Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-03-06
Orders of the Day.
RESUBMISSION.
Unfinished business:

HLso ObMIDO1oANs
| Unfinished business:
Motion to substitute minority for
majority report of committee on tenn
perance, reporting Ought not to pass"
| and ought to pass on resolve for an
| amendment to the constitution by abro-
| eating and annulling amendment five,
relating to the manufacture and sale of
| Intoxicating liquors.
| MR.. COLE of East Livermore: Mr..
| Speaker, 1t is with some diffidence that
| | rise here to express my opinion on
| this subject. This question has been
| agitated in the State to quite an ex-
| tent during the past year, and especial
| ly since the campaign of the past year
| started. Being on the committee on
| temperance l felt under little obli-
cation to defend my position. l will
admit that in the fall was partly con-
verified, or at that stage where l hardly
| knew what was right for me to do
| when l came into the Legislature, in
| reference to this question. And so l
| took a little pains to inform myself.
| l admit here that there were good men,
| men of good standing people of broad
minds, of my constituents, who adj
| Vised me to vote for reSubmission. |
| admit that perhaps there are people
here, today, members of this Legisla-
| ture, who take the same view, who
| are unbiased in their opinions and have
| a right from their standpoint to vote
| for resubmission. But when l came
| to inquire into this among the quiet,
| thinking persons of my constituency,
| l found that a large majority advised
me to vote against resubmitting this
| question to the public. And so l took
| a little pains to look into this matter,
and l took it from the standpoint
| although the argument has not been
| brought up before the committee at
our ahearings-it has been touched up
| on little in our discussion-I took it
| from the standpoint that members of
| this Legislature have asked us to vote
| for resubmission on the ground that it
| would strengthen our law to re-affirm
our belief in prohibition-that they
| had no doubt but but what it would be
| e-affirmed by a very large majority
| of the voters of the State. Now, if l
believed that from that standpoint it
would be re-affirmed, that the people
would not want this amendment re-
pealed then it seems to me that l
should vote against resubmitting
| this to the people. And why?
| Because if we think they still believed
| in the prohibitory law as they did
when it was put into the constitution,
| than why should be subject the people
| to the excitement and expense of vot-
| ing again? Many say that it would
show the rum power that the people
| were still of firm belief in this prohibit
tory law. You know as well as l that
| final They do not consider the people
| when ever in any way they can ply
their trade, because it is wholly for
gain; and if the influence that is
brought against them can in any way
be lessened or this law be brought in
| to dsrepute they are willing to be
law-breakers still, no matter what
pressure may be brought to bear up
on them by the communities in which
| they live.
| From the other standpoint, the ar
gument that has been put forth before
| the committee is, that a local license
| or a license law would be much pre-
! ferable to the prohibitory law. 1 took
a little pains to look into the matter.
l shall not give you any extended sta
tistics here, today, but i took from diff
ferent years from different states the
| per cent. as it had been stated by the
attorney generals and chief justices
and ] found that ahoIt so per cent. of
| the crimes in the different states and
, in this State from year to year, right
around so per cent, is due to the excess
of liquor drinking, that it is due to the
| liquor traffic If so per cent. is due to
the amount of liquor used, then If
more liquor is used in the State, of
| course there is more crime. In Maine
according to the census reports of 1890
the conditions We're about the same as
at the beginning of 1902. Maine aver
aged one revenue tax to about 100 of
the people, and with about the same
enforcement they had in the prisons
ia per million of the inhabitants. New
Hampshire, in which the enforcement
of the prohibitory law was moro lax,
had S73 per million against TIA prison
ers in the State of Maine. Connecti-
cut, with it's local option, had 1875 pris-
oners per million of the inhabitants
against TIA in the State of Maine
Massachusetts, in which local option
was practically high license law for
the state because of the greater num-
Der Of cities, had 1925 per million, pris-
oncrs in the prisons against TIA in the
State of Maine. And from all this tes-
timcny, and can give more, we see !