The Republican journal., 1911-09-07
Some Pertinent Questions.


The Bangor Commercial has published
the following letter from Francis G..
Benedict of Machiasport:,
To THE EDITOR OF THE COMMERCIAL:
Dear Sir: As regular reader of your
paper | would like to ask the privilege
OF putting few questions to you with
regard to your attitude on the repeal of
the prohibitory amendment.
A few years ago | took occasion to
criticise Mr.. Pattengall, the then editor
of our local paper the Machias Union, on
the grounds that he had no reason for
believing that the majority of the peo-
pie in this section wished resubmissiOn-
the issue that he was advocating at that
time.
| have no doubt but that you think
that you are honestly voicing the senti-
ments of the majority of your readers in
holding the view you so perslstently hold
with regard to this important matter.
! But of course you cannot question the
motives of an honest minority of your
readers and hence take the liberty of
asking
"Why is the argument put forth so
in his prohibition pamphlet entitled
A Witness From Maine-that we have
been obliged to take in great many
people of foreign birth in order to make
up for the Maine-born people who have
been driven out of the State to find that
personal liberty which the freeborn
,, American citizen demands.
To offset this point of view we have
no fnI 70 nf
Plaisted that 1.-The period of emigration
has stopped. There was time when
the people of Maine were going out of
the State by the thousands, but now
they are staying here, making their
homes here, and awakening to the posi-
/. bilities lying about them"
Is 1t not fair question which is cor
rect? Gov. Plaisted should know what
he is saying, and certainly if the emigra-
ton has ceased the cause for it could not
have been deprivation of rights by the
prohibitory amendment.
Does the Commercial honestly believe
that any man worthy of being called a
man, and an otherwise desirable citizen
of this State, ever left it because of the
prohibitory amendment?
This sounds very much like bosh from
our friend Day. Yet this Witness from
Maine" from his gifted pen is spread
broadcast throughout the State. The
point have taken up is on the first page
of the text. How much reliab lily can
We place on the soundness and accuracy
of the rest of the material?
Again on page IA Mr. Day gives a
pathetic story told at dinner of the
Auburn Board of Trade by the President
r y ,1 Of
The president of the Gardiner Board
the body social. He said Gentlemen,
we have got leech on the City of Gar
diner. 1t is on the outside of it and it
is the town of Randolph, across the
river, little town of 309 polls, without
an enterprise in it, without single in
dustry, only few stores that fail peri
odically. But, gentlemen, that town has
liquor agency which last year did
gross business sufficient to furnish a net
profit to pay half the running expenses
of the town, support the highways,
schools and bridges, and the Trial Justice
of the little court there told me that his
receipts from fines in cases of drunken
ness last year was 81 hundred and some
odd dollars.
Under the local option desired by the
Commercial | cannot see how the case to
say, Orono with.no license, Bangor with
license, would be in one whit different
and Bangor could very properly under
those conditions be considered "leech
on the body social" at least so far as
Orono was concerned.
When Machias had an agency and all
will admit that an agency is frequently a
bastard salOon-the president of the fish
packing factories in Machiasport four
miles away told me that he didn't dare to
receive fish to pack on Saturday as he
was liable to find several of his necessary
help knocked out by too much liquor.
Recently the Waterville Sentinel pub
lished a cartoon representing Charles O.
Beals, President of the Maine State Fed
GRAFTON of Labor, as taking the stand
against prohibition.
| think we may take hint from the
experience of the Machiasport man cited
above and ask the Commercial if it will
print the names, place of business and
character of business of II man, employ
ers of labor having III their employ 40 or
more men who are advocating the re-
moval of the prohibitory amendment.
1t may be that Bangor manufacturers
think that there Will be less liquor sold
under license plan and thus liquor will
interfere less with their business, but
doubt if there are II men outside of Ban
gor who would take that attitude Ger
tainly there are mighty few in Washing
ton County and there are a number of
employers of labor with large pay rolls
here, too.
Mr.. Beals may speak for the laborer.
but frequently the employer is able tc
tell different story as to the effects of
liquor on industry. This same Machias-
port packer firmly believes that if Ma
chias should vote license the state OF
affairs would be intolerable. By the way
Machiasport is a town where prohibition
, does prohibit" | am, Yours very sin
cerely, FRANCIS G. BENEDICT