Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-01-12


nual gain in the savings bank deposits
was nearly three times as great IN the
no license as in the license years.
The effect in public sentiment is regis
tered in the increasing majorities for no
license. Again the Massachusetts argu-
gives a better moral condition, that the
law is enforced | have already exposed
this fauacy, but. bring one more refer
ence that it may be absolutely silenced.
This time | quote a Catholic. priest. (This
from the Boston Herald of Oct. 5, i902o:
The Rey. John ?. Phelan, at St. Mary .
church, this morning, delivered his second
philippe against the Illegal rum selling
of the town and neglect of duty of the
officers. This sermon following the first
one of two weeks ago, has shown the
est and they are a badly scared crowd.
Speaking on the gospel of the day, MIR.
IheIan declared that if the people loved
their children as they should, they would
notapermit- the evils now threatening the
town TO exist He continued IN part: =
THE officers elected and appointed to
Iprforce the law do not do it. | know that
places licensed TO sell rum violate the law
openly, and plates without license sell
publicly There is one place Of the latter
description within the shadow of the
church, almost under the gilded eagle Of
the town house. / know liquor is sold
there because / have seen drunken men
coming cut and rum going in. Last Tues
| day, | saw heavily loaded wagon driven
up to the side door. The men on the
wagon began to unload jugs and barrels
and bottles. l walked over and SAID:
You are putting in quite stock
THE rien rel lied: No we are taking
wagon ard drove off. The officers know
of these things, but do nothing.
PRESENT CONDITIONS.
In June 1902 the dominant political
party in Maine in convention assembled.
said: I'VE demand the continuance of all
such statutes temperance and their
faithful and impartial enforcement By
the officers of the law This was clear,
emphatic and satisfied the voters.
In January, 1903, His Excellency the
Governor of this State, in his inaugural
address to the Legislature, said:
AN awakened public sentiment among
the people of Maine demands more COM
plete ana vigorous enforcement of the
prohibitcry law. In nearly all our cOun-
try towns the law is respected and obeyed,
1t is in the cities and larger villages tina
it has been most frequently and persist
emily violated: This condition of things,
is apparently due to the fact that in the
larger places there has been wanting an
active and healthy sentiment in support
of the law, and indifference and oppose
ton have made its enforcement more diff
ficult.
.sDisrespect of one law breeds disrespet
CT all law, and there is a growing appre-
cation oil Tue 1ar-fedGj1ll Gen0rallZd-
ton that comes from the .2llure t. hon
estly and fearessly administer every law
upon our statute books.
+. Officers whose duty il Is TO see that
the law is observed have no option in the
matter if they respect their official obi
cation and are true to their official oath;
but it is most important that every Law
should be sustained by the unQuestioned
public sentiment, for officials elected by
popular suffrage seldom rise to higher
conceptions of public duty than is repre-
sented by the prevailing sentiment Of
their constituents.
Good citizens may differ among them
selves as to the best method of contend
ing VITA the liquor evil but they cannot
afford to be otherwise than a unit in de-
manding the faithful. fearless and impair
tial enforcement of every existing law,
SO long as it continues to be the law
This was clear emphatic and satisfied
the voters. Governor Hill has lived
among you for years | have never
known his integrity or his honesty or his
devotion to good government and good
citizenship to be questioned. He has
shown himself friend to prohibition and
its enforcement. When His EXcellency
found a vacancy in the shrievalty of
Cumberland county he played no poor
politics-he appointed a tried man not a
Republican but Democrat to that Of
flee.
The Governor of Maine sees a large body
of tue statutes nullified by officials. He
sees that law, order, good government,
in danger, and he demands honest en-
fOrcement of all law. ~
Many sheriffs in our State have taken
their stand on the honest enforcement
plank. and among them our own sheriff
Mr.. Ham When Mr.. Ham was nominat-
ed he was asked to publicly declare him
self for enforcement. He hesitated to do
this. 1t became my duty to say to the
voters of this county: This is our time
to act We should demand an uneouivo-
cal pledge from Mr.. Ham or unite for his
defeat at the polls
Soon after this incident Mr.. Ham COM
mtted himself squarely for enforcement.
l received letters from many persons urg-
ing me to oppose Mr.. Hams election on
the ground that he did not mean to keep
his pledge. 1t was only to silence the
voice of opposition. l replied to all "A
man is innocent before the law until
proven guilty. i shall work. for Mr..
Hams election" / did so and voted for
him. Mr.. Ham has taken his oath of Of
flee and now he is reported to have said
to his deputies:
There is a law against selling liquor.
There is a law against stealing. There is
a law against murder, and no impartial
man is able to give an intelligent reason
why the law against selling liquors should
not be enforced in the same way in which
we enforce the law against stealing and
murder If there IS any reason wherein
this law is not right, the Legislature
which will be in session here, thisawinter.
will make any changes that the people
deem necessary. But so long as the law
is upon the statute books and / am sher-
iff OF Kennebec county, the law must be
enforced in this county@eI expect each
and every one here present to dusail that
lies in his power to assist me.
II have had long talks with leading Re-
publicans of this county and they all tell
me that the law must be enforced and
that they look to me to see that t Isl So
let the Consequences be what they will,
shall seek to enforce fully and impartial
~ this law / wish you to notify the mem
in your several towns who are conducting
places where liquor Is to be sold that they
must stop. They may have from now
trade and to clean out all the parapher-
MALTA of the business. After Monday, any
man found with contraband stock must