Alice May Douglas 1865-1943

In 1888, Alice May Douglas was a 23-year-old Bath resident and a member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) youth group, also known as the “Y’s”. That year, The Bath Independent newspaper published her essay, “Cider and Cigars”.  Although the paper had previously published several of Douglas’s poems, this was her first journalistic essay. She went on to become a noted writer for the WCTU’s Department of Peace and Arbitration and other national publications.

In 1851, Maine led the nation by passing a state law (that was known nationally as “The Maine Law”) prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. This law remained in effect until 1934, when the federal prohibition law was repealed.    

2. Temperance Stories and Sketches Click to enlarge the image above and see a visual representation of moral decline supposedly induced by cider and cigars. From an 1879 work for young readers by Edward Carswell,

  3. The Bath Independent, October 1897 Did Alice May’s 1888 observations and opinions have an impact? This article (published 9 years later) in The Bath Independent offers a perspective.