The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1892-10-05
Neal Dow's Letter.
PORTLAND. 10 Sept, 1892.


quite honest,-not at all what we call
All enemy, and it is painful to see per-
sons of such character SO deplorably
ignorant of everything relating to IL
cense and prohibition as the NORTH
ERNER is. There is no public question
now before the people Of such vast i'm
pOrtance to the power and prosperity
of the nation and to the welfare and
happiness of the community as this, the
suppression of the liquor traffic; and it
seems to me shame that newspapers
that mean well should talk about it,
knowing nothing whatever of 1T except
what comes from the slang of the grog
shops, and from those who live by them
and those who are being killed by them.
Now, as to the failure of prohibition
in Maine:
l. We had a great many distilleries,
seven of which large ones and two
breweries were in Portland. Now there
is not one in the state, nor has there
been one in many years.
2. At the same time we had great
quantities IF West India rum imported
1t came to us by the cargo many car
goes year. Now there is not even
one puncheon imported, nor has there
been one for many years.
3. More than three-fourths of our
territory, containing more than three
fourths of our people, is now practical
~ free from the liquor traffic. An en-
tire generation has grown up there
never having seen saloon OF the eff
fects of one.
4. Mr.. Locke, of the Toledo Blade,
had the same notions about Maine that
the NORTHERNER has. / said to him
as left his office, "Mr. Locke, you are
mistaken; you are misinformed" In
two weeks he called at my house. He
had come to Portland to see for him
self. He did not like to be misinformed,
misled, on such Il great question. He
stayed at a hotel IA week. On the last
day drove him about town and to two
|
him what they are, telling him what
they were in the old rum time. He
suddenly clapped his hands and eX-
claimed, "rm converted go for pull
verifying the rum powerw and from that
time his paper was vigorous and able
friend of prohibition, as the NORTH.
| ERNER prObahlv knows
am now in haste. If / could spare
the time l could say good many other
things, all showing how dreadfully in
the fog the NoRTHERNER is.
In the old rum time, Maine was the
poorest state in the Union; now it is
one of the most prosperous. We save
annually more than twenty million dol
lars by prohibition, which, under any
form of license, would be spent and
wasted in drink. In 1884, after thirty
three years experience with prohbi
ton, our people put it into the consti
tuition by majority of 47,075, the af
firmative vote being three times larger
than the negative, and that policy is
thoroughly engrafted into the hearts
and consciences of our people.
Very truly yours,
NEAL Dow.
AS we said last week, we think both
sides of this question should be honestly
discussed, and therefore would like to
make few comments on the above:
First, we are glad to know that the
revered Neal Dow, for whom we have
always entertained large measure OF
respect, is not of that narrow type OF
character which sees dishonesty in every
opinion at variance with its own, and
we can forgive the charge of ignorance,
because we know that he has diDayS
stood on the same side of a double
faced shield which bore on one side the
inscription, "Prohibtion has closed all
the saloons and distilleries hereabouts,
and therefore prohibits the sale of Ii
quor;" and on the other, Nominal pro.
hibitiOn fills our land with the most un-
principled class of liquor sellers, who
dispense the vilest of liquors i'm all sorts
of unexpected places" Standing as he
does, always on the first side, and never
laying down the prejudices that help
him To- ignore that there is another side,
it is not strange that this veteran tenn
perance worker should regard us as
grossly ignorant, without once suspect.
ing that he might himself be biased by
strong personal desire to see nothing
but success in the measure for which he
has fought SO perseveringly. AS for our.
selves, we devoutly wish we could have
the faith we once possessed in the eff
cacy of prohibitOry law; but, though
we know not where the liquor comes
from, nor how it gets to Maine, we do
know, through the most incOntrovert'
ible testimony, that the abominable
trade is carried on in that state in such
a manner as would horrify Neal Dow
and his allies, should they catch a
glimpse of the dark undercurrent that
flows beneath fair exterior, for the sly
unlicensed dealer well knows how to
conceal his trade from the prohibition
list. Furthermore, we can honestly say
that our information comes in no way
from ''the slang of the grog shops OF
from those who live by them," but part
ly from personal observations made