Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1893-10-03
AN UNTRUTHFUL HERALD.
Gen. Neal Dow DispOses of its
Lies About Prohibition i'm
Maine

Correspondence of The Voice.
| see in copy of the Chicago
Herald of a recent date an edito-
rial treating on Prohibition gen
orally and of Maine especially, to
which ! wish to reply so far as
Maine is concerned. The editor
was reckless i'm his statements and
entirely regardless of the truth.
1t is a shame and disgrace to
American journalism, that in
treating a question of such su-
premc Importance to the nation
and people as that of deliverance
from the infinite curse of the sa-
loon, no reliance whatever can be
placed in the statements of even
(so-calledD respectable papers.
The Herald says:
"Statutes having proved power
less to destroy the evil or having
been knocked out by the courts. >
The statutes in Maine have
proved to be very effective in
"knocking OUT the grog-shops.
In more than three-fourths of our
territory, containing more than
threefourths of our population,
the liquor traffic is PRACTICAL y un-
known an entire generation has
grown up there never having seen
a saloon or the effects of one. In
all that region before the Maine
law there was no hamlet so small
or remote that the liquor traffic
did not find it and plant grog-
shop therein.
The quantity of liquor now sold
in Maine in violation of law is far
less than one-twenticth as large
as it was before Prohibition.
Maine was the poorest State in
the Union, spending in drink the
entire value of all its property in
every period of 20 Hears, as the
nation is now doing in every pc
riod of 35 years. Now, 81, 600, =
600 will far more than pay for
all the liquor smugglcd into the
State and sold in violation of law.
This great saving of money be-
fore wasted-far worse than
wastcd-has made Maine one of
the most prosperous States in the
Union. Mr.. Blaine said that at
Il great political meeting during
the Garfield campaign.
Maine has no distillery or
brewery now: before Prohibition
it had many, seven of the former
and two of the latter being in
Portland-large ones. There has
not been one in the State for
many years. At the same time
great quantities of West India
rum were imported. 1t came to
us by the cargo, many cargoes
every year. Now there is not
even one puncheon imported, nor
has there been one in many years.
The Herald says.
"To-day, after almost half a
century of such legislation, liquor
is sold in every town in Maine;
in many Of the towns it is sold as
openly as in Chicago
The Herald does not qualify its
statement by saying it believes so,
or has heard so, but it boldly and
with no qualification declares that
it is so. The Herald affirms to a
fragrant falsehood. / have seen
no statement by any other falsi-
fer so bold and reckless as that.
Generally such people content
themselves with saying such
things of the cities and large
towns, not of the villages and
smaller towns in Maine.
Portland is the largest city in
Maine, with about 40, 900 people.
1t is within the fact to say that
there is not one-hundreth part as
much liquor sold here now as
there was before Prohibition, the
city being twice larger than it
was then. l suppose liquor in
very small quantity and carefully
on the sly is sold here, but there
is no indication of it except in oc-
casional cases of drunkenness. In
walking about the city with the
most careful scrutiny no sign OF
liquor selling can be found. An
Englisbman, a friend of mine,
tried it. He went into some
small Irish shops in vain asking
for drink. There was none, and
he could obtain no information
about it. In continuing his walk
he met carpenter in his shirt
sleeves, a gore plane in one hand,
saw in the other. My friend