The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1891-03-13
THE SENATE HEARS Temperance TALK.
Reasons For and Against the Pro-
posed Liquor Law.
The Chadbourne Reform School Law
In Its Enemy's Hands
The Tax Committees Report Guard
ed BY Sealed Lips.
Especial TO the Press1

water day in the Senate, the bill to amend
the liquor law coming up under special as
signment. Judge Walton threw considera-
BILE cold water on the provisions of the bill.
As will be seen from Mr.. Walton's remarks,
he favors prohibition law and objects to
this one because he believes it worse than
the present. In behalf of the bill, Senator
Stewart made vigorous argument.
When the bill came up. Senator Walton
called for Its reading and after the bill had
been read said that while there were some
sections Of the bill for which he would be
glad to vote II they stood alone, the bill as
whole was so pernicious that 1t would be
likely to defeat its own ends. he according
ly moved that the bill be indefinitely post
posed, and he did this without questioning
the motives OF the temperance committee
which had reported the bill. Judge Walton
referred to the time six years ago when he
was chairman on the part of the House of
the committee on temperance. The commit
tee then burned the midnight oil while dis
cussing the very provisions which were now
Incorporated in this BILL The speaker re-
ferred to the difficulty he had experienced In
securing evidence under the present law.
Many people imagine 1t to be an easy matter
to summons persons before the grand jury
and secure evidence under the liquor law, but
men will often commit perjury rather than
give such evidence. Notwithstanding these
difficulties, the present law Judge Walton
but he repeated that, in his opinion. the Sc
verify of the penalties provided in the bill
would defeat its purposes. And say this"
he added. mot because favor the selling Of
rum. Iclaim to be prohibitionist from the
top Of my head to the sole OF my feet" The
Senator then pointed out some of the pro-
visions of the bill which he regarded as par
ticularly Objectionable for the above reasons
For one thing, he called attention to the pro-
visions of the bill creating penalties of hard
LABOR IN lai when very lew 1sIs IN TINS
hard labor of the inmates. He read from the
bill of rights to show that the provisions Of
bill authorizing officers to search the person
might be unconstitutional, but leaving
mstter Inas Ss question submitted Sat that thf All
the officers charged with the enforcement of
the liquor law were not saints and this pow
er might cause much injury and injustice to
innocent men. Judge Walton also raised OBJ
lection to the section Of the blil under which
asked to tell of whom they had bought
liquor during the six months preceding and,
on refusal to answer, might be committed to
Jail for contempt of court This was one of
opinion Of Judge Walton. His experience
had shown him that man required to an
swer such a question would invariably lie,
shielding the man of whom he had bought
liquor and accusing somebody who had re-
fused to sell him rum. Judge Walton said
of certain fines collected should be paid to
the persons giving information. The speak
er said that this section would raise class
of men who would bring the enforcement of
er section to which Judge Walton objected
was that which deprives the court of its dis
cretionary power, a section implying that the
court does not 90 its duty, and removing
from the law the last element of mercy.
Senator Stewart of York, the chairman of
the committee on temperance, said that he
did not propose like member OF the United
States Senate to talk for several weeks but
he did intend to take time enough to analyze
and explain this bill This Mr.. Stewart did,
speaking for nearly an hour. He referred
to the change made in the law relating to
liquor agencies, by which the agent should
be appointed by the governor and council
and removed from the influence OF local poll
ent maintained city liquor agencies were
run in the interest of the con-
trolling political parties. in the
places where such agencies existed,
paigp PAL p funds. The Senator thought @ that these
agencies did large business as ordinary
rum shops. He said, go to the city of
Portland today and ask the drunken man in
the street where he got his liquor and he
will tell you that he got it at the agency and
in cases out Of 10 he will tell you the truth.
tell you that this matter Is in politics: that
it is In to stay and you can't get 1t out" The
speaker declared that the attitude OF the two
leading parties on this question had already
lost them 1000 votes.
Mr. Stewart then took up the provision of
the law creating a penalty Of both fine and
Imprisonment. In reply to the charge that
this part of the bill, was too stringent, he
said that only yestel day the Senate had
passed blll for the prevention OF the polln-
threw dead cat into brook might be fined
$1,000 or imprisoned year and yet objection
is raised to this law to prevent the pollution
of mems souls because IL Is said to be too
shops in Portland" said Mr.. Stewart, "and
with one exception in every place visited
they admitted that they sold rum" The ex-
certion was a case where after some refec-
tiOn Senator Stewart said the saloon keeper
told him that he had sold rum for years as
his father had done before him. That day
he had sold $84 worth of rum over his
counter. He had several indictments hang
ing oyer him and had paid a comparatively
small sum in fines. This man declared that
he should sell rum until law was passed
which would send him to jail. Then he
would stop. This said Mr.. Stewart is what
all the rum sellers say.
or the section directed against transporta-
tion companies, making knowledge on the
part of their employees that liquor was being
carried for unlawful purposes, knowledge on
the part of the corporation, Mr.. Stewart said
that if it became law 1t would be impossi-
BILE for the Boston & Maine railroad to bring
a car load of rum billed to Portland as far as
North Berwick, and then, an officer being
found concealed In the car, to lock him in
and send the car back to Portsmouth.
AT this point Senator Stewart yielded to
motion to adjourn. He will continue his
speech tomorrow.
Voting Precincts for Cape Elizabeth.
Mr.. Tilton of Cape Elizabeth. this morn
ing presented In the House a bill to establish
voting precints in Cape Elizabeth. 1t pro-
vides that the town shall be divided into
three precincts for the purpose of receiving
the ballots of the legal voters at state, ma
tional and municipal elections, to be desig-
mated precinct one, precinct two, and pre-
oiupt thrae.