The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-16
TELEPHONES
They are reformed, civil, full of good And fit for great empIoyment.
 Two Gentlemen of Verona.
The State of Maine

The result of last Mondays elee- ton Tn the state of Maine was so close on the question of repeal or re- tention of constitutional prohibition as to be almost a tie. This was not surprising to those who had read the forecasts sent out by the painstaking and non-partisan Associated Press.
 The anti-prohibitionists had esti- mated their majority at between 5000 and 10000, and the prohibitionists claimed that they had majority of between 10000 and 10000. Politi- clans experienced in the matter of forecasting said on Sunday that the two sides seemed to be so evenly divided there would be no surprise It the election went by small ma- Jority either way. There was a total vote of between 12O,000 and 121 ,OO0, and according to late returns received by the secretary of state there was a majority for repeal of 134. But it is stated now that an official recount will probably be necessary to de- termine the result of the balloting.
 Maine has had state wide prohibi- tion more than 50 years, and if it was good-thing to have in the con stitution, the people of the Pine Tree state would have risen in their might and voted overwhelmingly for pro- hibition's retention in the organic law; but instead of that prohibition ists kept only neck and neck in the race with the repealers. Maine is the birth place of drastic prohibition. The late Neal Dow was the father of pro- hibition as it is known today. He was elected mayor of Portland in 1851 on his prohibition issue, and was reelected and served throughout second term. While member of the legislature he had his state wide pro- hibition bill adopted, and this meas ure became generally known as 'the Maine law" Dow was the prohibit tion party's candidate for President in 1SS0 In the civil war he was a brigadier general and had good fighting record.
 Although there were all sorts of politics in General Dow's day, and notwithstanding the fact that he was active in the political life of Maine, he enjoyed the reputation of being an absolutely sincere man. He be- lieved in prohibition. He preached it on all occasions, and he always practiced what he preached. He had a singleness of purpose in his prohi- bition movement that was compelling. The arts of politics with him were secondary, or rather means to an end. In this respect he was certainly diff ferent from many of our southern prohibitionists of two or three years ago. They were politicians and pro- hibitionists; more of the former than the latter With not few of them prohibition was secondary and was only means to self seeking ends.
 General Dow was an enthusiast and for several years Maine's prohi bition law was fairly well observed The fact is Neal Dow's personalit, was so great and his earnestness SC appealing that he created stronger public sentiment for prohibition thar might have been expected under or dinary conditions. But in recen years men in the cities of Maine go ''tired of being good" and began t, violate the law flagrantly Drunk enness is scandalizing Portland Bangor and other towns. In the pas two or three years there have beel more habitual "drunks" in the polio records of Portland--a larger per centage- than are to be found il strictly regulated saloon towns, o even in "wide open" cities.
 The reaction in Maine against pro hibition began to be very marked a far back as 1900. The democrats ha been making. repeal an issue, bu Maine being such republican strong Fold they were not able to win on tha proposition until last fall when Gov ernor Plaisted and the legislatur were elected by majority of some