The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1907-04-25
A Blow at the Grog Shops.

No lover of his kind can help APP
proving the plan advanced by the
Waterville Sentinel, to organize
Total Abstinence League in Maine, in
the effort to handle the liquor ques
ton outside of the domain of law and
politics. This will be purely volun
tary organization, a brotherhood of
active workers, pledged to each other
and the cause.
OF course, we don't remember the
old Washingtonian movement of
seventy five years ago, but we have
seen and experienced the blessed
fruits of its efforts, flowing down
through two generations. We do
remember we'll the Temperance
Watchmen" reformation of more than
half century ago, that spread like
wildfire throughout the State, that
saved from utter ruin many heads of
households, and created hundreds of
happy homes. Both of these bodies
were organized on the same basis
contemplated by the Sentinel, and
they did an immense amount of good.
We believe i'll law, in dealing with
he liquor traffic. There are some
cases when moral suasion fails, and
only a broad axe is effective. Pro-
hibition for the State, and total alb
stinence for the Individual is good
doctrine. But law never reformed a
man. No man ever left his cups be-
cause he was threatened. The law
given at Sinai, amid the hoarse thun-
ders of heaven, never drove sinner
to Christ. So God -speed, say we, to
this movement to spread the gospel
of temperance among the people, and
thus effectually rob the grog shops of
their customers.
Trustworthy estimates show that
the worlds output of wheat has
practically doubled within the last
thirty years. The crop of 1875 is re-
corded as 1900 900 bushels, and
the crop of 1906 as $500, 100000
bushels. In this supply the relative
position of the United States is prac-
tically unchanged. There has been
a considerable fluctuation of volume
from year to year, but we still fur
nish about one sixth of the total
supply, as we did in 1875. Our sur
plus for export shows wide variation.
In 1901 Al per cent of the crop was
sold in foreign markets, and in 1905
only per cent. Averaging export
percentages by decades, it would APP
pear that little change has taken
place. We consume at home about
70 per cent of our crop and sell abroad
about 30 per cent, as we did a genera
ton ago.
Invention has at last come to the
rescue of the egret-that beautiful
bird which has been nearly eXtermi
mated by the ruthless demand of wo-
men for it's beautiful maternity
plumes, obtainable only by killing
the bird in the season when it is car
ing for its young. Now, however, an
artificial aigrette is being used by
milliners which is even more beauti-
full in some respects and more adapt
able than that taken from the egret.
The new ornament is made of ostrich
plumes, and is used lavishly on some
of the spring model hats.
Some farmers seem to have the
idea, they having been told by agents
that the separator, which takes so
many impurities out of the milk, re-
moves also the germs of tuberculosis
and other diseases. When this mat
ter was referred to DR.. Henry D.
Holton, secretary of the Vermont
Board of Health, he entered an I'M
qualified denial. DR.. Holton says the
germs pass through the separator
without the least difficulty.