Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-01-23
PROF.. eATEMAN AGAIN.
Continues to Array Facts Against Ad-
ninistration He Helped Elect.

When Rev. Herbert F. Woodin of
' Auburn stated in his sermon, last
Sunday. that one-half the young men
III these cities were addicted to the
, liquor habit, he spoke strictly within
| the bounds of truth.
Many of these young men belong to
our best families and they are con-
fined to no one church or political par
! tN.
And why shouldn't they addict
| themselves to the drink habit when
open rum shops abound on every side
| and are made popular by the consti-
tuted authorities who have solemnly
( sworn to enforce the law?
We know full well what the harvest
! is To all faithless officials but to their
cheeks the blush of shame never
comes.
Day by day sees the moral tone of
these communities lowered as vice and
crime gather our young men and boys
! within their Shiny folds.
Fhe open contempt which certain
county and city officials show for pub
lie opinion has never before been
equallcd in this State. When con-
fronted with their own inconsistent
oaths ana acts their only answer is a
shrug of the shoulders and Il sinister
sneer. Ii is the boast of their apollo
eists that they had rather have the
rum vote ihan the respect of decent
men and the prayers Of heart broken
mothers
There is a limit even to indeecncy,
and to-day party lines are bro<cn
OYER this shameless cepdition of af-
fairs The rank and fiji" of the Dem
ocratic party are honorable men and
they are Inundated by the disgrace
brought upon them BY the men whom
they helped 10 place in Office.
Neither is it an answer To say thai
the Republican officials did the same
thing. We know fun we'll that many
of them did the same thing. Politics
and greed are confined to no one par
". and so-called responsibility and
crime are TOO often linked together in
this age of commercial brutality. It
Nas from this very fact that -sst.tircds
of decent and self-respecting men in
Androscoggin county joined with the
Democrats in the vain hope that bet
ter conditions might be brought about
The swinging doors of 200 open rum
shops and poker joints in the city OF
Lewiston are daily reminder that
our hopes and prayers have turned to
ashes on the lip The Republicans
did 1T least make a bluff at enforcing
the law but even this thin veneer OF
political purity has been thrown aside
by their successors.
Perhaps the most disgusting part OF
this whole miserable business is the
throwing down of their political
/ friends by these officials. The writer
of this letter is daily tainted with
helping to bring these officials into
power and to this charge he can
make no reply. However humiliating
If may be. he is forced to acknowl-
edge its truth And to cap the CHI
max of his shame he cannot even enet
the time-stained excuse that he had
no suspicion of coming treacherN IL
was as best but a leap in the dark
hnt has proven to be one that was
fatal. ~
| We're / anxious simply to defeat the
Democratic party. could ask nothlllg
better than to have these SAM m1,sitinns
again re-nominated TO the positiuiIis
Which they have disgraced. MOI o ny
would they meet with an oveTwheltnihi5i
defeat but their dead weight WIZ 9c,'
carry down their entire party me
handwriting has wildly appeared on me
wall and the letters are SO lhdellplS
| marked that he who runs may a III pebI
principles in that party, ana Is
Shame to see them wrecked =,
All faithless officials should be nm nm
peac hed but as they might De lhcit
pwn prosecutors we can hardly hope TO
reach them in that manner. more anu
more it is becoming evident tnat SUN SUN
are psychological curiositles Destitute
of those finer feelings which pflhe re-
morse for broken hearts ana sh 1a,e ta
homes, they are entirely lmpefNfsoui,si ~, y,
| the contempt in which the upfalthlu
are ever held by all friends OF law anu
order Even the rumsellers thelnSeN ~ 81
have no respect for them. Tor %ltu a.,
their lawlessncss these men nave
wholesome admiration for a man ana
official whom they fear. ro;.s IN oil
| The present condition of AFFAIRS III an
| parts of Maine is bound to nave LAT
| teaching effect. For many years the
| Democratic leaders have found the
| English language too poor IN scaiilieilS
| words to criticize the Republicans Tor
| their political play with our prohibtoIS
| laws. and both from their political pid di
| forms and their press they nave s1saui-
| Nv proclaimed that the law should De
| enforced If for no other reason than 10
| make it odious. Like a sweet norsei
this has been warbled beneath NJ men nedr
| tongues until a large SECTION OF our peo-
| pie came to believe in its sincerity.
| Gov. Plaisted repeated this parrot cry
in all his speeches and elinehed ms pre-
tence with the now Weil-hho"h sltiilc
| of the covered bridge . ~, -.
| What has since happened? The Dem
| ocratS came into power oniy pA tiieil
repeated assurance that as long as those
laws were on. the statutes they should ,bd
be enforced. Look around and see t he
| hypocrisy of those leaders and the
| worthlessness of their promises! never
| in the history of our State has such
violation Of law and order been been. W.T. Wit
| messed Not the slightest effort ma.
| been made to observe the. law, ana YET
| Gov Plaisted gravely informs a Won
! drine world that those who believe II,
| the prohibitory law are dissatisfied
| with its enforcement
THESE men cannot escape the respon-
| sibility. Neither can the DEMOCRATIC
| party escape the responsibility. Ihere
| stand their statements and here STANDS
their record The 200 and more saloons
i'm Lewiston tell the story of how wei
their promises have been kept Try as
hard as they may, the Democratic lead
ers cannot wipe out the record or shiI
the burden. The scarlet letter is brand
| ed on the party brow where all can see
it's color The throwing overheard OF
one or two of these officials VIII not les
sen the public Indignation, which Is now
so thoroughly aroused. The whole
nest of faithless officials, whofnsoevei
Il they. may be, must face the Judgment
seat of public opinion, and we Will see u
| if that none of them escape.