The Portland daily press., 1897-04-20
The Morning Session.

AAo ming scSSAoAs
The sixth days session Of the Metho
dist conference began this morning with
the usual devotional service presided over
by the bishop. The minutes of the present
meeting were read and approved. An af-
eeting appeal was then made when Kew.
J. NJ. Woodbury., one of the most aged
members of tie conference spoke for
effective relations. He said he was ready
to 20 anywhere the esteemed bishop may
deem bsst to send him but he was al
xious to enter the service again.
Rev. W. f. berry, the secretary of the
conference then gave some statistics on
the rum question in connection with the
work Of the Christian Civil league. He
said that there were between HOO and
1900 liquor ssllers in the state of Maine.
MIR. Berry raped Bangor hard saying
that liquor was as fir &c and open there as
in any of the big cities of Massachu-
setts, and he also told of many other
places where liquor was sold although
not so openly. Mr.. Berry said in part:
lit is affirmed that throughout the state
there Is a growing disregard for law.
| Let us remember that the intent of the
constitution, i'll the amendment whereby
| liquor selling is prohibited, is not that
| the sale shall be continued as q source of
revenue. but the intent is that it shall
| be stopped.
"First, all concede that the law as it
stands is ample for the desired end. In
dictments are most often brought under
| the nuisance act, and under this act
alone the maximum penalty is $1,000
| fine and one year in jail; but general
statute leaves it optional with the judge
| to impose either or both penalties. The
minimum fine is one cent and one day to
one hour imprisonment. What is the
usual sentence given by tbs Judges under
this lawP A fine of from one to two
hundred dollars and Gusts and imprison-
mens only when the violator cannot pay
| his fine. Now since such Il fine is imposed
but once year as rule the effect of the
sentence imposed by the judiciary is to
| change our probibitory law to a low
| license In it's practical working, and to
cause the number of yiolators to steadily
| increase. Suppose now, the judiciary
should, in harmony with the intent OF
| dine and one year in jail, or one half of
the penalty, $500 fine and six months in
| jail what would be the result? 1t is not
easy TO guess? Why do they not do thisf
| Better than anyone else the judiciary
| know the intent of the law, and better
than anyone else they know the effect
their imposed sentences are producing.
| Are We not in most lauentable condit-
ion when our judiciary themselves are
controlled by the intent of the lawP
"But in the second place the executive
department is put in authority to enforce
the law This is their sole DUTY they
make oath to do it. But as matter of
fact with a few notable exceptions the
executive department are making no
effort to secure the enforcement Of this
law. The reports of the county treasur-
| les fully sustain this statement.
"The total numb Der CT persons commit
ted to jul in this state in 1892 was 3723
| in 1898, 1887; in 1894, 6l7g; in 1895, Glass
| in 1896, GIGS. And the mum her COM
mittei tn prison for the years 1892 to 1886
were respectively "a, 42, 62, 80, SO. Thus
| far III 1897 "a have been sent to the state
prison, and from Gum bertrand county
alone at the first OF the three terms of the
criminal court II were sent to the state
prison. The largest number sent from this
| county for an entife year since 1892 was
| 81. Note now that there Is an ascending
scale Of commitment for all crime, ex-
cept thas Of liquor selling; here it is a
descending scale of com itsments. In
| Cumberland county 2l2 were comm tilted
to Jail in 1882 for drunkenness and 988 in
| 1885, hut from this county III were COM
| mittesi 10 Jail III 1852 for selling liquor,
| and only 30 were committed in 90. In
| the entire state TIA we've committed to
| isl for drunkenness in 1899 and 3049 Ill
| 1896, while 348 were committed to jail
| for liquor selling in 1892 and 179 in 1856.
| These ara startling facts especially when
we note that SO OF the SO persons sent tic
| state urlscn in 1896 were only 30 years
| old and under. Now let us ask where
is the trouble.
| ~ answer il is in the political OF the
state. Tho whole trouble ia political
trouble. This, in a nutshell, is the ex
planation of the continued presence OF
| The ontlawed saloon in our state Here n
united liquor traffic demands what it
wants and gets it. What then? The
| ten perance people, the law-loving pea.
pie. must go and do likewise Civic re-
form must BEGIN With the sovereigns,
with the people; this is the purnnse
the aim Of the Christian Civic league
of Maine; it is seeking to unie all GOOD
| ri liens. without regard to religious be
! lief or political faith, in one organized
| aersistent, con tinuous effort to secure anG
enforce good law
Rev. George d. Lindsay offered reso
Iutjop of thanks to Dir. Spencer for hi,
| fermon Sunday.
If was then announced that Charles e.
Jones, Sewell E.Leach, Thomas 2. Baker
aad Henry Dimmock vera continued in
fine studies of the first year. L. A. Nor
GROSS. It. H. Ellington, A. S. STAPLES,
". C. Wentworth and q. H. Varney were
admitted to the conference on trial. The