Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-06-10
Of the Country Are Given
Some Enlightenment
On the Working Of The Pro-
hIbitory Law Of Maine.
Major Holman F. Day Passes
Along the Information.


| proposal that the organized brewing in
dustry offer active assistance to gov
eminent authorities in devising meas
ures for the regulation of the retail
liquor traffic and approving a plan to
promote the adoption of a national la
Dor agreement and national arbitra-
ton agreement, the 18th annual con-
vention of the United States Brewers
Association adjourned here today.
Percy Andreae of Cincinnati. one of
the organizers of the Ohio Brewers
Vigilance Bureau, was the chief speak
er ~ today's session.
Mr.. Andreae said he discarded every
argument against prohibition and con-
fined himself to two general fact, one.
the report of the Anti Saloon League
that in the last Is years 38,000,000 of the
| population of the United States had
been placed under prohibition of one
form and another: the other, report
of the United states revenue authori-
ties that in those same Is years the
per capita consumption of whisley in
the United States had increased over
80 ptr cent. and the per capita con-
sumption of beer over As per cent
'To be quite accurate" said Mr.. An
dreac. since the greater half Of this
3S.000.000 people voted for prohibition.
we must assume either that the smaller
half of them are drinking several times
as much as they drank before or that
the greater half who voted to abolish
drirg are hypocritically helping them
to consume that fearful excess"
In his argument against prohibition.
,,1r taI fYat NJ Tot &c
work -Four Aspects of Civic Duty"
in which the President argued that a
drastic law which failed Of enforce
ment was "pernicious.
Holman r. Day of Portland. Me-.
spoke to the convention about the way
in which the incorporation of prohibit
ton into the Maine state constitution
had worked.
Mr. Day said that during the en-
tire half century that Maine has had
the law. there has been no consistent
and persistent and though attempt
to enforce the law with absolute hon
eSty. Those who were entrusted with
this enforcement in the past acted with
one eve constantly on the political ad-
vantages, but in the last SIX years there
has been an attempt to enforce the
law.
"A Governor who took the people OF
the State at their word. and the law
as it stood, became responsible for the
Law and put the enforcement of the
law into the hands of himself and a.
commission of three. Enforcement
deputies have been sent in squads to
various parts of the State. and the
result has been prohibition enforced
probably as thoroughly as human eff
forts can avail. But in the various
Maine cities, arrests for intoxication
have increased beyond the numbers
when the sheriffs tolerated what were
practically open bar rooms. The ship
ment of liquors into Maine by express
companies has largely increased. The
saloon as Maine has known it for
many years. under sheriff made sys-
TEN of no-license has been abolished.
but in it's place there have come In all
the larger centers hundreds of dives
selling compounds called whiskey, but
shown by analysis to be manufactured
from alcohol and drugs. No unprejudi-
ed observer can state that so far as the
evils arising from liquors are concerned
the enforcement of the law has mado
any improvement.
"As result of standing sponsor for
the enforcement the Republican party
now finds itself in the most perilous
position il has occupied for years. To
speak colloquilly the Zealots In charge
Of the party management called the
bluff of the people Of Maine. and the
people don't like it. FOR years Maine
has been throwing from $4,000 to 80
90 pnpfhttran Hnv6f-
nor.
I'm the last election. even In Presi-
Dental year. when Maine is given great
deal of assistance by the national par
ty that plurality was reduced to barely
seven thousand. The liquor question Is
largely, IL not wholly responsible FOR
the state of unrest shown by these po-
litical figures. The largest centers Of the
State are In vociferous and open revolt
against the attempt to enforce the pro-
hibitory law. The country districts stand
pat on the question, for the problem or
prohibition or high license interests them
very slightly.
THE most disappointing results have
attended the recent attempts OF Maine to
have actual enforced prohibition. After
all the years of collision between the sa-
loon and prohibition, the saloon having
been tolerated by a system of practical
no-licensc. it was expected in Maine that
an honest attempt to enforce the law
would result In one of three things: Ell
Their that the dominant party would get
behind the governor, who declared for
actual enforcement. and would give him
majority that would settle matters for
the rum element. or that the party would
see that the regularly elected officers.
sheriffs and others. would so act as to
eliminate the hateful enforcement COM
mission with its expensive crowd of dep
uties, or 1t was felt that the State hay-
Ing decided that strict enforcement In
city and country alike had been proved
to be obnoxious to the sentiment that
allows to municipalities the regulation
Of police matters-in fact. admitting that
prohibition Is not feasible. the matter
would be resubmitted at the last Legisla-
ture to the people for a vote-but none
4.