Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-10-23

OF them also violate those other provis-
ions OF the license law which forbid
their selling on Sundays or on holidays,
or before 6 o'clock in the morning. or
after IL o'clock at night We have had
boys Is years of age so drunk lying on
the street that the policemen had to
PICK them up and carry them in their
arms to the police station, in places
where they have no patrol wagon, and
when they sobered up they admitted
that they got their liquor at licensed
saloon.
Talk about the farce and hypocrisy
OF unenforced prohibition in Maine, it
is not one-fourth as big a farce as the
non-enforcement of the provisions of
the high license law in many Massa-
chusetts cities and towns
"Third-High license is much harder
to enforce than prohibition. Why?
Because 1t is harder to get evidence of
violations under license than under
prohibition, and because it is harder to
get a jury to convict licensed dealer
than an illicit dealer. Under prohibi-
ton the place where liquor is being sold
can be raided by the local officers and
the liquor seized and the dealer arrest
ed. prosecuted, and convicted, without
any further evidence. But under license,
if licensed dealers are violating the law
by selling on Sundays or to minors or
drunkards, ETC., you cannot raid their
places and seize their liquors, for they
have a right to have the liquor there:
but liquor detectives or spoilers must
be employed to go into the saloons and
buy liquor and thus get positive evil
dence that it was Intoxicating liquor
that they We're selling; otherwise, if ar
rested and brought to court the liquor
dealers would swear that they were
only selling soda water, lemonade and
temneraLce drinks.
"Fourth-High license increases
drunkenness. That is, the amount Of
drunkenness under license is much
greater than under no-license or pro-
hibition. 1t is only reasonable to sup
pose that man who pays large
license fee and must furnish up an ex-
peHsive saloon, must sell much more
liquor to make a living than dealer,
or dive keeper, who does not have to
pay any license fee, and who pays but
little rent. And the easier we make it
for men TO get liquor the more there
viii be sold. The more open the So
looms are the greater the temp tation to
drink Oficia. igures from Massachu-
sets cities and towns show that the
amount of drunkenness is very much
greater where the town votes license
than no-license.
Here are the results of Brocktcns
experiment of one year with license,
&c ,,<NI rryst !,
before and after it as to the number of
arrests for drunkenness:
1897 1898 1899
(No-license) Uicense) -license) 4
435 1927 ass
mo wonder Brockton got enough of
license in one year!
Chelsea tried a similar experiment
with similar result, as to the number
of arrests for drunkenness, as follows:
Six Months, 1901. Six Months, 1902
(No-license) U4icense)
191 600
"Fifth-High license increases taxes
Carroll D. Wright, when chief Of the
Bureau of Statistics and Labor in Mas
sachusetts, said as a result of his in
vestigation: For every dollar of rev.
enue derived from the liquor traffic,
there is resultant loss of twenty dol
lars Licensing open saloons increases
the pauper, court and police expenses
and thus increases the taxes.
"Sixth-High license increases the
political corruption. The saloons al
ways corrupt the politics of a town,
and drive good men out of politics and
make it very difficult to get the best
men to run for office. The more open
the saloons are and the more privileges
that are given them, the more defiant
they become. When licensed, they al
ways enter boldly into local politics,
and by brides or threats generally run
the affairs of town in their own in
terests.''
Mr.. Miller also explained the difficult
ties of local option, saying: 1T is too
local and too OPTIONAL Every year in
Massachusetts under local option the
temperance people have double fight
at the same time. First, they must
work hard to carry the town for no.
license or prohibition, and secondly,
they must at the same time work to
elect officers to enforce it. If the liquor
men carry the town for license they of
course open their saloons; but If the
town goes for no-license, and the liquor
men elect their mayor. then they sell
about as they please. 1t is hard to win
two such fights at once. In Maine I'M
der prohibition there is only one fight,
that of electing your officers. Better
hold on to your present law, but elect
officers to enforce it."
ADJUSTMENTS