Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-02-15
KENEEBEU JOURNAL WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY t. 1s1f

towns and cities manage II In their own
way. I would have u local option law
surrounded by such laws and such re-
strictions as would keep 1t from making
our young men drunkards every day. /
tell You that the Prohibition party In the
state of Maine and the prohibition liquor
law have got something to answer for. I
believe II you have local option law
that you can cover It in the best possible
way. l will admit that this rum curse
is the greatest curse that Is known to
humanity today. / admit it Is doing more
injury to the home and fireside, and that
1t causes more aching hearts and scald.
ing tears than any other law in the stat.
ute books; and the prohibitory law is re-
sponslble for it IN my honest Judgment
If you have local option under such re-
strictions as I conceive II may be had,
the young men who now send to Boston
for rum will get glass of beer and We
shall not have these drunken debauch-
cries that we see all over the State
which are disgraca to the state of
Maine. Let the people rule. The Demo-
cratic party will frame such law as
will subserve Temperance.
Mr. STEARNS of oxford: Mr.. Pres
iCent. / am well aware that cannot
add anything to the weight of the ar
gumcnt as presented by the senator
from Aroostook. But | cannot smoth-
or the desire to sav just few words
upon this question. I do not know
that / speak for the Republican party,
at least. do not presume to do that.
but l can speak my own sentiments
and perhaps the sentiments of the
majority oi those whom i here rep
resent.
l would not presume to answer tile
argument Of the senator from Knox,
for as he says, he has been making
this same argument for great many
years, and it would certainly be pre-
sumptious upon my part to under
tal:e to answer it here. While it seems
to me that the relativ5"order of con-
sideration of the question now under
discussion has been somewhat reversed
since last fall, ] nevertheless wish to
congratulate YOU, Mr.. President. aid
Tie senator from Knox, who intro
duced this measure and the senator
frorl Lincoln. chairman of the COM
nlittee on temperance. for giving lis
tii'S 'SliE Ioi pis'r u-cAAic,
this vexed question.
As say. the relative order OF con-
sideration has been somewhat reversed
because. last fall during the cam
paien, YOU Went UP and down the
State of Maine, you of the other par
ty, and your orators, proclaiining the
good old Jeffersonian doctrine. and
did not attempt to convince the people
q. the state Of Maine-nor did you
convince $4,000 OF them-upon the ar
gunent first. OF resubmission. How
did you do it? You began first. not
with resubmssion. but with the high
cost of living. Second. with resub-
mission? Oh. no, taxation. Third. re-
submission? No. Waste and extrav-
aganca in high places. Finally. III well
CHOSEN communities. particularly in
our smaller towns and villages. a
whispered word here and there for re
submission. That is low you Gid it,
Mr.. President, not by going out to
the people first, last and all the time
y ith loud voices shouting for resub-
mission. In other places it was care
fully explained that after the nigh
cost Of living had been brought down
to n reasonable basis and taxes had
; been lowered. and waste and extraya-
ganee had been done away with. that
then just one thing more Was neces-
sary- to bring about tie millennium,
and that one thing was Tesubmissio1.
About the first bill to be introduced
and reported. however, is resubniis-
sion, and this. think. althogethcr
wise and wholesome in the interest
of good business. and l congratulate C
the senator upon this changed pro-
gram. / congratulate the Senate that
the order has been reversed. Why Go
you urge resubmission? The senator
from Knox says that he wants TO vote
upon it, and he says now very frank
ly that he is in favor OF local option.
Others say in order to re-atlirm the
prohihitory law. have no doubt that
the adroit and crafty gentleman who
leads the forces of the majority at the
otlier end Of the corridor. has such a
holy horror of politics that he would
agree with the senator from Knox
and that he, too. would rcSubmit III
order 10 place tic liquor question
above and beyond the contaminatil,g
inufience of politics. And SO YOU would
get IL out OF pUiltlcS. KeSODiii1SSlOn
to nine of every 10 of these VINO are
clamoring for ii, means q, license sys-
ITEM. local option or something OF that
nature. And do %ou think to get the
liquor question out of politics by {,
license system or local option? We
all know. and YOU all know. that un-
der license or local option law the
liquor question becomes the very foot
ball OF politics passed out of this
place into that. passed here and there,
a bone of contention for the lneaner
clement of all parties. That is what
you would get by local option or liz
cense law. or whatever you would
substitute in the place of the prohib-
tory law. or in place OF constitution
al prohibition.
I have the greatest respect. Mi.
Presi1eat, for the senator's here who
dc not agree with me upon this prop
osition. but to those who would vote
for resubn,ission in order to rc-aifirfn
the proliibitory law, I ask you, acting
for yourselves and your. constituents,
wlien and where will you have a bet
ter opportunity to e-aflirm the pro-
ihbitory law than now?
But. you say. We want the people TO
Nnvr