Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-03-25

L
people some of the time now Result
mission, Why, 1t was debated here
on the floor of this House a year ago,
and it was said everywhere in the
| Democratic press and by the Demo-
! cratic politicians that all it meant was
to take the prohibitory amendment
I from the Constitution and put it into
the statutes, and that il did not mean
| license and it did not mean local op-
ton. Then when they got it out OF
| the Constitution they could do what
/ they pleased with it, But they said
police regulation should not be in the
| Constitution and should come out; and
! i'm the election that followed, the cleo
| ton of last summer, | say to YOU what
! you know and what / know to be true,
/ that there were hundreds and thous-
ands of Republican and Democratic vot-
ers in the State of Maine who voted to
/ take that amendment out of the Con-
| stitution who would cut off their right
/ hand before they would vote for license
/ But, gentlemen. it was a part of the
program that you could deceive all of the
! people some of the time.
! General Grant said that the way to re-
! peal a good law was not to enforce ID
and the way to repeal bad law was to
| enforce it, and the Democratic party
| must have remembered that epigram OF
| General Grant, for Immediately as soon
! as the Legislature adjourned and they
had repealed the Sturgis. law and had
removed the power from the Governor to
| remove county attorneys and commenced
! the campaign to take it out of the Con-
! stitution, that very moment they com
menced notification in niaine. There was
not the slightest attempt to enforce the
| law. not even d bluff at it in the State
! of Maine by Democratic county attorneys
and sheriffs, except in one instance; over
| in Somerset county the sheriff remem-
| bered his oath of office and attempted
to carry it out faithfully, Sheriff Mooers,
and he captured the .Iggest rum seller
and outlaw in Somerset county and got
him convicted. The court gave him a
jail sentence, and then the Governor
and Council pardoned him to show that
1t was treason for Democratic sneriif
to try to enforce the Maine law
Then commenced a campaign, Mr..
Chairman-I want to call your attention
to that for q moment-a campaign 20
take the amendment out of the Constita-
ton, and the Democratic press every
where in the State of Maine put forth
this statement to the people that it did
not mean license, it did not mean local
option, that the police law should not be
in the ConStitution-take it out and leave
ii III the statutes. 1t was put forth that
resubmission was a non-partisan meas
ure; they said it is not a Republican
matter, it was not Democratic matter,
but it was non-partisan; give us a chance
to vote upon it and we will have a nom
partisan vote. In that campaign the Re-
publican machine never did a single bit
of work; it was not party matter with
them; the party did nothing. Was that
true of the Democratic machine and the
Democratic party? Let us see. Every
where that the Democratic press and the
Democratic politicians presented this
matter to the voters they said that it
was a Democratic measure and that the
repeal of the law meant the success of
the Democratic party, and they went ev-
erywhere and appealed TO the Democrats
to stand by the party and vote against
the law. Even Senator johnson in Con-
gress insisted that no Democratic states
man or Democratic orator should be sent
into Maine because il would be injuring
the party in the State of Maine. On
election day you and / saw the strange
spectacle of Democratic machine aud
Democratic politicians at work at the
ballot boxes with plenty of money deliv-
ering your floating vote, bat the result
of that battle is passed and is now a
matter of history. Much against his
will the Governor had to report to his
Council the result, and in doing so he
said for the Maine law:
ut cannot be, and never has been, sue
eessfully enforced in the cities. 1t IS
useless to expect enforcement in the cit
les now after the people in them have so
emphatically declared against prohibit
ton. No law can be enforced in COM
muriities in which two men out of every
three are opposed to the law
And then he had himself interviewed
by the Boston Post on November y, and
at that time said: IAN honest enforce
ment of the Statewide prohibition
| amendment, as it now stands, is impossi-
ble''
why, the whole country knows of the
open selling of liquor in Maine and the
State has had to stand as the butt of
the jokes because of the remarkable
freedom with which visitors to our cities
and towns are able to procure whiskey
and even beer
AS IL IS now the open Darroom In Dotn
city and town is disgrace and a mock
cry to our zealousness for the law
And Senator Gardner also had him
self interviewed by the Boston Globe on
February 18th last, and he said:
| I'VE know that liquor is being sold,
and we realize that we are not only law
| breakers but hypocrites. Worse still,
the children and the young people of
| the State understand all the conditions.
| The Influence on them in my opinion, is
| the saddest feature in deplorable sit
| uation.
That is what they said. And then
Midas Criterion, the liquor journal of
the nation, the journal organized and
operated by the brewers of the United
| States, speaking of the Maine election,
| right after the election on November
! 10th said:
/ 1T is not TO be supposed that the
opponents of prohibition will rest con-
| tent with q yoke which they have come
so near casting off. especially when they
| have on their side the Governor and
hn aeriSl at, mil 1,af -.