Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1911-07-25
The Good Old Rum Times.
SYLVAN sHURTLEFF DEscRIBEs CON-
DrTToNs BEFORE THE ''NAINE LAW"

"More rum passed through Market
Square In Q day before the Maine law WAS
passed than 10 sold In Portlshd In .
year." This 10 what Sylvan Shurtleff,
who 10 So years old and has lived In Port
land 90 years or more, told reporter
for tho Press Of that city the other day.
"It 10 absurd to hear some men who
know nothing about what the condition
was In bis city before the prohibitory
law was passed talk about what bene-
At IL would be to have the saloons open
up In Portland" said Mr.. Shurtleff.
"About sixty years ago went to work
In what 10 now Monument Square -
clerk. It was my duty to gee down to
the store ats O'Clock In the morning to
build the fres and about that time the
procession OF teams from the country
began to pass.
1.-THE farmers from the surrounding
country would drive into Portland tho
night before, bringing 10 their loads OF
produce or Whatever they bad TO market
and stop at the taverns In and about tho
square or at Stroud water or other places.
In the morning they would drive down
on the waterfront and load up for the
return up country. There wasn't .
wagon, spung, or . vehicle Of any kind
which didn't have large amount of
New England rum as part of Its load.
1t was in hogsheads, barrels, casks, or
demijohns and II 10 safe to say that In
one day more rum was hauled through
Market Square than 10 sold 10 Portland
under any conditions now in year.
"At that time everybody sold rum, al
most, aud almost every body drank rum.
Ministers drank rum before they preach
ed q sermon or delivered funeral ora
ton. have seen men Keeling drunk on
the streets of Portland. have seen mon
ut the old fashioned musters which were
then held, laid out In windrows drunk
and dead to the world. To-day we
might not see anything a. bad as this but
1t would be nearly as bad am sure with
open saloons.
Gas q boy lived in South Paris and /
recall going to . town meeting there one
spring and seeing about 100 men OF
whom fully one.half were intoxicated.
They were qusrrelsome, noisy and reel
ing about and everyone was drinking.
This was before the Maine law was
passed you must remember. The last
town meeting I went to In that town
there were 200 men present If there was
ono. OF this number not man was
drunk. The contrast was great and
could not fail to make deep impression
upon me.
II have lived q long time in this city
and have watched this thing carefully.
In the time when Neal Dow was enforc-
ing the law in this city went six
months through the streets of Portland
where drunkenness would be the most
likely to be witnessed without seeing
but one drunken man and he was on the
corner of Free and Center Streets. The
other night with the saloons running
wide open l was kept awake for several
hours and for several nights In success.
sion by the noise which drunken men
made on the street where live.
"No man who knows about these
things, who has studied them or who IL
fair about his Investigations can come TO
any other conclusion than that this city
and state is much better of with The
prohibitory law than 1t would be with
any other law which has ever been de-
yised ~