Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1911-08-22
.Iohn,a Letter.

Il may be notion of ours-we oil have
our notions, don't you know?-that the
advocates Of prohibition and tho enforce
ment Of the law placed too much CONN.,
dence In their leaders, and being honest
themselves and sincere, looked Tor and
expected like honesty and sincerity IN
those they placed In responsible posi-.
tions, And they fancied that reform
could only come through the heaven ap.
pointed channel which was the party OF
their choice. Party ties are strong as
steel to the many. To them there ap.
peared NO prospective good to come out
Of the little, one idea, Nazaritisn party
whose face was persistently set toward
Jerusalem. It could never get there. 1t
was . little party truly. It 10 larger
party now, something OF an army ngnt.
Ing common enemy. The battle OF the
ballots IL imminent, and those VINO
think alike will vote together. Goo
speed the right and count the votes and
tabulate them for righteousness.
A cry OF Gre at midnight and the ring
ing of the alarm bells routs out the hfe
department and breaks the slumbers OF
the people. There are Indifferent ones
who feel neither fear nor interest when
they fancy that their homes are not
within the fire zone. And there are
others who would sleep on were Gabriel
to sound the morning drum beat-sleep
till the second resurrection, and then be
belated.
The abolition party, once on time,
you may remember, with Its one idea,
was very little party, but an aggressive
one, and stirred up q hell OF row In this
country of ours, II you recollect. Ex-
cuse me! War is hell, Sherman says so.
the old soldier says so, and 80 say all
who were within the storm center when
the war was on. As result of the row
the black mans bonds fell asunder like
flax ut the touch of fire, and Columbia,
the Gem of the Ocean, came up bloody
but smiling through her tears. She was
free at last and sound and whole. We the
people were one as we never had been
one hope, one aim, one flag, with oppor-
tunities for growing In grace-and IN
need of 1t.
II has come to pass that our govern
ment Is getting busy In regulating some
of the trusts that are in the irregular
class, for instance, the Standard Oil mo-
nopoly. Beyond doubt its methods are
open to objection and are not wholly de-
void of self-interest. 1t has piped It's
products practically into all the homes
ip the land. Has it been an unmitigated
curseP Is kerosene oil most deadly In Its
results? Sometimes, to be sure, lamp
explodes and life slips out. We have
heard of fluid that for sheer destruc-
tiveness puffs kerosene out OF sight:
There has been discovered pool that
ia bottomless, deeper down than the oil
wells of Pennsylvania. Scientists claim
that 1t spouts up from the near neignoor'
hood of hell. And because OF the univer-
sal and invariable and damnna6le effect
1t has upon all who come within the
circle of its influence, there would seem
to be some truth in the statement. 1t Is
owned BY a syndicate and is just beyond
our borders, and every effort from with.
out and from within that can be devised
| ia being made to pipe the liquid destroyer
on to the fair fields of Maine. Men there
are wholwould welcome 1t with rejoicing,
with bonflres and foundations, and yet
would bar out the lesser evils such as the
Black Death and the Great White Plague.
There is one evil that comes with the
legalized saloon that has not been fully
brought to light In the discussion. we
will quote from Chicago paper:
"Com With me on Saturday afternoon
MAY p, chile the ink is hardly dry on the
daiiy papers that have told of the arrest
of the willard woman and her associates
| Come down Dearborn Street to the corner
of Twenty-first Street, where, In the no,
afternoon sun, the brass work and paint
of Zoe Willard's place CLEAN and glare;
And out from the open doors and
windows come the banging of pianos and
the sound of dozen or two voices. Al
the windows appear the faces of girls,
some of them beautiful girls OF refined
appearance, trapped from God only
knows what homes, where they were
loved, bought perhaps for price less
than pigs, broken in to lives OF shame
with unspeakable cruelty. And In tht
doorway, where the inlaid floor displays
the name of the woman upon whom thu
u. 8. government has laid hands, stands
a black FORTRESS of hell and announces tt
the men and boys passing along ths
street: Come right In! I have got every
thing you want here-auy kind OF CIR
YOU want. Just describe her and ] have
her.
GAN kinds! Why not when girls can bt
bought for ten dollars head! Don't gel
excited! OF course 1t Is true that the pro
prietress of this place has been arrested
by the U. s. government for trading II
girls across q state line, but the place
runs on Just the same. Why, there stant
two uniformed policemen within sount
of the black hag's voice. Who, under thu
circumstances and knowing the policy
of the city of Chicago, would expect any
thing different? If 1t were case o.
counterfeit money, or even case OF some
greasy gang found making bogus butter
the place would be closed as tight as
drum, when Uncle Sam got busy. Blu
this Ia only q case OF girl-stealing, ant
American girls-yours just the same a.
others-are cheap, only $40 q head
Don't get excited! Zoe Wizards place II
only one among scores within stone
throw. And In every one OF those places
beyond question, are girls who nave peer
stolen, Just as Zoe Wizards agents stea
girls-girls who q few months ago, OF
perhars few weeks ago, were the sweet
treasures of American homes, and have
been sold here by slave drivers for per
haps $40 a head"
You understand this isn't Sodom Blu
Chicago, u. 8. A., and the heavens hav'
not. as vet, raiped down fire and brim
stone nor blighted 1t by prohibition
Well. Zoe isn't afflicted with "mOck mo
rality"-nor any other kind. She ism
"hypocritical," but Is wide open to thu
day. She doesn't wear the white ribbon
and Is not product Of the w. c. T. U.
and is not under the guardian care OF I'M
Young Mems Christian Association. Sh'
flourishes like the green bay tree In TIT
shadow of the legalized saloon, protected
and encouraged by the saloon, pettet
and foudled, cooed and coddled and cud
died by the saloon, handled on the knees
of the saloon and chucked under TIT
chin. o, she's daisy.
With q legalized saloon backing ir
Maine, Zoe might be persuaded to star
a branch establishment Of her pecu
liar industry here and send out bel
agents and decOys to gather the children
in, and steal young girls to be delivered
to life of shame at an average price oil
$40 head. As the girls of Maine are &
superior lot, Zoe ought to do better thar
that. We would suggest sl5 head and
expenses, and dog cheap at that. We
would BY no means prohibit her, but just
locate her In some spot where she is need
ed and desired by the majority of howlert
for personal liberty. As prohibition 10 moi
In the vocabulary Of some people, 1t Is tc
be assumed that there Is nothing under