Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-04-10

IL.
up another point to which my colleague
has called my attention. in relation to
the performance of their duties by these |
same deputy sheriffs in the last three
months, as bearing upon the amount oil |
time devoted to, and the diligence with
which they have enforced the law dur
ing that period against the various places
where liquor is sold in our city.
We have taken the trouble to so over
these various seizures which they have
printed here upon this sheet and we hnd +
that during the month of January these |
four liquor deputies worked in seizing |
liquors--at least they made seizures for
only 10 out of the 81 days of January. |
On the other q days, SO far as any of
the records show, they were not doing
single thing to enforce the liquor law
in the city of Portland. 1t would not
appear as though they were giving
great deal of their time to the enforce
ment of the liquor law. don't believe,
even with the general testimony they
gave in here, that any of you believe for
a moment that their other duties that
| they had to perform in the county of
Cumberland took two thirds of their time
| in the month of January. In the month
| of February. there were II out of the %
days that they did not make any seiz-
ures. Only on IL days did they work in
the diigent and faithful enforcement OF
| this law. And in March there We're ID
| days that they did no work, or IS in
! which they wQrked-l3 out of &c days
the figures only so to that eNtent-in
which they did any work in Selling of
| liquors. So that you see that they have
| not been devoting all of their time or any
| large part of their time to the Selling
of liquors in the city of Portland during
| the last three months.
Now | do not proposed to take up much
! more of your time i'll the discussion of
| this case. 1t seems to me that the facts
! that have been brought before you must
| convince all of you gentlemen whose
| minds are open. who propose to treat this
question sincerely and honestly and in
the faithful discharge of the duties that
are imposed upon you as representatives
of the people of the State of Maine; and
| propose to bring the few remarks that
I shall make TO a close in Il very short
| time.
| Now if these conditions such as I have
related and pointed out to you actually
any escape from the proposition that the
sheriff of Cumberland county has either
| wilfully or corruptly been negligent in
| his duties in this respect? OF the general
conditions that exist there, there can be
no question There is no question but
what the sheriff knew of them. and while
my brother says that on account of i'll
| health and for other considerations he
! -.
ness stand, yet l apprehend there will be
in your minds no question as to what he
would have said as TO why the enforce
ment of the law in Cumberland county
was carried on in the manner in which
| it has been carried on during the last
three months. And it may be that you
are of the opinion, l am of the opinion,
! that 1t was wise advice that his counsel
gave to him in that respect
And 1t also appeared that when they
proposed to introduce the evidence in re-
| iat1on to the number. or rather the
places of these seizures, they wanted
the counsel on this side of the case to
I admit this without having anybody tes-
| tIfy as to their correctness. and when 7
told them that | would admit them if
| they would put one of their LIQUOR denim
| ties on in order that might cross-exan,-
| me him and see what kind of nlaces tbov
| mad been seizing, then they backed ont
| and finally put on man reluctantlv
who kept the Office accounts and tba Of
! nee records, as they Were Obliged To do
In order to get their evidence into tba
VASE mere was an apparent / say an
| apparent reluctance to place than, ~,
the witness stand here, in order that
we might cross-examine them and have
them tell TO this convention their reasons
ior the manner in which they had been
enforcing the lam in Cumberland county
| curing the last three months
well now, the evidence that is in
'le case IN regard to the manner in
"aich IL Is regulated down there, as
" 'he tunes when they closed. and
me days on which they closed. and
the regularity and obedience of these
| ao-caiied regular liquor sellers. and
'iie failure | say of the sheriff him
sen ana ms deputies to go on the
stand and testify voluntarily and will
iisiv' seem to point on. conclusiycIy
10 every fair minded man the manner
III when THIS law has been enforced
uoWii there, or rather in which there
mas peen no enforcement and these
PAGES nave been allowed to run in
the manner in which they. haye.-and
'hat there has at least been n wilful
neglect to faithfully and diligently
| enforce this law.
WV gentlemen, to my mind, the
pfohipltory law is not on trial at this
time. All of the arguments and much
OF the testimony that has been intro
duced here in the defence has related
solely to the proposition of whether
You THINK that State wide prohibi-
tory law is the best method of rapu-
latlng the traffic, or handling it. or
whether You prefer local option. Well
now, that is not the question in the
slightest degree that is before this
convention at this time
On the contrary, the sovereignty of
the State of Maine is on trial nov. as
to whether or not her laws shall he
| respected and enforced and obeVed.
not only in the city of Portland and in
Cumberland county, but throughout
% IN.