Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-03-06

physical condition of those coal-heaVer:
when the noon whistle blows. Wher
it was possible for those men to go &c
beer saloon and have a couple OF
glasses of beer or go to their homes
and have a bottle of cold, refreshing
beer with their dinners. the craving fol
stimulant was satisfied, the thirst was
euenched. the waste of energy supplied
and the man returned to his work sat
isfied and contented. But nowadays,
no beer can be had. Beer is bulky.
Beer to be palatable must be iced and
kept under prescribed conditions. A
pint of prohibition whiskey can be
manufactured from "a half pint OF alco-
hol with little burnt sugar for color
ing and may be stored in manure
heap indefinitely and will be no viler
when taken out than when it was put
in. Now. when the coal HEAVIER comes
from his work. there's no beer TO be
had but there are plenty of pocket
peddlers. loafers. 'gutter-snipes ana
wharf rats" with pockets stored with
prohibition whiskey. The coal HEAVIER
gets "a drink or two of that. 1t burns
his stomach. fires his blood. craZes ms
brain. his family and work are FOR
gotten he goes off and gets drunk, per-
haps gets into fight, is arrested,
hauled before the court, fined from So
to 50 with costs, or sent to Jail ana
his family may beg or starve. Mr..
Speaker and gentlemen. that is the way
prohibition works in the city of Port
land. and there sits my colleague who
for years has been the largest employer
of labor of that kind in our city. who
will confirm this statement Isn't it
about time for the people of Maine,
which for 80 years has been going from
bad to worse under a system which has
been tried and rejected by every Re-
publican state in this Union, except
New Hampshire and Kansas: to re-
pudiate the leadership of a few fanati
cal women and few irreverent
blatherskites?
Mr.. Speaker. ! am opposed to the
prohibitory law. because it is the pro-
life mother of humbug, hypocrisy and
false pretence, and never was that fact
more strikingly illustrated than in this
chamber at the hearing before the tenn
perance committee of this Legislature
The opponents of resubmission We're
marSlialed by the Joan of Are of pro-
hibition. the leader of the AmaZons of
tho Woman's Christian Temperance
Union. with the Rev. Wilbur F. Berry,
the president of the Maine Wesleyan
Seminary and College. to lead the as
sault. He took this floor. which he oc-
cupied solely through the courtesy of
the members of this House. and like
Saul of Tarsus breathing out threat
the members of this House and the Re
publican party. Turning in his place
and pointing with threatening finger to
the members of, the House. he shouted:
Il tell YOU politicians who listen at the
key holes of saloons to ascertain pub
lie sentiment that the moral forces of
this State have been fooled as long as
they propose TO be-" He asserted that
the Republican party has been cheat
ing the prohibitionists for 20 years and
that the time has come when they can
be cheated no longer. Mr.. Speaker. a
single GrHsshopper Will make more
noise in a 10-acre lot than 10 yoke of
quiet grazing oxen.
The erasshopper is endowed by ma
turc with a peculiar attachment at the
base of his eXtremities which by rub
bling together he can produce that vol
ume of sound which, on a summers
dav might lead you to think that the
world was fun of grasshopDerS, but
the quiet grazing OK pays no attention
TO him until he gets in the way and
becomes a nuisance when the OK quiet
~ sets his foot upon him and that
gra shopper ceases to be a burden. and
that is what will happen to Rev. Will
bur F. Berry. when he gets in the way
OF the Republican elephant. He has
been one of the most prominent and
loud-mouthed prohibitionists in Maine,
and | propose to show this House how
his practice squares with his preach
ing. A few years ago the Maine Wes-
leyan Seminary was in financial dis
treSs and its trustees applied to
wealthy and benevolent gentleman out
side the State for relief. He generous
" endowed it with scholarships to the
amount OF $500 a year and was elected
member of the board Of trustees in
compliment therefor. What followed
is recorded ir history, and | quote
from the columns of the Portland Daily
Press of April IA, 1896. on file in the
library of this building:
Auburn. April 10, 1896, the sensation
of the week at the Maine Methodist
Conference held in this city was the
debate. Monday forenoon, on the APP
pointment of Hon. Frank Jones of
Portsmouth. as one of the trustees Of
the kent's Hill Seminary.
The discussion was begun by Rev w.
F. Holmes. Mr.. Holmes said he didn't
like to introduce the matter but that
he did it as Il matter of duty.
The resolution was as follows:
Whereas the recent action of the
board of trustees of Maine Wesleyan
Seminary and Female College has had
the effect of compromising not only the
seminary but also our common Metho-
dsm in their relation to the cause of
temperance. thereby subjecting us to
unfavora bic comment and painful
humiliation. therefore,
Resolved. that we as Il conference
hereby express our regret at this ac-
ton and earnestly hope it may be re-
considered.
The reading caused a sensation In
stantly half a dozen came to their feet
Rev. Mr. Randall hoped the brethren
would withdraw the resolution: 1t was
i