The Portland daily press., 1893-02-06

leet to main an agency. The citizens
cannot therefore buy at home, must send
to the cities or out of the State, or OBTAIN
by those secret methods which drinkers
employ; or they must get what tney
need from the local physician. Inc
physician being forced to furnish neces-
sary medicines in the inability of fami--
Lies he visits for lack OF time to SEND
abroad, cannot himself buy in town, but
only in the distant city where he buys
drugs, and hence many of them are
forced to provide for their patients. and
do buy as they do their drugs, and at the
same place. The law does not intend
that doctors shall fill the empty alcohol
bottle and brandy flask in families in
good health which keep prepared for
emergencies, nor give them prescriptions
to be filled by the nearest druggist.
When sickness comes. tn physician
must supply to all the sick in the range
of his practice, and so he often becomes
large dealer in the ardent; or families
must send abroad and risk seizure IN
transit.
In some cases cities and larger towns
have supplied through their agencies the
citizens of adjacent and outlying towns.
But great abuses then easily creep in; a
furry of stricter sales prevails, and all
persons outside of city limits are squarely
denied. Then the needy ones in the out
side towns make some friend in the city
a go between and in this way get liquors.
If the law is strictly observed at the
agency these middle men must make
evasions,--o prevaricate in order to help
their friends City druggists believing
this feature of the law is impolitic and
hardship on good people who wish
liquors only for lawful uses, do relax
their consciences, if fairly good,-or If
poor, sell freely to customers out OF
town who will cause them no trouble.
Hence physicians and druggists must
make illegal sales, and do make them,
else worthy people can get no medicine.
Many conscientious persons feel that, and
dislike or refuse to ask as favor an
Illegal sale by druggist.
1t would be advantageous in the dis
cussions which are going forward on the
Druggists Bill, to learn how many towns
in the state have no agency,-how many
do yet make provisions for their citizens
to obtain liquors at agencies strictly con-
fine sales to townsmen
The opinion is advanced that there is
large portion of the people of the coun-
try towns that have no means for obtain
ing liquors for medicines or the arts,
legally. They do get them Illegally, or
send out of the state. To reputable and
high-minded persons druggists will and
do sell in these cases of need.
As result, in portions of the state,
our prohibition law actually prohibits
the legal purchase OF liquors for these
allowable uses. Persons can not buy for
medicines. One end Of the law is de-
feated, and in sudden sickness distress
ing inconvenience arises. If the con-
trolling population of the cities and
larger towns provided with agencies, or
compliant druggists, were forced to the
evasions and hardships in getting needed
liquors as are the honest law abiding
people of many country towns, there
would be movement which would COM
pei change in the law.
Two remedies would meet the case:
/. The law is now permissive ia re-
spect to agencies. Let it be made man.
datory. Require that every municipality
shall provide some means for it's citizens
to obtain proper amount of these alco-
hello remedies, SO trusted in for many OF
the ills flesh is heir to. Because OF the
neglect or sympathizing slackness OF
some municipal officers, or lax tenn
perance sentiment about them, by which
agencies become,--or are so regarded, -
as scarcely better than rumshops, posi-
bly, some form of state commission or
SUPPLEMENTARY can be provided not in
fringing on the rights of towns, which
shall control all agencies and keep them
true to their purpose.
2 Sale by reputable and honest drug
gists. All the principal villages now
have drug shop. Hence in towns that
provide no agency, or in one central viii
lage, the business point of several towns,
let one registered druggist be selected to
sell spirituous liquors as presented by
law. Have him keep the same open
records of sales as do the town agents,
and he held strictly accountable for mis-
use of the privilege.
The compulsory agency, or an equiva-
lent. would be better, because it would
remove the element of the tempting reve-
nue. of the traffic.
The misapplied prohibition in the ac-
tual non-working of our law, is causing
good-and bad-people to have altogeth-
tr too great completely in illegal sales of
liquors. That some change is impera-
lively demanded for the requirements of |
country towns. is believed and avowed
on the ground of experience as well as
theory, by one
STRONG PRoHIBITIoNIsT.