Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-03-23
18th MAINE LEGISLATURE.
Continued from Page Ffve.)


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nature. He is perfectly willing the
statute shall say: Thou shalt not kill
thy fellowman." Thou shalt not steal
his goods. Thou shalt not do the
things that do violence to the home,
but when the law says you shall not
eat this ar drink that, or wear this.
he shys right away. You are getting
down now to personal privileges for
which you have no right to govern
him. Aye. it is my privilege as a cit
, izen to drink hard water or soft wa
ter. new cider or old cider. rum or
wine. just as l choose and as my taste
may require And so in a moment he
rebels against the prohibtory law.
You never have seen the man yet who
believed in the prohibitory law for
himself
Our prohibitionists in the little town
where | hold forth most of my time
are strenuous in prohibiting the use
of intoxicating liquors by others, but
the eXpressman occasionally rings the
door bell and suspicious looking pack
ages. labelled on the outside some kind
of liquor are left there. 1t may be
that they are set up as a terrible ex-
ample to those who come in, but |
have a suspicion that that is not the
primary cause that brings those pack
ages to those households. Ii is a mat
ter of fact, gentlemen, that appetites
ard tastes are matters of individual
interest to us. | respectfully submit
that you have no right to insist /
should exist on roast beef if / do not
like il. And so far as what | drink
within the realms of my own house
hold or in places where | do not at
feet the rights of others is no bust
ness of this commonwealth, individual
ly or collectively.
Fifty years ago ministers of the
Gospel drank New England rum, and
the stimulus of the spirit in that rum.
mingled with the good spirit i'll their
hearts. would send them into unwarm-
ed churches where their hearers would
have warming pans under their feet
and on their laps, and for two hours
they would pour out the gospel some
what warmer than our present min
listers dare preach.
Up in the old farm house in Lincoln,
where / was born and reared, my
land rum. also jug of molasses. The
mixture was nauseous to me, but not
to his visitors Elder Bassett, a good
old Calvinist preacher, who | presume
preached infinite damnation, used to
come up in a cold day and take off
his fur collar and sit down before the
open fire in the kitchen. They would
mix up a cencoction and sit there and
discuss theology. Nobody thought
then that was wrong; it was the GUS
tom of the people.
AS matter of fact, gentlemen, pro-
hibition and temperance in my opin-
ion are not synonymous terms. They
have very little relation to each 9TH
en- do not know that they have ever
been fairly introduced yet. Prohibi-
ton is one thing Temperance is quite
another thing We used to have peo-
pie who worked in the interests of
temperance Good Templars, | be-
longed to them as a boy. We had the
Sons of Temperance, and such men as
John 3. Cough went forth to rescue
their fellew-men from the Jaws OF the
terrible foe, inebriety, and they sue
ceeded, and many poor ola treinp-
ling wreck of manhood has been saved
by one of these temperance orators,
imDued with fire that came down from
Heaven to assist him in the rescue OF
his fellow-men, and with trembling
hands has signed the pledge and gone
to his home a man in whose heart iad
been born a new life, and with the
determination that from that hour he
would keep away from the demon
Rum.
do not know of any Good Tempiars
in our town. They are publishing q
Templar's paper and 1t seems 10 De
the sole survivor in our section.
guess it is a survivor for revenue only,
from what / hear.
AS a matter of fact, gentlemen, we
have as their successor, as the gentle
men of this Legislature know, Mrs. L.
M. N. Stevens. Did you ever hear OF
her? Undoubtedly a fine woman. un-
/ doubtedly imbued with zeal to help her
fellow men and women. Mrs. Stevens,
| instead of going forth as the apostle
of old, without script or purse. has
good salary. She has a secretary to
help her and an automobile to take
her around and l would ask you this
question; have you ever known d
single person being reformed in the
meetings of Mrs. Stevens or any oil
her followers? Have you ever heard
of single home where feast ana
plenty has been brought through the
labors of the w. c.: T. U. as it is now
carried forward in this country?
/ only ask for information. You may