Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-06-02
VOICES OF THE PRESS.
Prohibitions Counterpart.

Very spirited is the contest ~ tne
gubcrnatorial race. 1t proceeds as though
everything wers fair In war and politics.
Each of the three republican ehnoiaa.es'
conceded by all who know them intinats-
~ to be very honorable gentlemen nave
been the victims in different localities Ol
partizan strife and local jealousies or aHi-
| billions. Fairness, honest methods ana inc
| real merits of the candidates have not az
| ways had the consideration they deserve
at tho hands of intelligent citizens.
| One cry and another has been rais s..,
/ was true or false but because 1t could BE
used at the moment to gain an advantage
in winning delegation. The cry, M ma,
| chine Candidates" has been worked WITH
great persistency in some quarters ms
cry IL not legitimate in any case, tnousn
| In case of a bud machine it might seem 10
1t is sometimes called is essential TO COCO
government. party without system,
organization and leadership could not long
exist and would not be tolerated II IL
tcould. And yet one might suppose from
the changes that have been rung upon the
Ring Candidate" and the Machine
| Man" that the fact that any candldate
was endorsed by party organization wa
complete condemnation of him. the 1acI
is, II the party organization is corrupt ana
vicious the voters of the party are re-
| spOnsible for it's being and remaining so.
1t liz within the province of the people TO
repair the old purity machine or to make
| they must have. 1t is the duty OF the
people to attend to the making OF the
party organization and they ought to re
| careful of their work along this line. III
| they have made a bad machine, or neg,
| lected to attend to the making of a good
one, so that the endorsement OF the party
| rganiZation is an injury to the man 1t en-
| dorses. it is Il serious reflection Upon me
| chal acter of the men who compose the
| party. If the party is alive 1t should nave
| an organization of such character that
Il worthy candidate.
The Civic League has preference
among the three excellent candidates Tor
| Governor now prominently before the p Ir
pie of Maine. 1t champions none. The
Civic League Record has tempting space
ea CA dc lto1 of ts choice IN the next issue
but it seems better to devote that space to
Names Constitutional Prohibltory
Amendment. Governors must come ana
go hut let the amendment abide forever
The league has been represented as
endorsing MIR. Cobb. The editor , Of the
and some of his associates as to the at
| titude of the Rockland candidate upon
important issues entered into correspond
ence with him. The response was courte-
Gus and frank. The correspondence mas
been made public in order that the peo-
pie who We're being deceived upon the I'M mc
did not believe that those who were really
DESTROYS of knowing the truth about Mr.
| Cobb's position should be kept in darkness
simply because Mr.. Cobb. as we believe.
made the political blunder of not speak
ing specifically upon the temperance Is
Fernald has been politically wiser than
Mr.. Cobb and we are deeply interested in
the candidacy Of Mr.. Fernald d as one ne who
sition clearly and frankly. The people
now know MIR. Cobb's position. for he
stated it squarely and uneauivocally The
pleasing to the Civic League is the manly
| stand upon the question of total abstin-
been a total abstainer should commend
| him as a man of the right type for Gov
ernor of a Prohibition State. In Maine
we deny the right of any man to sell in
and We have the decision of the supreme
| court of the United States behind us.
ployng labor. National companies, Insur
ance companies, all, by the attitude they
have taken toward the use of liquor by
! their employees and partons are in har-
mony with the principle and purpose of
prohibition. By this attitude they de
clare the law is, sound and right from the
| There are few to deny today that alb.
stinence. the necessary counterpart Of
best interests of all classes and conditions |
of men. If the law should be obeyed by |
principle should be observed and re-
Spected by every loyal citizen, and es- |
pecially by men who seek public office in
the government of our State. The en-
of liquor has been attended with great |
difficulty. In some quarters great con
4 IL
to Jail for selling the article which some |
of the most prominent men buy and per |
sonally and often publicly use. The diff |
Guilty in enforcement, and the contempt
| for the law has been foStered and inten- |
siGed by the fact that so large number
of the men whom we honor with public
position are buyers and users of that
which it is not lawful to sell. Conditions
are far from being ideal. certainly when
legislators who patronize the dram shop
are set to make laws to prohibit those |
who run them, when men in the eX
ecutive and judicial department of the
government are expected to impartially |
administer the laws against the sellers of
liquor while they are themselves buyers
of the same.
The one thing which recommends VIII
liam II. Cobb Governor of Maine to
those who desire the success of the pro- |
hibitory law is that in addition to his
declaration for the enforcement and con-
tinuance of the law against the seller OF
liquor he is not himself a buyer. He is |
now and always has been total abstain |
err Such man fifty represents such a |
State ours wherever he goes and is an
example of the type of public men in Of
fetal position who will help to make en- |
forcement easy and prohibition success |
full.
Editor Of the Civic League Record |