The Portland daily press., 1891-07-16
The Bangor Commercial, commenting on
some remarks of the PRESS on prohibition
and its results, says:

The Bangor Commercial, commenting on
some remarks of the PRESS on prohibition
and its results, says:
SO The assumption that the purpose of prohb-
lion Is 70 prohibit people from procuring liquor is
mcorIect, ana Il in prohibition city people "ad-
dcted TO the habit" Can get drunk as easiy as in
license CITY, the fact does not discredit probibi
ton. s-0--O-
This is not what the PRESS said. Itisa
paraphrase of the PRESS utterance which
alters its meaning considerably. What the
PRESS said was that the rational believ-
ers in prohibition do not anticipate
that they can SO thoroughly suppress
the sale of liquor that maui who has
made up his mind to get drunk will have
to keep sober because he cannot procure the
necessary liquids. The assumption here is
that prohibition does not prohibit entirely,
not that it has no tendency in that direction.
1t does have very strong tendency to pre-
vent the consumption Of liquor by making
the places when 1t is sold difficult to find and
repulsive when they are found. But we
do not anticipate that the law can ever be so
thoroughly enforced in Portland UT any 9TH
er large place in Maine, as to keep Mr.. A.,
who has come to town determined to get
drunk, sober simply because he cannot find
liquor to get drunk upon. The restraining
effect Of prohibition, or any other form of
liquor legislation, is very slight upon the
man who is determined ito get drunk. The
drunkard doubtless has to hunt harder for
the means to crafty his appetite in prohi-
bition town than in free rum or license
town, but he makes up for the delay in this
respect by imbibing more and imblbing gen
orally liquor Of stronger quality when he
has discovered an opportunity. As means
for reforming those who are victims of
the liquor habit, we do not think prohibition
or any other legal measure which has yet
been discovered amounts to much.
We repeat that In our opinion the SUPERB
0rity Of prohibition over license lies in its
tendency to prevent the formation of drink
ing habits. Let us contrast the conditions
existing in license town ard town In
which prohibitory law is enforced as thor
oughly as it is in Portland at the present
time, and see II 1t does not necessarily fol-
low that the opportunities for the formation
the drinking habit are very much less in
the latter than in the former. In the license
town the saloons are on the most prominent
streets; they are attractive in appearance
they are well lighted by day and by night;
the liquors sold are Of the most seductive
kinds; frequently there is music to attract
the passer- by; every thing that art can do to
make the saloon pleasant place to linger in
Is done. Now what are the facts in pro-
hibitory town where the law is theoretically
enforceds They are unquestionably these:
The places where liquors are sold are gen
orally in the out of the way streets. They
are dark and dirty, and the liquors sold are
Of the meanest description. Now can there
be any doubt as to which of these two classes
of shops will prove the more promotive of
the formation of the drinking habit? Ger
tainly not. Where one temperate young
man will be converted into drunkard in
the prohibition city, dozen will fall In the
license city. The tendency of the saloon in
the license city is to make drinking reputa-
ble the tendency of the shop in the prohibit
tion city is to make it dlsreputable. The
more respectable the liquor saloon becomes
the more dangerous 1t Is to the community.
License tends to create respectable shops.
Prohibition abolishes respectable shops, and
drives the saloons into dark alleys and re-
liquor legislation is to make the rum shops
agreeable there is no doubt that licensed is more
clent than prohibition. If the purpose of
such legislation is to prevent intemperance-
and the only effective way to prevent 1t Is
by preventing the formation of the drinking
habit-then prohibition is the more efficient.
because 1t removes in large degree the temp
tatlons that tend to the formation of that
nap1' We claim that three licensed saloons
IN Portland, supplied with the attractions
'naI Sucn saloons usually possess, would do
more 10 corrupt the rising generation. would
make more drunkards among them than a
hundred Oh the kind Of rumshops that exist
today In Portland. And. we assert that tbe
prohDltory law accomplishes more for ten0
perance by changing the rumshops from
attractive to repulsive places. than 1t does in
the way of cutting off the supply Of LIQUORS
for drunkards. The Bangor Commercial
is the chief advocate Of license law In this