Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-08-18

ton and law enforeement) who is not
on prohibition platform or will not
personally give his word of honor to
support prohibition in the State and
Nation. Let US not be led into the
folly of defeating the man who will
do most for lis because he is not all
we put into our political ideal. Even
party prohinitionists ought to vote so
as to prevent re- submission, remem-
herring that even a majority for it
would be a heavy blow-perhaps a
deadly one-to the prohibition cause
in every commonwealth at home or
abroad where it is now pending.
Prohibition at Its Worst Better Than
License at its Best.
And now a word to those prohibit
tionists in some Maine cities who are
so disheartened by chronic notification
of the law that they are willing to
try something else" They forget that
others have made the trial and the re-
suits are available. For example, Rev.
Henry N. Pringle, well known in
Maine, in his work as Assistant Super
intendent of the International Reform
bureau, has recently caused the arrest
and conviction of % persons in Maiden,
Mass, a representative NO license"
town in Massachusetts,, where local
prohibition having been adopted by
local majority, it is assumed by Maine
prohibitionists the law will be enforc-
ed as a matter of course The mat
ter of course is that such a trade as
the liquor traffic will debauch officers
of the law in it's financial interest
whether they are sworn to enforce To-
cal or state prohibition. At Rock
land, Mass, mere country town I'M
der NO license" Mr.. Pringle caught
lating the law,
In my speeches in Maine in the
re-submission campaign l often show
ed from government figures that were
never challenged. though used more
than so times. that in New Jersey, be-
sides 1861 license saloons, which are
worst of all drink shops because a
government crime. there were more
speak than In the equal pop
ulation of Maine and Kansas combin-
ed, and that the internal revenuen
paid in New Jersey was in the total 35
times AS much as in the two prohibit
ton States, The mortgaged homes,
on the other hand, were three times as
numerous in Maine and Kansas COM
bined as in New Jersey. There were
two sets Of figures that were used in
the Maine campaign based on the fig
ures of the liquor organs themselves.
the Portland Argus and others, which
are still instructive. The liquor organs
charged that $1,l00000 was spent for
liquors annually in Maine, and they
assumed that such fact would prove
the failure of prohibition. They for
got to divide that up by the three
quarters of million of Names popu-
lation, which would show on their
own figures, a per capita consumption
OF liquors in Maine of only $1.4s, while
the average for the whole country
almost half "dry"-was twelve times
as much, namely s17.s9. The Argus and
other liquor organs also charged that
20, 100000 gallons of liquors were
shipped into the dry" States. as If
that would prove prohibition a failure
This was figured out, by dividing this
sum by Their population. which the
Argus forgot to do, to be only ! Ia
gallons per capita, that Is, lis of the
average consumption of the nation
half 'dry''-which was then given as
2l.S6 gallons by the American grocer.
We do not cite these figures to prove