The Republican journal., 1902-09-04
MANLEY ON PROHIBITION.


selling in every town
Hon. Joseph II. Manley of Augusta
made an address at l. lakewood Aug. 26
at a Grange meeting, on the Name pro
hib tory laws taking the ground that it
was entirely possible as shown by the
success of the late Sheriff Pearson in
Cumberland county, to stop liquor sell
ing in every city in Maine, Just as it
had been stopped in the towns and plan
tationS. He spoke i'll part as follows:
Now, believe in total abstinence
For, while on the one hand it must be
admitted that many people use liquor
without injury either to themselves or
to others, still, on the other hand. it
may safely be claimed that all such
persons would be equally as Well if
they were total abstainerS. Further
there are many persons to whom liquor
is an unmitigated curse Because those
people who use liquor i'll moderation
would be absolutely as well without it.
and because those people who use
liquors to excess would be immeasul-
ably better off without it, | believe the
ideal condition would be the absolute
prevention of the use OF alcoholic bey-
erages
say. NiiC iItNJollls VI IiiS PooPiC VI
/ Maine believe in prohibition, because
they have so voted whenever the ques-
ton arose.
1.-TWO years ago | wrote letter to
the Lewiston journal, in which said
i agree that many of our best men
think the cause of temperance would
be better represented by a local option,
! high license law. If the majority of the
! people so think, that should be the law
of the State, and see no possible OBJ
lection to again submitting to the PEG
pie question which would have to be
presented in a proposition to repeal the
constitutional amendment. There was
! a movement during that legislature
for the re-submission OF the question
to the people What was the result:
The petitions and evidence We're over
Whelmingly IN favor of having the
= law exactly as it was and the legisla-
ture so voted by IA decisive majority. |
voted against re-submission then, and
! should do SO again under like circum-
stances.
''There are some Of the best citizens
who believe it Impossible to entirely
prohibit the sale of liquor, WHO believe
such selling TO be necessary evil,
who believe the best way to control
Uiltl tN II 10 ny u lcAt u l'liotl, tI- II IL
cemse law. They may be right. and
they may constitute ma jorlty of our
people, but certainly there is no eyl-
dence that such are the facts, for
whenever opportunity offered, the
people of this State, either by them
selves or their representatives. have
voted in favor of prohibition
Now, what is the condition today.
There are nearly 400 towns and -
plantations in our State in which
liquor is not sold. In the cities and d
few of the larger towns liquor is sold,
except in Cumberland county. For IN
stance, in Augusta, Bangor, Bath, and
Lewiston, liquor is sold as openly as in
Boston.
This is absolutely wrong. Let us
read from the statutes: Chapter 50 of
the present Revised Statutes in section
one declares that, Every sheriff shall
on the first day of January following
his election, be sworn, conditioned to
the faithful performance of the duties
of his office and to answer for all the
neglects and misdoings of his depu-
ties.
Section nine declares, 'Sheritfs shall
obey all such orders relating to the
enforcement of laws as they from
Jllll6 W Ullilt l0CclNC llolil VIC SoNt1Il-
or
''The sections preceding Section nine
make it the duty of the governor of
the State to notify the sheritfS to en-
force the law as they find it.
On page 204, section 60, Of Freeman's
Supplement appears the following:
'Sheritfs and their deputies and county
attorneys shall diligently and faithfully
inquire into all violations of law with
in their respective counties, and insti-
tute proceedings against violations OF
supposed violations of law, and partic-
ularly the laws against the illegal sale
Of Intoxicating liquors, and the keep
ing of drinking houses and tipping
shops
''rhe prohibitory laws apply as well
to Augusta as to WinsloW, and should
be equally as stringently enforced in
one place as in the other Some people
say it is impossible to enforce these
laws i'll the cities | say, look at what
has been done in Cumberland during
the past Is months What one sheriff
has done another sheriff can do No
law can escape violation. Murder, ar
son and, robbery will be committed; but
we can enforce the prohibitory laws
Just as we'll us we can our laws against
other crimes.
''The conditions which we find today
are the enforcement of these laws in
the towns and notification in the cities
These conditions are intolerable, and
believe the people of our State are de-
termined to change them. The Repub-
lican platform declared in favor of the
continuance Of the prohibitory statutes
4, and demands their faithful and i'm
partial enforcement by the officers of
the law. Androscoggin has awakened
and the Republican candidate for sher-
if in kennebec has come out with a
square declaration that. if elected. he