Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-07-07
The Eyes of the World on Maine.

The Eyes of the World on Maine.
Maine is a great State. Its people ad-
init that Themselves Nevertheless, des-
pite its greatness it has hitherto not at
tracted in the Old World a 1.-THE of the
attention bestowed on New York, Mas
saehusetts Illinois or Texas Europeans
nave AT times appeared almost 0bliVious
or the existence of Maine. But today,
from Vienna to Madrid there may be
found individuals waiting with keen anX-
1ety for the action, in September. of the
people of Maine on the proposal to take
prohibition out of its constitution This
interest is expressed in "An appeal to the
Maine people, originated by the 1nterna
tional Prohibitionst Federation. and
bearing the signatures of many eminent
scientists, and publicists. The petitioners
who urge Maine to retain constitutional
prohibition. include Won Bunge, the eele-
brated physiological chemist; Wester-
gard, Forol the Swiss scientist: a strong
detachment of Socialists of the higher
type and several parliamentarians we
are told that the signers represent asso-
Citations or organizations whose member
ship runs into the hundreds of thous-
ends.
This memorial or petition is interest
ing from two points of view. 1t is sug-
gestiye of growing volume of public
opinion in Europe of regulating the liquor
traffic by extirpation. This of itse- may
be portentous of social-political reVolu-
ton, of a departure from the laissez fare
policy which statesmen maintain to-
wards a business of whose dangers 10 the
of whose revenue yielding capabilities
they are gratefully sensible. 1t il 10 b.
feared, however, that the distinguished
petitioners. the psychologists who want
to dam up a peril al its source, and the
Socialists who from conviction believe
the State should and can legislate effee-
lively against an appetite, have been mis-
led as TO the effectiveness of the Maine
system. They must have signed under
the impression that Maine enforees pro-
iiibition for some of them are not men
E would
orial If they as much as suspected ,ie
condition of the Pine Tree State today
If they understood what is meant by the
Bangor system" if they realized that in
some Maine cities every kind of rum save
pure rum is free they might adJure the
people of the State to abandon farce
mai is perpetualiy on the verge of TRACE
dy, and substitute for 1t local option
which can be enforced, which in effect
enforces itself.
whether Maine People will relish this
Intrusion of hundreds of foreigners bring
inging advice in the arena of state
quarrel is open To the grapest doubt
americans as a rule do not take kindly
TO admonition from abroad, instruction
as to what they should or should not do. |
1t seems to smack of patronage of
.stalking down to the misguided. II may |
be that the foreign Intervention VIII nave
an effect just the. opposite 10 the inten- |
fion of the petitioners If IT does, they |
will be disappointed until they learn that
there is a wide distinction between con- I
Semperanee.-Boston Transcript.
ave miss i'm the editorial columns of
the Transcript, some good sense OF
other days In attempting to deal
with this question of so much I'M Il
portance 10 Maine that it is attract
ing worldwide attention, the Trans
cript states the facts concerning Old
World interest. and then, parrot-like,
quotes the phraseology of the rum
trust If all the editor of the Tran
script does NOT know about liquor (
conditions in Maine-the enforcement
and non-enforcement of the prohibi-
tory iaw-were compiled in brewer
type, his sanctum would hardly hold
the volumes. The world has been told
by the liquor interests and their or
sans amounted millions of times that
prohibition does not prohibit, and
every condition of violation has been
exaggerated until we can hardly blame
the editors of newspapers in other
states for absorbing the doctrine that
prohibition is almost as bad as the
local option system of Names sister
states
The editor of the Transcript calls
attention to the Bangor plan. and says /
that II they under4tood what is meant |
by that system, people of other nations |
might urge the people of Maine Ito
abandon the farce" The inference |
from the transcripts presentation of
the Bangor system" TO the uninformed |
would be that conditions in Bangor
were worse than anything ever con-
ceived under local option, high IL
eor plan is the adoption Of local OPP
ton policy in spite of the law, and
carrying on a businessmen's recog
njzed violation OF law, by overawing
elected officials. Conditions are as
near like those of the ordinary local |
option wet town, except that there is |
always the danger, to the self -constl- |
tnted local optionst, that some Of
: fleiai may awake to the demands Of
his oatn of office, and enforce the law
IN spite OF the system.
i The Transcript confidently suggests
. sfhat in some Maine cities every kind
Of rum save. pure rum, is free" We
wonder if the Transcript editor knows
. anything about the grades of liquor
which have been served in the Illegal
Maine traffic, We wonder If it ever
occurred to the Transcript editor that
1t costs no more to send good Ii
uuer by express than bad liquor. Just
why the Transcript should believe, as
il has read in the rum trust litera-
ture. that nothing but poor liquors
are sold in prohibition territory. while
pure liquors are sold in this local OPP
ton territory. we do not understand.
The claim is absolutely silly from any
standpoint No practical or sensible
man would claim that there is any