The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1907-03-21

ton won and has since that time, in
some form, been in force in our State.
Within the memory of gentlemen pres
ent the greenback craze swept over the
country. At the last moment the re-
suit of the elections were much in doubt
and civil war was imminent in the
State. This capital was guarded by
armed men and bloodshed was narrow.
ly averted Did the Republican party
say the people demand the present i'll
tlated system of currency and we will
give it up? No indeed, they stood for
a sound currency and they conquered
on the issue. How plausible the theory
of the parity of silver with gold as a
basis for our currency seemed to many
as the issue was suddenly sprung upon
us, but the Republican party made gold
their standard and they won out in spite
of the large minority which opposed
them. Now we claim that because i'll
some cases the election may have gone
against the party which has opposed re-
submission it was no reason why they
should 60 back on this issue.
| submit there is no call by the peo-
pie of the State for resubmission.
There is no demand sufficient for peo-
pie to leave their old-time doctrine and
vote for license. Who is backing this
call for resubmission? The Rev. Smith
Baker said before. our committee,
"4ou find 80 per cent of the ministers
of the State of Maine against result
mission. You find 80 per cent. of the
church membership of Maine against
resubmissiou." / have in my desk
here a petition which came, too late to
introduce, from the District Lodge of
Good Templars of Portland, represent
Ing 500 people, opposed to resubmis-
sion. have petition from the Friends
OF kennebec county representing 425
names pledged against resubmission.
We have large petitions from Bidde-
ford, Bath, Belfast, Rockland, and pc
titlon from Bangor. There are those
among the most intelligent and the
best citizens of the city OF Bangor who
do not believe in the liquor business.
Almost 10000 names have come to us
in opposition to resubmission. These
petitions have come voluntarily. We
have not had single petition in favor
OF 1T. do not believe that the people
OF the State of Maine believe in result
mlsslon-not because they are afraid of
the people; not because they believe
that a majority of the people of the
State will vote against them, but be-
cause they see that this matter of re-
submission is just trap to draw i'll
some OF the moral, temperance people
of this State, and that resubmission is
backed by the rum element of the
country. The gentleman from Angus
ia has plainly taken the position that
resubmlsslon means license for the
limo ho hat
the intelligent temperance people of
matter as they do, object to come out
prohibition to fight this matter? No,
they are going to stand where they are,
In the first intrenchment, where they
are backed by constitutional law. l
submit that prohibition has been sue
cess in the State of Maine to greater
or less extent for the last fifty years.
l submit that this rum trust IS one of
the most dangerous trusts that exist in
our country today. The gentleman
speaks of States that have gone back to
license. He says that in Vermont
there are but IS cities now that vote
for license whereas in 1903, so voted
for it. That goes to show that the peo-
pie are being educated toward prohi-
bition-not that license is success
but that it is failure and those peo-
pie are going back to prohibition. 1t
is so in New Hampshire, it is so in the
States of the west. We have a duty
not only to ourselves. For fifty years
we have had prohibition and other
States are looking to us for the in
fiuence that we may give to them: and
we say that vote for resubmission by
a Democrat or Republican here today
means that you put yourselves in the
position of saying that pro hibition in
Maine has been failure, and thus do
an injury to the people of other States
who are looking to us for our influence
and support.
l wish to put myself on record as op.
posing resu omission in Maine. They
say that the Republican party today is
between the Devil and the deep sea.
When they vote on this matter I sub.
init that the Republican party had bet
ter stand straight on this question and
place their backs to the sea and their
faces to the Devil and fight the Devil
OF license to the ragged, gilt-edged pit
of He'll, or else turn up their faces to
the deep sea and plunge beneath the
ocean of oblivion to be heard of no
more forever. (Applause.)
Representative Davies of Yarmouth