The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-10-04

that some of these were set to call atten-
ton to the fact that the chief engineer
was away At any rate the opponents of
Mr.: Dow's principles made charges
against him and there was protracted
meeting in February, 1S43 Mr.. Dow was
sustained, however.
Mr. Dow began to circulate petitions to
the legislature and also went there in
person to urge the prohibitory law for q
long time before such a law was actually
enacted The day of his triumph came
in 1861. That year no was elected mayor
of Portland as Wing, but really as it
would appear. on the temperance issue.
Thus he took with him some additional
prestige, when he went as usual to ask
the legislature to pass a prohibitory law.
| The legislature was Democratic and it
might seem that there would be little
chance for Wing to get it to pass such
law. Indeed an old Hunker member ap-
pealed to his fellow Democrats not to
follow this popinjay Wing, Lord Mayor
of Portland y But there were other
agencies at work which made the Demo
cratic majority vulnerable. The party was
not then in good discipline in Maine.
fractional feeling had been bred in the
session before by protracted effort to
| elect Hannibal Hamlin, with his anti
slavery tendencies, as United States
senator. The Hamlin men were generally
or the law which extorted from HShep"
carey, leader of the Wild Cat Democracy.
ehe expression of disgust, "Niggers are
no" swallowed up in rum. 1t used to be
nlggers hrstsand rum afterwards; now 1t
is rum first and niggers afterwards. The
Dill as Mr.. Dow drafted it, passed the
house 90 to 40, and the Senate Is to 10. 1t
Is SAID That some voted for the bill ex-
pectng that Gov, Hubbard, who did not
sympathize with the movement, would
veto 1t. But he signed it, There is a
pfo1ane legend that he remarked, They
may SKIN their own skunks; / shall sign
IT, However that may be the law was
piaceo on the statute books and Mr.. Dow,
as the mayor of the first city in the state
went home to enforce it. Gen. Dow was
SO good at enforcement. attacking whole
salers and retailers alike, that he sue
ceeded in getting defeated for mayor in
1902. But in 1855 he again was elected,
THIS time going in as Republican, the
old Wing party being on it's last legs. 1t
was In 1893 that the legislature made
some needed amendments SO that the law
was called the dow intensified . With
this new weapon Mr.. Dow proceeded to
enforce again. 1t was during this period
in June 1855, that the famous riot &C.
Cured at Old City hall. The city govern
ment had brought quantity of liquor
for sale in the agency, and the opponents
of the law determined to hold the MAYOR
responsible for the sale of this LIQUOR.
They went to Judge Carter of the
municipal court, and got warrant, with
which they intended to get possession of
the liquors. But Judge Carter was
friendly to the mayor and gave the war
rant to Deputy Marshal Ring. who with
squad Of police went to the basement of
the city building where the liquors were
stored. A mob had gathered around the
entrance and began to stone tie door.
Ring asked the mob to desist. The sheriff
of the county ordered them to dispense.
Mayor Dow, who had repaired to the
scene hastily, also gave the same order
but the mob persisted and redoubled the
violence of its attacks. The police fired
blank cartridges, which action the mob
interpreted as a sign of weakness. Then
the police fired bullets and John Robbins.
the mate of an Passport vessel then in the
harbor, was shot dead. Prior to the
firing the Light Guards had arrived at
the building but were stoned and retired
to their armory somewhat demoralized.
Then the mayor called out the Rifle
Guards and led them into the building
through q door on Middle street
side while the mob was on the Congress
street side. These militia men fired
through the Congress street door by
| squads of four, and ten or twelve rioters
were wounded.
This ended the riot Ebut Mayor Dow
was brought before the municipal court
on charge of illegal sale Of liquors. The
prosecuting attorney was Nathan Clifford,
afterward on the United States supreme
bench, and the attorney for the defence
was William Pitt Fessenden. Mayor Dow
was acquitted
The riot had great effect in the state
ana Poor JOhn Robbins was tho Cry
on every anti-Maine law stump in the
next campaign. The prejudice caused
by the affair resulted in the election of
Samuel Wells, Democrat and anti-Maine
law, by about 5000 majority.
But this relapse was only temporary
and the friends of the law soon regained
control. The law much amended and
still an object of considerable controversy,
is on the statute books, fortified by a con-
stitutional amendment Mr. Dow in all
the years since has watched over it
solicitiously, generally appearing before
the Legislature every winter until kept at
home by his intirmities.
While in 1884 Oglethorpe forbade the
sale of rum in Georgia, and while James
Appleton, of this city, as chairman of a
committee of the legislature, made re-
port in favor of Prohibition in 1887, Gen.
Dow may yet be fairly called the father
of prohibi ion. He it was who furnished
the persistence and ardor for the long con-
fiict to make the idea q reality. The idea
became popular and many states adopted
it. Of late the ftide has been the other
way. and with the exception of Maine,
New Hampshire and Vermont, the states
have generally adopted other methods
of dealing with the liquor traffic.