The Portland daily press., 1893-07-31
GENERAL DOW'S ADDRESS.
He Criticizes Chief Justice Peters
Freely.
THE DECISION ON THE TRANS
P0RTETI0N LAW THE OCCASION.

A Large Audience Attended the Open Air
Meeting on Quebec Street Yesterday
Afternoon to Hear the Temperance
Question Discussed.
Neither his ninety years, nor the con-
dition of the thermometer, which was
well on towards ninety also, caused
General Neal Dow to abate any of his
vigor against the grog shops as he adj
dressed the open air meeting on Quebec
street yesterday afternoon. The lot on
which the meetings are held commands
fine view of the bay, and is usually
cool and pleasant. Yesterday afternoon
however, it was unusually warm, not
breath of air stirring.
Rev. Mr.. Wright presided, end after a
prayer and singing, introduced General
Dow, who began by saying that there is
now going all over Christendom gen
eral movement against the liquor traffic.
In France, England, Prussia, Belgium
and even in Russia they are continuing
many years ago. The liquor traffic is
Bright said he could not conceive how
any one should dare to attack it. Yet
we have attacked it, because it is incon-
sistent with the public good, and creates
more misery and sorrow than all other
evil agencies combined. Abroad they
doubt our right to attack this traffic.
But no man has any right to anything
| that is inconsistent with the general
good. Our constitution guarantees life,
| liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
But no man has a right to any one of
these when it is inconsistent with the
general good. The everyday processes
of the courts of justice show this; al
though to some of you it may seem
bold utterance. This public good is the
supreme law with us as with the
Romans.
| So we have right to put the grog
shops down if they are against the
public good.
Now in our efforts to put the grog
shops down we had enacted law i'm
posing fine of fifty dollars for the
Illegal transportation of liquor. This
| fine was not enough to prevent the
transportation. So we got the legisla-
! ture to enact stronger law imposing a
| fine of five hundred dollars and one year
of Imprisonment. And this law was
working well, when our Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court, and wish some one
would tell him what l say-de-
clared it unconstitutional on the
ground that it inflicted punishment
| too severe. And so the Chief Justice is
represented as saying that year in jail
| is too much for rumseller. And if the
Chief Justice were here I should say,
Mr.. Chief Justice, you have very mad
equate notion of the magnitude of the
evil of the liquor traffic. One of the
ablest men Maine ever produced, Lot M.
Morrill,, declared on the floor of the
United States Senate that the liquor traf-
fic was the gigantic crime of crimes"
And
Lot M. morrill,
was greater man than our Chief JUS
tice any day. He knew more law and
had no sympathy with rumsellers either.
[Laughter]. If you know the Chief
Justice you may tell him that. e
If it was not the mere ipse diritof a
man living in Bangor-and when say
Bangor some of you will know what |
| mean-that decision of the Chief JUS
| tice would be great blow to us in our
temperance work here in Maine.
The people of Maine would be a gamer
| if we could stamp out every vestige of
the LIQUOR traffic by abolishing in ex-
change all the laws against all other
crimes. For the rum traffic is the cause
of nine-tenths of all the crimes.
| In the olden times / went once to Steep
Falls. 1t was miserable place. They
| had no schools or churches. In the sum
| mer the women and children spent their
Sundays wandering in the fields for ber
ries, while the men loafed about the Saco
river. There was but one decent house
| there, and that was occupied by a very
| nice man, Mr.. Lord, who was my host.
| Several years after the Maine Law was
enacted again visited Steep Falls. The
| improvement was very great, and instead
of all the houses but one being dilapi-
dated, there was but one house in that
| condition. 'Who lives in that old
| house?" / asked of Mr.. Lord. "Oh, that
| is the home Of the last rum-drinker in
the village.'' Applause.
| There are in Portland Jail one hundred
and fifty-nine prisoners. 1 wish I had
the Chief Justice of Maine right here in
| this chair beside me, l would point to
| this list of prisoners, and would say:
| ''Mr. Chief Justice, what do you think
of that? Most of them are young men
| in their prime. They are cut down by
| the rum traffic What do you think of
of that, Mr.. Chief Justice Turning to
the stoC' where the Chief Justice is sup
posed tn sitting]. Do you think a
wear in ID coo much for the men who
work 81 -chief? [Laughter].
General Dow then went on to describe
the case of young man in Portland, a
member of prominent family, who
| died of delirium tremens, and in such
great agony that his cries resounded
throughout the neighborhood for several
What does the Chief Justice say to
that? continued the speaker. And yet
this man, taking advantage OF his hlgh
a level with his head the stool on which
the Chief Justice was supposed to be
sitting] says that year in jail is too
much for man engaged in working
such misery. The Chief Justice lives
in Bangor. Laughter.
| General Dow then scored the luxeWarm