Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1908-08-11
Maine . Good State to Live In.

> maine Good State 10 Live IN
George W. Peck of Wisconsin, former
governor of the state, but perhaps bettel
known az the writer of "Peck's Bat
Boy" has been touring the country ant
writing 1t up In the interest of the liquor
dealers association. Naturally Maine
comes in for q large share Of attention
The state 10 served up to the readers II
Peck's most flippant and 6owery style
and with that exuberance of imagination
for which Peck Is noted. So rank Is his
stuff that even the most ardent advo
Gates of license in the State have publish
cd none of 1t. His statement that he had
difficulty travelling the streets Of Port
land on account Of the drunken men be
had to dodge 10 fair sample.
Now for the other side of the picture
Rev. Il. N. Pringle, secretary Of the Civic
League, has written to Boston paper
the letter given below. It Is an illumi.
mating statement of simple facts which
may surprise part of the people, and
ought to hush up some of the detractore
of the state, not only outside its borders,
but also some of our citizens who know
better than to give the aid they do to
those who are injuring the reputation OF
our fair state.
When our friends in Massachusetts,
and other parts of the country so plainly
point out the evils of "prohibition" In
Maine, we must appear to them perverse
indeed not to adopt their panacea OF
"local option" We are told that our
prohibitory liquor law causes hypocrisy
in society, perjury in courts, low morals.
excessive drinking, poverty. economic
disturbances and cheap politicians
terrible charge, if true.
We admit that the temperance senti-
ment in Maine is such that drinkers often
pretend to be abstainers. We have some
perjury in our courts; but perhaps that
occurs also in the Bay state. AS to
morals, we have 10000 persons in our
churches and 1I9 in our state prison, be-
sides some bad people at large. The
cheap politicians in Maine must be kept
pretty we'll in obscurity, because the
ones we send to Washington, like Ding
ley. Blaine, Reed, Frye, Littlefeld and
Hale, have mostly filled responsible posi-
tons. The real reason why Maine
has retained it's prohibitory liquor law
for 81 years Ia because the people are
convinced that it is beneficial, and this is
especially the opinion of thousands of
our citizens who have travelled widely by
sea and land. Comparisons are said to
be odious. but we ask the readers indul-
gence in this respect, as we prefer to re-
ply to the charges made against prohibit
ton with arguments which are suscepti.
BILE of being refuted or confirmed.
First-Temperance. In 1906 (the sta
tistics below are all for 1905, unless other
wise stately Maine had 1913 "retail liquor
dealers" enrolled at the United States
revenue Office, the smallest number &C
cording to population of any state or ter
ritory in the Union. Massachusetts,,
with four times our population, had at
that time 4931 "retail liquor dealers"
The Bangor Daily Commercial (pro-
license) estimates that Maine consumes
81, SOC, 900 worth of intoxicants annually,
which is only oue-fourth of the average
consumption for our population (735 ,000)
throughout the Uuited States. Names
death rate from alcoholism was 20 per
LOCO, 900, no state in the Union having
lower rate Massachusetts rate was 6S
per 100000. Maine had 429 commit
ments to jail for liquor selling and 1880
for drunkenness. Massachusetts had
103 commitments for violations of the
liquor law and 1929 for drunkenness,
besides 6616 committed to the probation
officers. Maine has no probation sys-
tem.) In 10 years the writer has not
seen brewery car in Maine or liquor
sign on shop front. There is not a dis
tiller, blender, rectifier or brewer of in
toxicating beer in the state. Only one
of its 161 periodicals publishes liquor ad-
vertisements. Here are no places where
liquors are sold openly, without any de-
gree of concealment.
Second-Crimiuals and detectives. In
1905 the commitments to Maine jails
were Ass, and to Massachusetts, jails
2S, 295, besides 1920 to probation Off
GERS. There were "a commitments to the
Maine prison and 1904 to the Massa-
chusetts prison, reformatory and state
farm. Maine had trials for homicide
and Massachusetts, II. Maine insane
asylums had 1926 inmates at the end of
1906, while the Massachusetts asylums
had 11,OO1 inmates. Maine gave full
support to / ,152 paupers Q902) and Mass
achusetts that year gave full support to
21,056.
autobiography. The aggregate
public debts OF Maine were s15, $40,
and of Massachusetts, 5000, 1852 $40.
Maine had the lowest per capita debt of
any of the nine North Atlantic states ex-
cept Vermont until recently under 'pro-
hibition'0. Maine has 1877 public libra
ries to Massachusetts, 824, slight excess
in our favor according to population.
Maine also had 161 periodicals to Massa-
chusetts' GOT, and the largest newspaper
circulation, according to population, of
any state. Maine had so national banks
to Massachusetts, 206; Maine had 81 saw
ings banks to Massachusetts, 1S9, and lin
1861 35 building and loan associations
to Massachusetts, 100. Names per cap
ita wealth in 1850 about the time the
prohibitory law was enacted) was S2l0,
while in 1900 it was S9S2. In the past
10 years only one bank has failed, and
that resumed, paying its full indebted
ness. Very few children are employed
in Maine factories and shops, strikes are
almost unknown in the state. Accord
ing to the United States census returns,
there were 1884 families in Maine in
1900, and 1O2, 537 of these families owned
their homes, larger proportion than in
any other state.
HENRY N. PRINGLE,
Associate Secretary the Christian Civic
League of Maine.