Evening star., 1897-03-20

Nnety-three years ago today on the
10th of March, 1891. the world was made
richer. with the usual ignora1 ce of the fact
by the birth of a boy in Portland, Me-
destined to be one of the few whose glories
are widely sung while the hero is living to
hear the song.
Neal Dow. who was the baby in question
is called by the multitudinous temperance
Ieformers of today Our Grand Old Man."
and owes his eminence mainly to his sue
oessful leadership of the opponents of the
drink traffic in his native state. He is gen.
orally credited with being the father of
the Maine law prohibiting the manu-
facture and sale of intoxicating liquors in
that &C commonwealth. The original law en-
acted in 1851 was repealed in 1850 but was
re-enacted IL 1856 with severer penalties
annexed and has now been the law of the
state for ever forty-one years, with in
creasinS favor on the part of the people at
large, as evidenced by its reinforcement in
1854 by constitutional amendment, which
was adopted by an affirmative vote three
times as large az the negative vote.
Neal Dow was of Quaker parentage, an
belongs to a long lived family, his father
having died at ninety-five. His mother
died in 1851. the year in which the original
Maine law was eI acted. and is said to
have been trusting, faithful Christian
woman, self-reliant and firm in what she
believed to he right. She a friend to
the friendless. and many a life was made
happier by her kindness. and in her house
many a fugitive slave who had escaped
from bondage in the south found food and
shelter. Under her roof. and doubtless wi n
her encouragement, was given. it is said
by the sisters of Neal Dow, the first socia |
party of their set in Portland in which
wines were not served to the guests.
AS if to give him a physical realiZa alton
of the weight of the burden he was to
carry. ii is said that lone day drunken
man fell on young Dow. bearing him to the
ground. and pinntng him there till help
~ 1y11a m fha. 1rin II aC.,yt n
wight
In letter to Joshua l.. BaiIy of Phila-
delphia. under date of March II. 1898, he
relates the following incident of more
thar sixty years ago.. as THE inspiration
for the active. earnest and persistent cru
sade of Maine against the liquor traffic -
At the request of lady. he had gone
TO saloon to rescue her drunken husband
and to plead with the proprietor not to sell
him any more liquor. The liquor-seller an
swered that it was his business to sell
liquors; that he had license to sell; that
he would sell to anybody who was able
to pay for It; and that he supported his
family by doing it. To which General Dow
says he replied: You have licensa have
you? You will sell to anybody who can
pay for 1t without thought Or care for the
lily by destroying the families Of other peo-
PIE. do you? God helping me, l will change
all that"
His First Stand for Temperance.
Neal Dow took his first public stand for
temperance when he was about twenty-one
years of age. 1t was on the occasion of an
anniversary supper Of a fire company Of
which he was captain. He made sue Wig
orous opposition to providing liquors that
the company adopted his views and for the
first time the annual supper was given
without liquors. Another of his early
achievements IS said to have been to lead
in ending custom which existed at Port
land OF ringing the town bell "at II o'clock
in the morning and at o'clock in the af-
ternoon. as signal for mechanics to take
their drams. In 1899 he induced the board
of aldermen to refer the question of license
or no license TO vote of the citizens. The
license party prevailed by q majority of 30
votes. Four years later the question was
again submitted to the popular vote, and
no license" was carried by a majority of
40
Encouraged by his local successes. he
started out to accomplish prohibition
throughout his state. In his own private
conveyance. a sleigh in winter, a buggy the
rest OF the year. there being no railroads
in those days, he travelled up and down
through the state. holding meetings and
speaking in the churches, school houses
and woods and at cross roads. wherever
people would come to listen circulating a
petition for signatures and distributing
tracts and pamphlets. Referring to this
period, he says: I'VE covered the state
knee deep with temperance literature
Finally. he appeared before the legislature
of Maine in the winter of 1S46 with q petit
ton bearing 10000 signatures asking for
the passage of prohibitory law. The petit
tion was granted. but the penalties under
the law were so inadequate that 1t was In
efeo tual In 1851 he was elected mayor of
Portland, and Immediately thereafter Sc
cured the enactment Of 1.-The Maine Law. !"
before referred to. and proceeded as mayor
of Portland to put 1t into execution after
thirty days notice that the law would be
vigorously and impartially enforced
II Is related In one instance that a whole
sale dealer-a large and sinewy man-stood
| at the door OF his store, AK In hand, threat
ening to brain any officer who dared to
enter. But Mayor Dow was equal to the
emergency On learning of the situation he
| took with him a squad of men, and select
| Ing one OF the most athletic Of them d.