The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-05-22
The National Magazine.

amt along our coast. Within the past i
year the bureau OF industrial auJ labor I
statistics has invest gated the value Of
property owned and occupied for Naca-
ton purposes by people outside the
State and has reported that summer
homes and hotels representing. with
their furnishings, over thirty millions
Of dollars are the property OF nou-resj- !
dents Within cur State. In Bar Harbor
alone the homes of summer residents are
assessed at $3,4o0,000.
Moreover, it must he remembered
that at least two hundred thousand PEG
rIe annually visit the inland lakes and
country hillsldes where they have estab
hsbed summer residences. Would it be
strange if the annual coming of these
visitors, four hundred thousand strong,
the major part of them doubtless from
license communities - would 1t be
strange If their mmngling with the peo-
pie of Maine should break down pro-
hibltiOn sentiments In tn, beginning
of this summer invasion It was feared
that the temperance interests of the
State would suffer decentralization. Some
mischief was done and gaiIv reported,
but that period IS passed. Il is con
| fdently asserted that. as rule, these
SAAL-4CL GUSTS d ASSI SLi4lCS& "LLCAC
the saloon IS entirely excluded. We are
assured that the summer residents Of
! Bar Harbor are in entire accord with
| the local officers n the strict enforce
ment of the prohibitOrv law. The
! largest and best summer hotels, catering
to the best class Of people from all see
tions, have little temptation TO violate
the provisions Of the prohibitory law.
,,apT,1a 70 NT1Tra r
comfort and recuperation, and find these
in their perfection where the saloon in
tiuence IS absent.
But Maine experienced a political
baeksIiding as we'll as an indus rial re
vival. After the adoption Of constitu-
tional prohibition in 1884 political in
ertne~s seized the busiest, brainiest and
best citizens in the State. With pro
hibition eushrined in the fundamental
law it was vainlv expected that the end
OF all effort 10 overthrow the law had
been reached: II was taken for granted
that all officials would observe their
sacred oath to enforce it. The import
ance Of the careful selection Of eandl-
dates for officers TO administer the law
was overlooked by the intelligent and
we'll meaning citizens and as promptly
recognized bv those whose business the
law interfered with. As a result in
some sections of the State the police
power quietly slipped into the hands Of
the enemies of prohibition, its friends
in many instances innocently contribut
ing their votes The political inertness
Of the best citizens, uniting with the
political alertness of the worst, greatly
reduced the effectiveness Of the law.
This result was considerably aug
meuted by serious defect IN the en-
forcement machinery itself. State au-
thoritv to make laws IS necessarily ac-
c0mpanied by State responsibility for
the enforcement Of these laws. For
many years, however, after the appoint
ment and control Of the sherlfs were
taken from the governor the connection
Of State authority with the enforcement
Of law in the several counties was
broken. The governor, as chief execu-
tive Of the State, was, TO use ne
chanic's phrase, " shipped % loose
pulley being absolutely without power
to interfere with the independent con
troll Of enforcement by each county,
city or town The State 8 policy was
distinctly declared IN is constitution
and statutes, but by this singular defect
the enforcement Of the state policy was
left optional with each county
This defect has been remedled: FIRST
by taa Sturgis law Of 1908, giving the
governor as chief executive Of the State