Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-04-21
OPEN LETTER TO PATTANGALL.
lanes H. Ames Of Bowdoinham, Makes Per
sonal Appeal to the Waterville Politician.


Ny dear Sir
Being only q common citizen and
possessed of only ordinary reasoning
powers. il is difficult for ME to con-
ceive why that man of marked abil-
ity and wonderful perception. should
so persistently and mistakenly in your
public utteranees, decry, sneer at and
seek To break down the Prohibitory
Temperance laws of our State and
substitute therefor the licensed sa-
loon. You would not for one moment
presume to deny that intemperance
and the traffic in intoxica ting liquors
are gigantic evils.
one writer in describing the saloon
has fittingly said. Morally, the saloon
is a cesspool of corruption, without Il
single redeeming feature. 1t stands
out in its horrible deformity as the
enemy of everything that is clean. or
good. or holy, and poisons with its I'M
savory breath everything it touches.
1t enters the sacred precinct of
the home. and robs 1t of every
precious thing. from the cradle to the
grave, destroying all upon which tile
beauty and the fragrance OF life de-
ponds. and sends its reeling. cursins
victims into the awful presence OF
their God. To hear the terrible SEN
tence. Depart. no drunkard can in
herit the kingdom of Heaven
1T defiles manhood, womanhood ana
childhood, and casts a miidew and Il
blight over the millions of lives, with
erng them as the sitting siroeeo's
breath shrivels the rose or the lily.
1t lays its whitening hand upon more
than 100000 of the boys and youns
men of our country every year. and
debauehes the lives of more than
10000 girls and young women. Like the
unyielding grave. it cries. Give, give
1t turns loving fathers. sons and
brothers into murderous fiends. and is
responsible for nearly or quite ninety
per cent. of the violent crimes thas
shock the sensibilities of the age. L
peoples jails. penitentiariess insane
asylums and almshouses.
This monster is wrapping his Shiny
coils about some one in each of four
millions of our homes. and bringing
AQTSe lI1dIl " iiIoa' Aipa'Ast stAiss
has filled the land with broken heart
ed mothers, wives and sisters. 1t Is
the prolific source of suicide, divorce,
and all manner of crimes against So
eiety. the State and God. 1t repre-
sents everything that is vile, unclean
and uncanny.
is this language too strong? | an-
4 -
Words are not at my command to de"
pict this gigantic evil in all its black
ness. This is the kind of an instltu-
ton that the brewers, distillers ana
liquor dealers are moving earth and
hell to force upon us. by crushing gu.
our constitutional law and substitute
ing licenee law instead.
When a boy, I heard the late Neal
Dow relate an incident which &C.
Cured when he was travelling in Eng
land. Addressing a large concourse
of people, he sought an expression
from his audience, by asking all WHO
believed the saloon an evil, and Il
menace to the public welfare and
ought to be suppressed. to remain seat
ed and all who favored the saloon
and believed it should be legalized
and protected, To stand. He was about
to declare a unanimous vote aSafhSt
the saloon, when his attention WAS
called to a big fat brewer standing at
full height with his hat held alote
upon his cane. General Dow quickly
declared "A unanimous vote against
the saloon, with the exception of ii
mo hrainss il ami
no heart under It,"
NV dear Mr.. Pattangall, none can
accuse you of being lacking in the for
ner. Your imprisoned plea for the
aged sheriff. John Ballou, melting the
hardest heart, dampening the eye with
tears, shows that you possess the
brains of a Socrates and the lofty
elotu1ence of Demosthenes. But.
bear in mind that false sympathy mas
showered with roses many a criminal
at the bar. guilty of the most heinous
crimes.
That YOU are devoid of the at
tribute of which the cane beneath TIE
hat was, | would not for one momen'
presume. but | do say, and say II
emphatically without fear OF success
full contradiction. that the institution
YOU so loudly proclaim should be IL
censed rather than prohibited IN TINS
fair State of ours; is maintained ana
run by men. some of whom are as
heartless as the grave and cruel as
hell.
Not long since it is said that at Il
convention of liquor dealers, one
speaker in urging upon his associates
the necessity of creating appetites, eA-
claimed, Gentlemen. don't forget that
nickels spent in treating children TO-
day, will be dollars in your pocket To-
morrow" The demons OF the bot
tomless pit could not concoct j
scheme more heartless than the de-
liberate planning for the downfall ana
ruin of pure and innocent boys anu
girls.
Would you say this is an exception.
You know it is not. Saloons cannpt
be run without boys. no more than
the mill without the grain. The con-
tinuance of the whole diabolical busi-
ness depends on the mastering OF new
recruits. If 1t isn't your boy or mihs'
/, it is somebody's boy, and the more
glittering the allurements and the
more enticing the tempter, the better
II s,fits the trade | note in some OF