The Republican journal., 1911-02-02

II Is surprising now Illtle interest the
+ Democrats are taking in the prohibitory
law since they have assembled in the
legislature. There is a growing doubt
in the minds of many people as to just
what they intend to do about resubmis-
sion.
1t is being whispered about the corri-
the whole legislature, (for he runs the
proposed resubmission resolve pass. This
| it will require a two thirds vote to pass
| it. In the Senate the Democrats have
enough votes to do this and some over.
| In the House they lack something like IA
of the necessary number. There are Re-
publicans who propose to vote for this
resolve, quite number of them. But
on the other hand there have suddenly
| appeared quite number of Democrats
VINO don't propose to vote for it. Did
you ever hear anything as strange as
J this in your life? Here is party which
| has been promising resubmission i'll it's
| platforms for many years and when some
of the men elected on that platform can
get to Augusta they announce that they
aren't resubmissionists at all but believe
in sticking to the old prohibitory law.
AS the story goes the Democratic lead
ers secretly feel that as soon as they
have made the prohibitory law walk the
plank that their party will be down and
out for good and all. 1t has been the
slogan for many campaigns and to throw
it away now means that the Democracy
will have nothing to rely upon in another
campaign. If they should fail to pass a
resubmission resolve by few votes they
could return to the people who are sup
posed to have sent them to the legislature
for the express purpose of bringing about
resubmission and say eve tried to keep
our promise but couldn't because we
didn't have a two-thirds vote in the
House. Give us another chance and d
bigger majority and we will do it..
They may not get the bigger majority
but they are looking for one large enough
to enable them to elect another United
States Senator and to help them through
another State campaign. 1t wouldn't be
at all surprising if the resubmission re-
solve, didn't pass after all, although, as
has been said, many Republicans will
vote for it if they get chance.
And there is another thing which may
defeat the passage of this resubmission
resolve. 1t may hurt the feelings of the
radical prohibitionists to hear it said but
1t can be demonstrated as being true.
The rum sellers in Maine don't want re-
submission and they don't want high
license. The liquor men in .Massachu-
sets and New Hampshire don't want
resubmission either The rum sellers
talk as though they wanted it, but Sc
cretly they are working against the pas
sage of the resubmission resolve hand in
hand over the civic league members and
others. High license means that no rum
seller now doing business can sell rum.
Local option means a ticket closing up
| every saloon where the community votes
to have them closed and sees that it is
| done by local officers. The out of the
State rum sellers are today getting all
! the business from Maine, they want no
| competitors in this State in the whole
sale line. They get cash for their goods
now and if the business were to be open.
ed up to wholesalers in Maine it would
mean competition and credit business
to larger degree, therefore more I'M
profitable business.
Democrats aren't enthusiastic about
| getting the resubmission resolve passed.
| Talk to any of the leaders of that party
and they will tell you they doubt very
much if they can do it this year. In the
open many of them will be obliged to go
on record for it, but that doesn't apply to
the men from the back towns by any
means. Resubmission is by no means as
sured.
There is another Democratic platform
promise that will probably not be kept.
That is the direct primary law. 1t was
! put into the Democratic as we'll as the
Republican platforms against the pro-
! tests of practical politicians Pattangall
doesn't approve of it, nor do many others.
The direct primary means that the prac-
teal politician will be relegated to the
sand hills and will have no more power of
manipulating caucuses or delegate con-
ventions. On the Republican side of the
| legislature there are to be found as many
who are opposed to this law. The peo-
pie may get it, but it will be because of
the initiative, which they can't stop.
Willingly it is the opinion Of many people
that the present legislature will never
adopt it.
The same is true about the ballot re-
form bill. Mind you it isn't the theoriz-
ing Democrat or Republican who runs
legislatures; that is done by the men
with practical turn Of mind. They are
satisfied with the old style method of a
blanket ballot. Every ballot reform act
means less power for the politician and
more uncertainty as to results. They
are saying in Democratic circles at Au-
gusta now that had there been the Mas
sachusetts system in vogue that the leg
islature would not have been Democrat
ic and that there would have been nc
Democratic Congressman and of course
no Democratic Senator. That's Pattan-
CALLS analysis of the situation, and it is
also that of D. J. McGillicuddy and other
knowing politicians who are Democrats,
Willingly they will never pass ballot
reform bill which will be much of re-
form.
| The people of Maine who are antici
pating ''high-jinks" at Augusta THU
winter want to get the idea out of theil
heads that ''high- jinks" are to be tn
rule. If Pattangall, who is the rea
power, can keep the cranks of his owl
party smothered, there will be only tn
most conservative and business lik
handling of affairs. These men are en-
trenching themselves at Augusta to sta,
some time.
N~r-w-1@ nNN1Ayn r AYR AeEHv.I