The national prohibitionist. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1907-1911, 1908-02-27
Description the Methods Necessary to Buy
in

the whisky to prove Prohibition IN Maine
to be failure Rumford Falls is given prom-
nent position. The following extracts from the
report of detective, doubtless the best in this
line of work in the state, who was engaged by
the county attorney to get evidence against the
Rumford Falls rumseers, will give readers OF
The National ProhibitioniSt better idea of
actual conditions there than pages of whisky
plate matter:
January "a, 1905 1 arrived at Rumford
Falls in the afternoon and after taking supper
| went in search of liquor. After time met
man whom | asked if he ever took anything.
He said he did when he had any money. | told
him | had little change and for him to lead
the way.
I'VE went to River street and visited a num-
Der of places. There lot of men in each
of them, mostly French, but a general mixture
of all nations. No whisky was to be had, but
plenty of beer. I decided that it was all under
three percent and so did not think it worth
while to get any" (The courts have ruled that
beer containing less than three percent OF alcohol
is not Intoxicating iquor.)
January %, | talked with number OF men
on the streets. They said that the joints were
closed One said that they had been selling freely
until recently, but that all strangers were barred
out now because they were looking for something
to happen; that lot of them had been before
the court last year, the men who had money
getting out for fines while those who had not
got Soaked hard. Another man told me that
he had a cold recently and went to drug store
where he had bought for the last seven years,
but that the proprietor told him that he dare not
have any more on hand than the law allows.
GAS I was unable to obtain liquor as
stranger. / went to the offices of both paper
mills and applied for work, after putting on an
old suit of clothes which | had with me-
was told that could go to work on Tuesday
After supper | met one OF the employees OF
the Oxford mill. He asked me if | was stran
ger in town and if I took anything. | replied
that | was a stranger and took something when
| could get it, but could not get anything here
After talking with him for some time, he SAID
that he would like to show me the town and pay
his part when he could see his wife, who kept
the money locked in trunk. | told him to go
ahead and I would tell him when to stop.
1--WE went to a joint on the corner of Canal
and Congress Streets with no number on the
door Here we found seventeen men, eleven
of whom drinking, but mostly beer that was
less than three percent, though some were drink
called for ale or lager but as they had neither
l took whisky, paying twenty cents tor it.
1--WE then went to No IS Canal street. There
were nine men in the ROOM, four drinking
whisky and two light beer. My friend called
for whisky, which the proprietor took from
into a glass of water. My friend did not take
his very quickly. and the proprietor told him to
hurry up with it. as he did not want it sitting
on the counter but out of the way.
"The next place visited was No. River
street. There only three young men IN
sight and they seemed to be running the place
The oldest one was in the front room looking
out of the doorway. My friend spoke to him
and led the way into a back room and called
for whisky | called for the same The young
man went to the door and called another young
man who returned in short time with bottle