The Washington times., 1912-09-09
MAINE IS HAVING a
MIGHTY FIGHT TO
UNTANGLE ISSUES
WET or Dry" Looms Up as
Most Important of
Questions.
Confined from First Page.)

iSOntlnueu from t1fSt faRe.D
and stick by the ticket. the Republicans
nave chance to win. Indications are
that they haven't been convinced In
any such numbers, and that the Demo-
Gratis viii re-elect Governor Plaisted
and asdSsad Ru thro9sG though BY probably
on joint ballot will elect Senator Card
ner. Gardner is Senator by appoint
ment, having been named by Piaisted
when Senator Frye died.
Election Is Close.
Two years ago Maine voted on the re-
peal of constitutional prohibition and
1t was so close that a week or two, and
then an official count, was necessary to
decide that prohibition had been sus-
-ained. The cities are against 1t. the
-ountry for II, except where 1t inter-
Seres with the summer-boarder industry,
where there isn't so much keenness for
1t. The Democrats have favored local
option, and if they win they will sub
NIT the constitutional provision to
another vote. There is believed to be
an excellent chance that IL the Demo-
Gratis come back into control, and ex-
ert all their political power to carry
repeal of the prohibition provision. the
repeal will win.
If 50, the Democrats promise to en-
act a model local-op ption act, that will
let the cities have saloons under
proper regulation. and the rural dis
tricts to remain dry If they choose.
1t cannot be too definitely under
stood that when this wet-or-dry issue
gets ingrained in a States politics, 1t
more real excitement in the beer issue
than in all the others that can be ag-
gregated together. II you had reel
trSsts the Boston %sF snd Mane the cone
troll Of the United States Senate and
the House of Representatives. ship
subsidies, cost of living. money pow
live. concrete issues in single
Maine campaign, the liquor question
would still remain the determining
proposition on, which folks would
mostly vote. It's just as in any other
State; nothing else can rip politics so
wide open as the liquor issue; and
they have been completely ripped in
Maine this year Such conditions as
this are common:
Named by Democrats.
The sheriff is the officer charged
with enforcing the liquor statutes. In
Somerset county the Democrats elect
ed a sheriff last time, on the expecta-
tion that he would be liberal" that
is, that he wouldn't differentiate
closely between n beer bottle and a
pop bottle. But when he got elected
and took the oath. it impressed him a
good DEAL and he proceeded to enforce
the law right up to the handle, just as
the Republican candidate had prom
tsed to do. Result the Democrats
repudiated him this year. and the Re-
publicans nominated him!
It's well enough to talk about the
stgnlhcSnce the Maine election will
politicians will tomorrow announce
Just what 1t means. Mr.. Hilles will
show that it means the sure election
of Taft: Mr.. Dixon will avow that
OF Roosevelt. Mr.. McAdoo will take
his ready predictory in hand and an
nounce that Wilson is now a cinch..
But the fact will remain that booze,
the real thing on which the people
mostly voted. 1t will all have about
as much to do with the November
result, as the views Of the man in
the moon concerning Saturn's rings
have to do with the navigability Of
the canals of Mars and the question
of whether, If they are navigable
American annexation of Mars would
violate the Hay-Pauncefote treaty.
Quite Conservative.
Maine has two Democratic and two
Republican Congressman now; 1t also
has two Democratic Senators, and
practically a completely Democratic
State administration. The Democratic
forecasters say that Plaisted will be
reelected by rather more than the
$3.50 plurality he received two years
ago The Republican chairman-a
Taftite, by the way-doesn't give fig
urss, but says his man, VIM. r.
Haines, will win Comfortably" That
means by plurality Of one or more.
The Democrats have been for a long
time fling down the. erstwhile big
Republican lead in Maine. In 1895
the State went for Powers, Repub-
lican, for governor by $4,000. Pow
ers had just about two and a half
times as many votes as the Demo-
crat. Four years later the Republican
lead was $4,000; then in 1904 1t fell
to 5000; in 1908, to 1000; and in
1910, to $3.50 below the vanishing
point.