Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-03-23
DEBATE IN THE SENATE.

Senator Hanson of Waldo made his
maiden speech, Friday morning, in the
Senate, in committee of the whole, ad :
vocating the passage of the admins
tration local option law. This speech
lasted over an hour and was filled with
sarcastic illusions to what he termed
the hypocrisy of the prohibition ad :
vocates which he declared was second
to nothing else in the world and dis
counted that of Judas Iscariot.
The proposition to consider the local
option amendment to the constitution
in the committee of the whole was
passed by a strict party vote, even
President Clifford, asking that his
name be called. Previous to going in
to the committee Senator Staples had
introduced the amendment proposed by
Senator Hanson in the caucus of
| Thursday night and the original re-
solve and amendment were placed be-
fore the committee of the whole.
The local option resolve as amend
ed is as follows:
This section shall not apply to cities
in which the manufacture, sale and
Keeping for sale of Intoxicating liquors
may be permitted under such regula-
tipiiS as lIit lStSlsldluIt SItdIl DTONlue
and whenever 81 per cent. of the legal
voters in any town petition the Legis-
lature to grant to said towns the right
herein granted to cities such right in
its discretion may be granted. But in
no case shall the Legislature permit
the manufacture, sale or keeping for
sale of Intoxicating liquors In any
city or town without making such per-
mission conditional upon its approval
by the voters of said city or town,
which approval must be expressed an
nually at the regular election held in
said city or town. The word town in
this section shall not be construed to
mean plantation.
Senator Mullen was made chairman
of the committee of the whole and
Senator Staples, after a few brief re-
marks, in which he called attention
to the fact that II years ago he had
introduced the first resubmission re-
solve in the Senate and remarked that
all knew his attitude in regard to the
question at ISSUE yielded the floor to
the senator from Waldo
AS Senator Hanson proceeded in his
| remarks the Senate chamber and gal
| lery began to fill with spectators, in
Guiding both temperance workers and
local option advocates AS soon as
the House took a recess a large num-
Der of the members of that branch
came into the Senate chamber.
The New Moses.
Senator Hanson spoke in part as fol-
lows. The senator from Knox as the
prophet of the people has tried for
years as best he could to remedy the
existing evil. | have some very well
grounded ideas of my own as to why
the amendment as amended should &c
before the people of Maine, | reeog
nlze the fact that every voter and
some day when we have woman suf-
rage every person of mature years
Will have something to say upon this
question which affects the community
III its social and moral life.
The term prohibition has beer
known from the beginning of the
world. The first attempt at prohibi.
. ton i'll the garden of Eden was fail
ure, an absolute failure God tried i
and couldn't make it work.
'Sumptuary laws strike the ordinar,
American citizen in an unfayorahl.
manner. When the law saws that 8
1
tam articles it is getting down to 3
matter of personal privilege which i
mas no right to touch. No man has :
right to say whether shall drink har,
water OF soft water, old cider or new
cider, rum or wine.
4 never saw man who believed i,
prohibition for himself Our probibi
/ tlonists in my baliwick are strenuon
| in 6ppla ring FL
selves, while the express man leave
suspicious looking packages at thei
: door"
FIFTY Years ago New England min
listers drank New England rum an,
: the sumulant OF that, added to tn
!, good spirit enabled them to go int
f an unheated church and preach doc
: trlnes much warmer than those a
: present promulgated.
Prohibition and temperance are no
sNnonomous terms. Prohibition is on
i thing and temperance is another Sucl
n men as John b. Golf and Murphy Wen
forth to rescue men from inebrity an,
e they succeeded. These apostles of tenn
s perance have passed, The only Goo,
: Templar in my town now is Georg
: Bracket, who publishes a paper cali
|, ed the Temperance Record, but
4 guess he is a Good Templar for reve
nue. only.
We have as the successor of tn
old temperance worker a lady, Mrs
l.. NJ. n. Stevens, who has a secre
tary and an automobile. I have neve
known of a drunkard being reforme
Continued on Page Nine.)