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

| argument throughout the State that
! local option and high license would
| curtail the amount of liquor sold. 1
| can hardly see it upon that standpoint.
| If we have a high license we would
have perhaps less saloons than if we
had a low license, but those saloons
would be run in the interests of rich
rum sellers, they would be conducted
on a larger scale and in q more elab-
3rate style and they would appeal to
the young men who. today would not
frequent those low dives. A great deal
of stress is laid upon the restrictions
that would be put upon these high
license saloons. They tell us they are
not allowed to have drunkards, that
they are not allowed to have minors
patroniZe them, that they are not al
lowed to run after a certain hour at
night, that they are closed on Sundays
they present an elegant picture of
the license law. But what are you go
ing to do with the drunkards of today,
what are you going to do with gradu-
ates of those saloons? They must and
will have their liquors the same as
they are having them, today, and if
those saloons will not sell it to them
from the front doors, they will sell it
out of the back doors, and even if it is
not convenient for them to do it, they
will certainly do it because they are in
the business for profit. 1t does not
hurt their patronage. Then there will
be the same ones who will furnish the
liquor to the drunkard and to those
who are excluded from the elegant sa-
looms. But you say that the high Ii
cense men would see that this law was
enforced. Would they? If they did
not want these drunkardS to patroniZe
their saloons, would they not be willing
that they should have some lower dive
to patronize? / tell you if they are in
it for profit they surely will in some
way, in some manner, be law-breakerS
themselves, they are not the persons
who will complain about this law
twice. Another thing, supposing they
should be the complainants, we know
of men and women that have been COM
plainantS now for years against the
unlawful running of saloons in our
cities. What does it amount to when
we have officials that can be bribed.
when for ten dollars a word can be
sent to these saloons and when the
officers go there there are no liquors
to be found? Those same officials,
those same law-breakers that have
been breakers of the law for years. are
not in a minute going to be trans
formed into good and honest men. The
officials of our cities that have been
corrupted under Our present laws, can
be corrupted under a high license law
and if for ten dollars they can send
word to those that are selling illegally,
then for ten dollars those same officials
will send word to the law breakers
that at such a time they are going to
search their places-conSequentl the
law is not enforced. If the sentiments
of the people of a city are against the
enforcement or in that direction, will
it help that sentiment any to change
the law from prohibition to high Ii
cense? The people of that city who
are, today, sneering at the officers that
try to enforce the law, will be too we'll
satisfied with the condition to be
sneering at the situation if they have
high license law. 1t is not those peo-
pie who are sneering at the law, to- |
day, that would see that the law was
enforced under high license but it |
would be the same persons that, today, |
are working without pay, without |
money and without price, for the moral |
promotion of the people of the State. |
And when we consider that the great |
influences of our State are in a great |
measure in favor of prohibition, when |
we consider that societies are working [
without profit for the improvement, I
the education, the up-building and So
briefly and all that goes to improve and J
help our State, when we consider those
things, then we can see that n great |
prepOnderance of the evidence in in !,
favor of the continuation if prohibit
ton.
Many have preached the beauties of |
local option. If a city or village wishes
for license law with which to sell |
liquors. they say that they should have
the privilege to sell. That admit had |
some merit, but at the same time if the |
law, as l claim it is, is a detriment. if |
the selling of liquor is Il detriment to a |
community, if it is q detriment to any
city to sell it, then | believe it will be n
detriment to the adjoining towns and |
cities. | live in a town where we have
a village placed right in the corner and |
IN reality that village is in three diff
ferent towns Now, supposing that
local option was adopted in one of
those towns. 1t would simply be a
curse to the people of the next town.
right in the same village if they be-
lieved that their village would be bet
ter off with prohibition. So that. under
all those circumstances, where if
might be the vote of one city or one
village for liquor, it would be a detri-
ment to the town right across the line
mat desires prohibition
The attention of our committee was
called to cities that had adopfed the
enforcement plan thoroughly. Port
land, Lewiston and some other cities.
and people say that the law has NOT
been enforced, that liquor is still sold
II seems to me that people, in look
ing at it from that standpoint, take the
we" that II 1t is not wholly annihilat-
ed, then it is not enforced. We had
man before our committee who was
sent as a spy, should say by his tes-
tlmony, into Portland under Sheriff
fearsons administration, and he tes-
tlIed before our committee of places
Wnich he had found where they sold
liquor, little low dives and pocket ped
diars, and he admitted that he went
into saloon or eating house tbara |