MAINE. 



459 



country; that the practical effect of the sanetion 

 of our Government to such importation and man- 

 ufacture, at the price of the revenue arising there- 

 from, is to encourage and sustain the traffic in the 

 States ; we therefore believe that it is the duty of 

 Congress to enact measures to restrict such impor- 

 tation and manufacture to the quantity required only 

 for medical, chemical, and scientific purposes. 



6. JktolreJ, That we view with mingled satisfac- 

 tion and delight the harmony existing between all 

 temperance organizations in the State, and among all 

 friends of the cause, which we will aim to foster as 

 an element of immense power, and most hopeful 

 to lead to success. 



7. Itemized, That in making proposed modifica- 

 tions in the prohibitory law, so far as they relate to 

 cider, we deem it important that the legislation shall 

 be so framed as to abolish cider-tippling, as experi- 

 ence shows that cider-tippling shops are injurious in 

 their influence, and almost always serve as a cover 

 for the sale of stronger beverages ; and we believe 

 that legislation to this extent is desired and will re- 

 ceive the support of the people of Maine. 



The working of the prohibitory law in Maine 

 is thus stated by Governor Dingley in his mes- 

 sage to the Legislature of 1874: 



Where our prohibitory laws have been well en- 

 forced, few will deny that they have accomplished 

 great good. In more than three-fourths of the State, 

 especially in the rural portions, where forty years 

 since intoxicating liquors were as freely and com- 

 monly sold as any article of merchandise, public sen- 

 timent has secured such an enforcement of these 

 laws, that there are now in these districts few open 

 bars; and even secret sales are so much reduced 

 as to make drunkenness in the rural towns compara- 

 tively rare. The exceptions to this state of things 

 arc mainly in some of the cities and larger villages, 

 where public sentiment on this question is usually 

 not so well sustained as in towns more remote from 

 the tide of immigration. But even in these places 

 our prohibitory legislation has always been enforced 

 to some extent, and not infrequently with much thor- 

 oughness ; and has never been without that important 

 influence for good which all laws in moral directions 

 exert. 



The question of extending suffrage to women 

 attracted no little attention in the early part 

 of the year. The matter was brought before 

 the Legislature in the form of "legislative 

 hearings." Early in February a State Conven- 

 tion for the formation of a woman's suffrage 

 association assembled in Augusta, and passed 

 resolutions claiming the right of suffrage for 

 the women of Maine, " and the power to exer- 

 cise that right upon the Same terms by which 

 it is exercised by men ; " appealing to the 

 Legislature for an amendment to the constitu- 

 tion securing the right of suffrage to citizens 

 without distinction of sex ; and declaring : 



That this society pledges itself, here and now, 

 member to member, to pursue the work we have to- 

 day undertaken, with unabated and undeviating 

 fidelity, until the women of the State of Maine shall 

 have the ballot, in as sure possession as do the men 

 of this State. 



The Democratic State Convention assembled 

 in Portland, August 12th, and was attended 

 by 477 delegates. Joseph Titoomb, of Kenne- 

 bnnk, was chosen as the candidate for Gov- 

 ernor. The following resolutions, which were 

 nnanimonsly adopted, are substantially the 

 game as those adopted by the Ohio Democratic 



Convention, which was held in Columbus, 

 July 30, 1873 : 



Seeohed, That the Democratic party seeks to re- 

 vive no dead issues, but stands by its principles, 

 which are suited to all times and circumstances ; sup- 

 ports the Federal Government in all constitutional 

 authority, and regards at this day, as Jefferson did 

 in his day, the true province of a republican Gov- 

 ernment to be the protection of rights and not of in- 

 terests ; supports the Federal Government and con- 

 stitutional authority, and defends the reserved rights 

 of the State and people, and opposes the centraliza- 

 . tion that would impair or destroy them. In order to 

 preserve and maintain these rights, it insists upon a 

 strict construction of the Federal Constitution. It 

 resists all attempts of one department of the Govern- 

 ment to usurp or destroy the constitutional rights or 

 independence of other departments, as the Executive 

 and Legislative Departments, under the rule, has 

 done in overslaughing the honest opinions of the 

 Supreme Court of the United States, by increasing 

 their numbers, and the appointment of new judges, 

 who are subservient to the Executive and Legislative 

 will. 



It opposes all interference with private affairs, or 

 the business of men. not required by the public 

 safety, as is odiously illustrated in the enactment of 

 the existing bankrupt law of the United States, and 

 advocates the greatest individual liberty consistent 

 with public order. It believes in the capacity of the 

 people for self-government, and opposes all property 

 qualifications as conditions to the rights of suffrage 

 or eligibility to hold office ; it favors a liberal law for 

 the naturalization of foreigners ; it insists upon equal 

 and exact justice to all men ; it opposes all monopo- 

 lies, and denies that it is within the province of the 

 Government to legislate for the benefit of particular 

 classes at the expense and to the detriment of the 

 rest of the community. It therefore opposes the 

 system by which a large portion of the profit-produ- 

 cing wealth of the country is exempted from taxation, 

 and demands that constitutional means be used to 

 remedy this injustice. It insists that the tariff laws 

 should be formed with a view to revenue, and not to 

 tax the community for the benefit of particular in- 

 dustries, and holds that the nearer approximation 

 that can be made to universal free trade the greater 

 will be the advantage of the Federal Government to 

 the people of Maine. 



It recognizes the evils of an irredeemable currency, 

 and insists on the substitution of a banking system 

 that shall not cost the people a higher percentage 

 to create a currency in a few hands, to loan at their 

 own prices to the industrial masses, than any other 

 people pay for money loans wherewith to unfold 

 their enterprises and compensate the labors of the 

 nation. It recognizes the evils of an irredeemable 

 currency, but insists that in the return to specie pay- 

 ments care must be taken not to seriously disturb 

 the business of the country or unjustly injure the 

 debtor class. It appreciates the benefit conferred 

 by railroads, but opposes all unjust combinations of 

 railroad companies to prevent competition, and thus 

 enhance the cost of transportation ; and is opposed 

 to all legislation that places them or any corporations 

 beyond the jurisdiction of the people through their 

 Legislatures. It opposes all laws that give capital 

 any advantages over labor. 



It requires honesty and economy in every depart- 

 ment or the Government, Federal or State, and con- 

 demns corruption, whoever may be the guilty par- 

 ties. It is in its very nature, and as a necessary 

 result of its principles, a party of progress, and sup- 

 ports all measures ofreform or improvement that are 

 sanctioned by justice and commended by sound prac- 

 tical wisdom. 



Jfttolved, That the wealth of the country is the 

 product of its labor, and the best use of capital is 

 that which gives employment and liberal wages to 

 the producing classes. Hence every just measure 





