Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-10-04


picion. Many Of the members of the
last Legislature live up to these re-
quirements and more. 1t Is neces-
sary. however, occasionally to shock
the complacency of our citizens and
to tell them disagreeable truths.
Anyone who came to Augusta last
winter and stayed for considerable
period. learned of liquor conditions
that never should have been per-
mitted. and my speaking of this
should serve as a warning against a
recurrence Of a disgraceful state of
| affairs.
Enforcement In Maine
Enforcement conditions in Maine
| are constantly improving. The work
that the Federal Authorities are do
ing is helpful. and although I wish
| we. ourselves. could handle our own
affairs. I welcome this assistance
from the outside. hoping that the
time will not be far distant when we
can get along without 1t. On every
hand l receive encouraging reports.
The Highway Enforcement men who
| have occasion to patrol our roads,
tell me that there is less rum run
ming than a year ago that conditions
| around our numerous way-side
dance halls are cleaner, that there
is not so much liquor consumed at
these places, and that fewer men now
offer 1t for sale under cover of dark
| ness.
The manufacture OF home brew Is
on the wane. for people will not
bother with these nasty connections.
For a time it was considered smart
| to make home brew and many peo-
pie delighted in telling their friends
| about it. The novelty has passed,
conductors on the railroad trains,
especially the late night trains. tell
me 1t is seldom they have a drunken
man as passenger. In former
years the smoking cars on night
trains were dirty places. crowded
with men under the influence of
liquor. and the conductor was
obliged constantly to he on his guard,
often calling for help to keep the
peace In the Maine woods there is
very little liquor consumed. and our
lumber camps are rapidly becoming
| as quiet and orderly as the best
regulated communities. This is due
not only to enforcement officers. but
also to the wise management of some
of our leading timber companies
| Within a week the recently appoint
cd New England Federal Enforce
ment officer called upon me- He has
had wide experience in other states
and was making a tour of Maine.
He was greatly pleased at conditions
here. and when I told him of some OF
our troubles. he said that Maine was
to all intents and purposes, DRY,
and remarked. You ought to see
( what we face in other States"
The Need of The Day
What we need above all else Is
an awakened public sentiment.
Every citizen should be on guard
lest he himself transgress our en-
forcement laws in the slightest de-
gree. and he should be glad and
ready to cooperate with Enforcement
Officers. 1t is a good citizens duty
to do this. Public sentiment must be
strengthened both by the press and
the pulpit. The report of the United
States Attorney General Daugherty
shows that the weakest spot in our
armor is in high places" The De-
partment of Justice gives this report
high praise and saws. THE facts set
forth reveal one of the most tragic
epochs in American history relative
to law enforcement. The report
shows that the department of justice
has been called upon to prosecute a
member of the judiciary. prominent
members of the American bar. high
officials of the federal and state gov
ernments. millionaires. scions
of the nations aristocracy. and the
sordid story of assassination. bribery
and corruption that found its way
into the very sanctums wherein the
inviolabilitv of the law was pre-
sumed to have been held sacred"
I have had some experience along
these lines. and have known of cases
where men who had held responsible
public positions actually have warn
ed boOt-leggers that they were being
watched by officers. When such a
state of affairs as this exists. it
shows that the moral sense of some
people in the community needs to be
strengthened. Can we expect the
foreigners who come to our shores
to obey our laws when many of our
own people openly flaunt them?
One of the principal newspapers in
criticisinc me for having exposed
liquor conditions at Augusta last
winter. would have 1t appear that
the brightest men were those who in
dulGed in liquor. This paper admits
that liquor was used and says such
has always been the case and that
it cannot be avoided. There is moth
ing new in this reasoning. We all
remember how often it used to be
said of man who had ruined his
life by drink. that he was one of the
"brichtest" men that ever was and
some would have it appear that al
most every drunkard was a genius.
1t is true that some men who have
over INDUCED in liquor have been
brilliant men. but the question can
properly he asked. how much more
! brilliant might they have been had
they rcfraned from weakening their
l. l. ! 80
| alcohol. We must drive liquor out
of the home and the club and out
of politics and the legislature. The
hootleggcrs patrons are as n rule
we'll do. we'll dressed citizens who
brazonlv defy the law. We all can
recall the days when in some places
in the State whiskey and beer were
important factors in elections. Great
progress has been made in the
purity of our elections. but boot
ieggers still flourish on the patronage
Of the prosperous.
Municipal Courts and Juries
Our Municipal Courts are the ones
into which the liquor cases in
the first instance come. h e
courts, as a rule, are living up to
/ high ideals and are imposing Jail
sentences in accordance with our
statutes. I have not hesitated to
make my own appointments. and
where. for one reason or another,
felt there should be a change it has
been made, even though my doing
so has occasioned CONSERVATION in
certain ranks. If there is a weak
spot in our administration of Justice
occasionally it can be found in those
jurios that. disregarding the in
structions OF the Judge. and ignoring
the evidence presented to them,