The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-04-12
N. H. Druggist One of
the Disputants.
An Auburn Minister UphOlds the.
Maine Law.
ESPECIAL 40 THE rREss.J

Lewiston, April IL The Grand Lodge
of the Maine Good Templars is gathering
here and it began its meetings tonight
with something unusual in these end cf
the century days. 1t was discussion of
license as opposed to prohibition, the dis
putants being Dr. Edward Ii. Everett oe
Nashua, n. H., who spoke for lcsnse,
and the Rev. A. j. Wheeler of this city,
who upheld prohibition doctrine. DIR.
Everett challenged Mr.. Wheeler to de-
bate on the subject some time ago and
the two then fought it out in Manchester,
MIR. Wheeler is a candidate for the leader
ship of the Maine Good Templars. He ehal
leuged DR.. Everett to a second debate on
this occasion. 1t was nightly interesting,
too Mr.. Wheeler made an old fashioned
temperance speech, the kind which paints
rum drinking as the crime of crimes. res
sponsible for nine-tenths of the poverty,
wickt dness and misery in the world. DR..
Everett who is druggist by profession,
Is told man, for it takes bold man to
argue license in a Good 1emplnrs' conven-
tion in Maine. The doctor got his share of
the applause, though he maintained
that prohibition does not prohibit.
He maintained..thst it leads to the sale Of
adulterated liquors which are little better
than poisons; that it offers opportunity
for corruption while setting a bud ex.
ample to the young of law which is per-
sistently violated: and that it deprives
the state OF q revenue which 1t might
otherwise obtain.
M ia of hn
prohibitory laws In Connecticut and
other states, and of the extraction of the
teeth Of the New Hampshire law by the
repeal Of the moiety clause. Both dis
putants in their speeches presented good
deal of tory and repartee in proportion
TO the argument. If they did not shed
much new light on vexed question, they
greatly amused the big crowd which the
announcement of the novel contest had
brought together.
This session of the Maine Good Temp
lars is notable for another thing. There
is lively contest on over the offices.
Grant Rogers, ESQ.,, who has been chief
templar Is to retire, and 1t is proposed to
| put him in the place of Grand Secretary
! George L. Bracket If votes enough can
he mustered. The Rogers party say that
| the time has come for change. TEey
support their claim by the argument that
Mr. Brackett has b6sn the grand secretary
| for over twenty years, and in that time
the order has decliIed from membership
of over 20, 600 to about half that number.
| The Rogers men are supporting MIR.
Wheeler for chief templar. MIR. Bracketb
has his friends and they rally for him for
secretary and U. A. Caine of kennebunk
for chief templar. The office of secretary
is worth 5000 year. The chief templar
is supposed to devote several months in
each year TO the order and gets
SIS for every ledge he organizes
or revives beside being entitled
to travelling expenses. Tho financial con-
sideratious do not decrease the interest in
the contest. All the grand officers are
here tonight and many other members.
The debate tonight TOOK place in City
hall, which was crowded with an audi
ence that applauded both speakers, al
| though they came out the stronger for the
advocate of prohibition.
DIR. Everett set the oratoricai ball a
rolling. lie told ms hearers OIL the Nam
sas City in Missouri, which had flourished
under license, while across the river the
Kansas City in Kansas languished under
proh ibition. DR.. Eyeratt read from re.
ports To show that liquor may lie health-
full and then he told of the composition OF
the rum sold in Maine TO show that it is
poison. Besides this DIR. Everett told
stories. He said
In Germany. where every family drinks
beer "a girl who weighs -ess than 200
pounds is sent TO America as disgrace
to her family. l saw in II New York
paper recently statement that German
woman had just died aged 50. She had al
ways drunk beer. My opponent Will tell
you if she had not drunk the beer she
would have lived to be 1893. Daniel Web
ster drank brandy when he made his