Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1892-05-19
PROHIBITION IN MAINE.
Neal Dow Answers Some Sland-
ers of The Nation.
Public Sentiment i'm the Pine
Tree State Sustains the Law
After 80 Years Trial.
Neal bow. in Union Signal J

J
liability of that paper. 1t is supposed
to be always careful and truthful in
its statements on all questions, not
being influenced by prejudice or in
terest. On important public ques-
tions it is supposed to be entirely re-
liable. There are many papers in the
country of bad reputation for truth
and fairness which are often making
statements as to prohibition as wide
from the truth as is this of the Nation,
but do not often notice them. They
are supposed 10 be in the pay of the
liquor leagues.
The Nation has been badly misin-
formed as to the actual status of the
Maine law in Maine, and think it de-
sirable to set the readers of The Union
Signal and the general public right
upon that matter. The Nation says
maine continues to illustrate the
folly of enacting laws which are not
sustained by public sentiment
The Maine law was enacted in 1851
by vote in the legislature of SO to 40
in the House and Is to 10 in the Sen
ate, the governor and both Houses
being Democratic. By peculiar
combination of rum-whigs and rum
democrats the law was repealed in
1855 and license law substituted for
it. At the next election the party by
which this was done was annihilated
and Prohibition was enacted. In
1884 after an experience of the re-
suits of Prohibition for thirty three
years, prohibitOry amendment to
the constitution was submitted to the
people and adopted by n majority of
47,075, the affirmative vote being
three times larger than the negative.
In 1890 the Democrats put license
into their platform and were defeated
in the most humilieting manner; the
Republicans at the same time having
Prohibition in their platform, as they
have always done since the formation
of the party in 1856. | know of no
reason to suppose that there has been
any change towards license in the
public opinion of the State on this
question since that time. The Nation
may see then how wide it is from the
mark in affirming that Prohibition in
Maine is not in accordance with public
opinion. The Nation continues:
ga year ago Neal Dow succeeded in
getting the legislature to pass a bill
which was going to stop rum-selling
sure because the liquor-seller would
have to 60 to Jail every time he was
arrested and convicted"
| did go to the legisla ture with a
few proposed amendments to the law
and did say that if adopted there
would not be a grog shop in Maine i'll
six months. The bill as | proposed
it was emasculated to such an extent
as very much to diminish its force.
The legislature of Maine in this case
occupied the position of defender of
the saloons against the people, al
though it did adopt a few of the least
important of my suggestions and by
aid of them the grog-shOps have been
swept out of Portland almost entirely.
Indeed, it may be truthfully said there
is not one of them left there, though
liquor to a small extent is sold most
cautiously. No hotel now sells liquor
in the city. quote paragraph from
this mornings paper to show how
rumsellers are hunted here. This is
not exceptional as to the style of do
ing it:
"Deputy Sheriff Goold on Wednes-
day evening caught sight of Jim
Welch's team, with two men in it and
two kegs of whisky. Goold made
rush for the tail board, while the men
laid the whip on the horse, which is a
large, powerful animal. AS Goold
came into the wagon, one of the men
went out plump on his face in the
gutter. The other started to follow
suit, but not before the sheriff caught
hold OF him so that he swung
between the wheels. He was too
heavy to haul into the wagon and so
hung there while the horse went on
the run down Free street, the sheriff
on his stomach hanging on to the man
and whisky kegs jumping into the air
at every crosswalk. Fearing the ap-
proaclI to Center street the sheriff with
one hand ran the horse into the side
OF the street and the man in the gut
ter, and jumped out after him, but he
was too big for him and broke away,
and the man and horse both escaped
In OF posite direcfions.n The Nation
continues:
aTwelye months have passed, and
more liquor is now sold than ever.n
1t is far within the truth to say that
the volume of the liquor traffic in
Maine is not one=twentieth so large
as it was in the old rum time; aud in
Portland the quantity Of liquor sold is
not one-hundredth part so large. !
have many times said this in the press
and on the platform, and the truth OF
it has never been challenged by any
body, though we have two Democratic
papers in Maine heartily in favor Of
licensed grog-shops. In more than
fhree-fourths of our territory, having
more than three-fourths Of our popu-