Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-02-03

cate the saloons but ut last one was
found situated on an alley and having
a bar with four or five bartenders. He
called for cigar but his guide called
for whiskey which the maid pulled
from her stocking and in this wide open
saloon. Now, generally. in wide open
towns and cites. the saloons are not To-
Gated upon alleys and the bar maids do
not usually keep the stock in trade in
their hosiery. Do they?
This would-be- benefactor devoted
quite large fraction of an hour on
Friday. in portraying the horrible
depths to which a poor fellow down in
Virginia had been dragged by the drink
habit and his complete transformation
through a kind word and the signing
of the pledge-pictured wildly the
happiness of the reunited family ard
the prosperity that followed total alb
stinence. And yet this Temperance
worker would legaliZe the business
that results so often in placing fathers
into the same depths and kee,s them
there.
our law. according to Mr.. Doutney is
Il farce. "A piece of hypocrisy. and the
sending of liquor dealer to Jail at the
last term of court for selling glass Of
whiskey. he censured in very strong
language. Perhaps he overlooked the
fact that it is the act rather than the
quantity of liquor handled that con-
stitutes the crime and that leniency had
been shown the Waterville dealer in
Oifenses of the past. Our law. how
ever. was enforced.
According to Mr.. Doutney's talks of
Friday and Sunday evenings, ministers
and members of the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union know only one side
Of the question. The man in making
such q declaration simply shows that
lie is an impostor for certainly in his
experience as a temperance worker he
must have learned that great pains
have been taken TO obtain accurate
statistics upon this matter of license
and prohibition. Without a single eX-
ception the Clergymen of our city are
fine gentlemen. educated. refined, in
tcllectual. Never has one of them
given an address upon the subject of
resubmission without presenting facts
that are irrefutab!y against license and
i'm favor Of no license or prohibition.
WI Iputil'E dShCti IL tt!lS ollc tNSI lCtii u
of the W. c. T. L. appealing directly to
Il saloon-keeper to go out of business.
If one knows anything about how the
w. c. T. L. originated. he knows that
Miss Willard and a few other Chris
tian ladies went to number of
saloons and peaceably and prayerfully
urged that the business be discon-
tinued AMI they met with success and
the union originated in that way.
Mr.. Doutney very generously made
certain recommendations along politi-
cal lines. t6Aching the offices of repre-
sentative to the legislature. sheriff and
governor. How extremely thankful
We should be to this gentleman from
Massachusetts for pointing out to Us
the men who should receive the votes
OF the people of Maine.
1t is sincerely hoped that this Mr..
Doutney. spending his time SO freely
and investing his money so generously
in an ef'ort to better our condition by
legalizing the saloon. will allow the
people of Augusta and of kennebec
county to have something to say as to
who shall be elected to office.
Think of Il man claiming to be an
advocate of temperance and s0briety,
delivering an appeal to establish the
saloon by law. to place it upon the
principle streets, and then singing to
The same audience that most beautiful
hymn Where is My Wandering Boy
trd he expects PEOPLE to take stock
J.. what he says. Something must be
wrong web him.
1t might Ike well to use Il little of y.
Lincoln philosophy as follows: The
drink habit is a good thing or bad
thing. If good thing, it should be
encouraged. If Il bad thing, it should
be suppressed. Ask any lady ii
she would have her son take up the
drink habit. Ask any woman if she
would not object to her husbands be-
ginning the habit. Does enforced pro-
hbitiOn suppress the drink habit? If
so it is Il good law because it sup
presses a bad thing. >WOuld license
and saloons encourage the drink
habit? If so. they could encourage
bad thing are social evil.
If thieves would stop stealing. if
burglars would quit burglarizing if
incendarists would never set fires and
murGerers not kill, if liquor dealers
would with these other viOlatOrS of
law become law abiding. enforcement
would be easier. and crime would be
almost unknown. No sane man or
woman ever expects to see the time
when there will be no selling Of iHtoXi-
eating liquors but the traffic should
not be upon our principle streets and
the dealers should never be Classed
With business men.