The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1911-09-14
The Close of the Campaign.
Two Temperance Rallies and a Rum
Speech.

Two Temperance Rallies and a Rum
Speech.
The temperance rally on schoolhouse com
mon last. Thursday evening more than met tn
expectations of the friends of the cause, Til,
air was damp and chilly, yet there was lare,
attendance, many coming in carriages an,
automobiles, and all remained until the close
1t was most attentive and respectful audi
ence. There was not discordant note and thu
applause was hearty and generous. 1t wa
currently reported during the day that the
meeting was to be interrupted and the person
named as the one to inject the free rum virus
was present with his lieutenants and followers
but no demonstration was attempted. The banc
gave few selections and then Mr. o. E. Frost
spoke briefly on the issue before the people OF
Maine IN presenting the speaker, Judge A. z
Blair of Ohio. Judge Blair is not an orator
and his voice showed the strain of his arduous
campaign work, but he was loaded with vital
facts and statistics, which he presented logical
ly and forcefuly. In opening he said:
/ l am glad to say that in all my travels in
license States, including the States of Michigan,
| Idaho, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana Ohio Ken
/ lucky, West Virginia, New York and Pennsyl-
vanla,l have never seen as clean moral upright
appearing people as | see in the cities and
towns of Maine. | have never seen in the
cities of any of these license States such evi-
dence of thrift as is manifested by the great.
SOLID, massive business blocks in the cities of
Maine and in the Well-painted, well construct
ed, beautiful residences OF her citizens, both in
the towns and in the country. Her young men
may successfully challenge a comparison in
aTon ov,I
hood of any license States that | have ever
visited. In word, her buildings, her citizen
ship, are but a living example, a concrete at
testatlon of the wisdom of her fathers, who
wrote into her organic law by their ballots the
constitutional prohibition of the liquor traffic
in this State
HIS address was principally quotations from
report on conditions in Chicago, made after
an investigation by commission composed of
thirty of the leading men of that city. This
commission included merchants, bankers, law
yers, teachers, clergymen, priests, etc., who
represented all political parties, and their only
object was to bring about better condition of
affairs in their city. 1t was the findings and
conclusions of this commission, embodied in
printed report, that Judge Blair presented to
his interested audience and which the mayor of
this city has styled "sophistries. AS his ignor-
ance is only equalled by his colossal self-con-
ceit and brazen assurance he probably does not
know the meaning of the word he has used,
This report shows that no attempt is made to
regulate the saloon evil in Chicago; that licen-
tiousness and vice are unrestraned and fiaunted
in the public eye; that children are debauched.
and many of tender age, from to 10 years,
have come to school drunk. Judge Blair said
that in his home town in Ohio there are three
shoe factories, one employing l,6OO. hands and
the smallest about 800. They had 81 saloons in
the town. The town went dry and these saloons
we're put out of business. The first dry wear
the employees in the three shoe factories.
working the same number of hours at the same
prices, earned 10 per cent more thar, in the pre-
ceding wet year, amounting in the aggregate
to 100000. If to that sum could be added
the amount taken from these employees by the
saloon keepers it would have been an even
more striking illustration of the gain financial.
ly by excluding the saloon from a community,
to say nothing of the degradation, pauperism
and crime under license law
Saturday evening people were invited to the
Opera House to hear E. F. Hanson deal with
"the sophistries of Judge Blair and other hired
declaimers'' and were invited to ask the speak,
er questions pertaining to the real issue"
Speaking was to begin at o'clock sharp, but
at that time there were very few in the hall.
Ihey struggled In one and two at time until
about O'Clock, when number came evidently
expecting picture show-but it was another
kind of show. Hanson had declined to meet
Capt. J. o. Hayes in debate--in which he show.
ed more discretion than valor-Capt. Hayes
having downed him in argument in former
street corner discussions, and he gave no on.
portunity for any one to ask questions. In
fact, he was manifestly i'll at ease, knowing
that Capt. Hayes was in the audience and that
stenographer was taking down his words as
he uttered them. Aside from the "No" men
present, the audience was mainly composed of |
women and children and there was notice. !
able absence of enthusiasm. /
The closing meeting of the campaign was !
held in the Opera House Sunday evening, when i
HAA' ". I IAoSs oSAFSEeu 1orce1ul ADDRESS on ;
the issues before the people of Maine. The
meeting was called for 7.3O o'clock, but before
that time the hall was well filed and when the |
meeting opened there were few vacant seats
on the floor or in the galleries, and it was an /
audience of Belfast's best people, On the
stage were the clergymen of the city and rep !
citizens, presenting striking con- !,