Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-04-03

prevail.
Mr.. COOLIDGE of Lisbon: Mr..
Speaker, I believe in this prohibitory
law, and 1 believe in it honestly;
think it should be enforced. don't be-
lieve this prohibitory law under any
grise or in any shape should be devot-
ed to lower licenses. / believe when
that law was put on the Statute books
it meant what it said. I believe the
| Legislature meant what they said; 1
| believe the Legislature of this State
and the people of this State meant it,
ard l believe it should be kept just as
it is. 1 do not believe anybody coming
here to this House as they did two
years ago and getting a joker. as it is
undoubtedly, into that law should be
| upheld by the Legislature today. We
| have trouble enough with the laws in
regard to liquor matters in the State of
Maine If we want license law in this
State. something like hundred dollars
year for city like Portland or Lew
iston or Bangor, or Biddeford. or any
other city, then let us enact that law
and be honest about it. (Appause.) Let
us enact law that means that man
| shall be punished when he goes to
%
when a man sets up in business whose
only object can be to make life miser-
able for women and children and ev-
cry body else in this State. then l say
it is time that we should punish him
and punish him as he should be pun
ished and that is by a Jail sentence,
the more the better, l wish it was five
years instead of so or 80 days. Cap
plause) say, let US be honest about 1t.
Mr.. ROUNDS of Portland: Mr.
Speaker: The gentlemen talk as
though there is no other law on the
statute books. The gentleman says he
wants rum law, but he wants to stop
our courts from saying what man
shall do. Such measures as have been
advocated will deprive an American
citizen of mis- liberty; you are going
back to the time when the King and
Queen used to reign supreme. l can
tell YOU that l know a little something
about the rum law (Applause). The
man who sells rum is not the man VINO
receives the profit from it, That is not
the case. You take young man out
of job and to save him from going
to the poor house he goes to man
and gets job Of selling rum. He IS
put there to sell rum, and it is not
long before lie is brought before the
court and he is the one to go to jail.
His fine is paid AID his wages are
paid while he is in Jail. You are not
stopping rum selling, but if you want
to stop rum selling why don't you pun
sh the man who bought the rum as
we'll as the man who sold it? But the
gentlemen don't want to stop rum
selling. If they did they would go back
to the Washingtonian movement which
did more good work in three years be-
fore most of you were born than has
been done in 80 years under the Maine
law. (ADplause). You don't want to
stop rum selling. You want to make
fools of the people and you have been
fooling the people all these years and
you are fooling them today with an
and and an "or" If you want to be
honest YOU can just put the man in
Jail that buys the rum as we'll as the
man who sells it. and then there will be
no buying and no selling. but you want
to put the whole thing on the man
who sells it. That is where the trouble
it There would be no man selling it if
there were no men that would buy it.
That is what YOU come to. and the
most of you want to drink it. Cap
plause). If there is nobody who wants
to drink it then there would be nobody
to sell it. Now, 1 don't care anything
about it. / never took drink of rum
in my life, and I don't know the taste
of liquor. today. although I have been
accused of being drunk on the floor of
this House since have been here.
But gentlemen, coming down to the
matter seriously, do you want to go in
and put the innocent and perhaps
young man who has a young wife and
young child-do you want to put him
in Jail just because he is out of a
job and workhouse staring him in the
face when he has a chance to get
job to sell rum for somebody and make
something out of it? And if he does
go to jail while he is in Jail his wages
are paid just the same as though he
was selling rum. I say. it is time we
should say to the judges, you have
some discretion. Discretion is what is
needed. and / don't think there is any
judge in the State of Maine but what
you can trust / don't hear of anybody
being impeached for anything. And so
say we should let the Judges have
the discretion in these cases as well
az in all others, excepting murder in
the first degree.
Mr.. LIBBY Of Amity Mr. Speaker:
1t looks to me as though this man that
hired himself out to a rulnseller, if he
knew that he was under Jail sentence
he would stop selling rum and he would
not go there in the first place. he
wouldn't take a chance At this late
day after this bill has gone along so
far, It looks to me as though the Re-
publican party is afraid the Demo-
Gratis are going to kidnap the rum baby
and carry him off.
Mr. PATTANGAIL Of Waterville
Mr.. Speaker: This is a pretty serious
matter and there are good many sides
to it. IT does not involve perhaps a
general discussion of the prohibitory
policy because that is the fixed policy
OF the state for the next two years
any way. 1t seems to me it involves
nothing more or less than whether this
House desires to advertise to the State
of Maine that it is willing to adopt such
d dishonest statute after that statute
has been called n