as they might have
 beeu. the Globe shows that there were
 26, $40 prosecutions and 9, 115 convictions
 for illegal selling 1t will hardly be claimed .,l> Xl.
 who think they see in prohibition the
 cure for all the evils that beset mankind. Nevertheless, they have made a vigorous
 campaign and have spent hundreds of
 thousands of dollars in their work of
 converting hostile sentiment to their
 views. In its marvellous completeness of design and execution it is held that
 nothing like it ha, ever before been de
 vised i'll aid of a so-called moral move
 ment.
 But the opponents of constitutional
 prohibition have not been idle, though
 their efforts have been on different line of action. They have mad the back , ing of the best informed and most inilu.
 ential portion of the press, and the sup l port of such powerful pleaders as Rev Phillips Brooks and Miss Kate Field has } been a very important factor in making clear to the people that the time has not 5 yet come nor the conditions supervened } when enforced temperance is practicable } or possible. And these opponents oi
 prohibition are enforced in their views
 by the fact that many of the lower
 grade of liquor dealers openly favor tn,
 amendment because they know it car
 never be enforced and it's adoption would make the traffic more protitabl, for them. The evils and moral tlegra datioi: that attended past experiment: in prohibition have not yet gone out O. the pub l. mind, and it is for this reason , that the most intelligent and far-seeins public sentiment of the state is agains
 any further experiments in the sam, , line, at least until the conditions ar, more favorable for success.
 The eyes of the country are turnct
 towards Massachusetts as they neve have been before on any local question
 and the battle that is to be fought ol
 Monday cannot fail to have q far-reach ing moral effect on which side soeve ! the majority of votes array themselves We have never believed that temper s ance was to come through prohibition 2 and we are firmly convinced that not il , our day or generation shall we see tn Q country made better than il is througl the adoption of any such policy. w !, are much mistaken if the best sentimen . of the land is not with us in our opinion
 FOR SALE
 Where is that man who is looking for Il nc u house with barn: 1 am authorized to sell . l large new house, good barn and d lot 75 i5 T l feet. The place is fitted up on the most in