The national prohibitionist. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1907-1911, 1908-04-09
WHISkY'S MAN OF STRAW
Analysis of Loud Sounding
the Noisy Crowd Have to Support Cont
BY Major JAMES A. DOUGLASS

The man character of a great part
of the matter which the liquor interests are now
spreading before the American people is seldom
better illustrated than in the example furnished
by four column article recently appearing in
the Times-T Tribune of Waterloo, Iowa. The ar
ticle not only shows the untrustworthy character
of the liquor traf6c's literary output, but at the
same time furnishes an illustration of how as
sertions that seem to be formidable and dam
aging prove laughably irrelevant and unreliable
upon examination.
The article in question is written largely in
colloquial style, with the employment of an
abundance of barroom slang 1t seems to be a
reply to the letter of some Prohibitionist and in
PRODUCES discussion of the state of Maine in
the following language:
"And now for Dear old Maine
"On the square, Sydney, old sport, if tipster
handed me a dope-book that couldn't get the
money any better than the junk he's been hand
ing you about the dark horse, Dear old Name
I'd ostracise him. Here he has you touted to play
Dear old Maine to win, and the hlly isn't in
the money either for straight place. or show I
don't know where you got your information about
Dear Old Maine being little Heaven but [ can
assure you that it conflicts decidedly with gov
eminent statistics"
There follows this an attempt to belittle the
Importance of Names savings bank accounts, to
present Maine as an example of remarkable IL
lteracy and to falsfy the record regarding the
ownership of homes in the state of Maine
In the matter of savings bank deposits in
Maine, it is perhaps, difficult to arrive at any
thing very definite because of the wide difference
of conditions in different states The deposits in
savings banks in a particular state will depend
very largely upon the character of the employ
ment of the people; upon whether they are so
paid to have considerable sums of ready money
constantly in hand; upon their opportunities for
other investments; upon the permanency of their
residence in given localities, as we'll as upon n-
merous other contingencies However, this is
true: that the state of Maine, during the history
of its prohibitory law, has developed large
savings bank system with numerous trust compa-
MES and building and loan associations, and that
the people of the state of Maine are depositors
in the savings banks in large numbers and in
siderable sums. Out of population of 694, 466
following the Census of 1900, Maine, in 1907,
had 221,S 1888 depositors in her ffty-one savings
banks, with eighty-four million dollars upon de-
post or an average of 1886 to each depostor
This is surpassed it is true, by other states, but
the showing is extremely credtable to Maine
when the conditions of industry and the charac-
ter of her population taken into consideration
The article that is under criticism makes the
statement that Maine has less than thirty two
depositors per one thousand of inhabitants In
point of fact, Maine has almost depositor for
every three people, men, women and children, of
the whole state.
In the matter of teracy Maine makes most