Show ENOUGH OF PROHIBITION A Movement in Maine in Favor of the Repeal of the Law BANGOB April 7The little city of Belfast on Penobscot Bay forty miles below Bangor t is one of those places where when everything else is calm asa as-a duck pond the Maine liquor law affords af-fords i fruitful theme for heated discussions dis-cussions They are having a great row down there now over the beer question and an interesting phase of the conflict is found in the recent formation thereof I there-of what is known as the Personal Liberty club Over 200 yoters of the city including many prominent citizens irrespective of party are members of the club which has for its object the repeal of the prohibitory law and the enactment of a license law in its stead The personal liberty people are not all drinking people by any meansbut they are very much disgusted with the prohibition pro-hibition law and especially with its administration by the detested stated constables They are working hard to establish similar clubs in all the important impor-tant places of the State except Bangor There is no need of any club here The people take all personal liberty they want in this town with no questions asked and then Uncle Hannibal Ham lins Tarratine club of 100 gentlemen enjoy lots of liquid liberty without bothering their heads atjont repealing Neal Dows crank statute The Belfast club and its principles are vigorously supported by one of the local papers the Piogressive Age Democratic Demo-cratic and strongly opposed by another an-other the Journal a straightlaced old Republican sheet which refers to the club members as the Jimjam party and to the Age as a freerum organ The club members areof the unterri fied kind however and the movement they have organized is bound to grow and make quite a stir at the caning State election The newspaper prominently promi-nently identified with the prohibition cause says in the course of a lengthy article on the new organization Its numbers its opjn avowal of hostility to the prohibitory lairs of the State and Us purpose to expunge them trom the public statutes taken in connection with the additional ad-ditional fact that efforts are being made to reate similar organizations in other localities locali-ties are signs which should not be disregarded g disre-garded by the steadfast and onstant friends of legal prohibition that a time of serious trial lor that policy may be athand it Is time that they view dispassionately the round over which they have traveled to reach the present vantage and determined de-termined upon a plan of campaign for the future It is indeed time for the prohibitionists prohibition-ists to figure up the net resul s of thoir work The AJaine liquor law was enacted en-acted ih 1851 and at frequent intervals ever since the original statute has been amplified and braced up by new clauses and amendments but now after a run of thirtyseren years it does not appear ap-pear to have mined any advantage ground to speak of There may be a few couatry editors and unsophisticated ild ladies who really believe that prohibition pro-hibition has done a great deal towards topping tne sale cf liquor in Maine tit everybody else knows better In Belfast the home of the personal liberty movement liquor has always been easily obtained and it is sold thorn tow despite all the searching and pry ing of two overzealous State constables Occasionally a seller is caught convicted con-victed and fined but just as many drinking people remain and just as many drinks are sold as before A few miles below Belfest is the great Methodisl camp meeting ground of Northport where in summer thousands of people from all over live in cottages and tents The camp meeting itself is held in tiepteiuber but a secondary affair af-fair the place being more given up to picnicKing than praying The Methodists Meth-odists have control of the whole ground and they have more rules than one could shake a stick at for the government = govern-ment of the crowds who visit the place but here en this sancified bit cf the bay shore is where personal liberty flourishes like a large green bay tree Belfast officers go nosing around th grounds in quest of concealed bug juice out they rarely get any Steamers are not allowed to land any wet goo Is but the stuff seems to get there and if all the empty jugs kegs and bottles that accumulate during the summer could be gathered together at the end of the season the array would be imposing enough to give rise to the suspicion that somo one had taken a drink between be-tween prayers The constables did manage to make one bold stroke towards to-wards crushing out the rum power at Northport last season Iney found three young men and a young woman occupying a cottage thereeach of whom had two gallons of whiskey for personal per-sonal use The youn men wire each fined 100 and costs Two of them appealed ap-pealed and gave bonds for farther appearance ap-pearance That was the end of their cases The other young man was unable un-able to give bonds or pay the fine so he got three months in jail The majesty of the law was vindicated to that extent ex-tent o Nothing has been heard from the Bangor State constables since they went fishing but with good luck and increased in-creased vigilance it is thought that they may be able to wrest a keg of bock beer from the flums of the Devils Half Acre by the time the ice goes out |