Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1863-12-31
For the Rutland Herald.
Tho Pre- hibisory Liquor Law.

jeot OF meuding or repeating tho present
liquor law 10 being widely agi,ated. 1t
ASSERTS that the liquor law is q complete
failure-that it cannot be enforced except
in tic country-,hat there never was so
much liquor sold ..s at the present time
that 1t is the opinion of many of the
stanchest friends Of temperance that it
was fatal misstep when the energies of
temperance refirmers were devoted to tho
hopeless work of prohibiting the safe OF
intoxicating liquors.
Time was when the Boston Journal, or
the ssMercantile Journal" as it was then
called, spoke in no such uncertain sounds.
1t was known as temperance paper, and
pasronized as such by hundreds and
probably thousands of the .''stanchest
friends Of temperance" in the country.
When the late Benjamin F. Hallet was
editor of the Anti masonic Advocate he
once said, or wrote tauntingly, in reply
to some remarks of the Journal editor,
"You had better stick to your cold water,
Mr.. Sleeper-politics, you evidently do
not understand" But times change, and
We all change. 1t is by no means a sin
gular circumstance for temperance men,
temperance houses, and temperance papers
10 lose their distinctive character. 1t
does not necessarily follow that they all
become Incorporate. The fact is, the
temperance cause is not money making
affair. The cause of temperance, like
that of true love, never did run smooth,
and we sometimes fear 1t never will
Quondam temperance men, papers and
hotels have somehow withdrawn from pub
lilo gaze. Many OF them have taken
position of neutrality, which is very like
the Kentucky neutrality, all on the rebel
side. We suspect that those "stanch
friends of which the Journal speaks are
like the aUnion mem of Kentucky, who
voted tho no more mon and no more
money ticket.
We happen to know that the liquor
law of Vermont which i, similar to that
Of Massachusetts, and at least as strictly
prohibitory, is not complete failure.
We can point to towns Of two. three and
four thousand inhabitants. in which lianor
selling is, TO say the least, about as I'M
frequent as stealing. With regard to the
question whether it can 10 enforced in
cities, we have only to say let us not
FORGET the admontion which we used to
hear SO often when we were schoolboys,
"Let your motto be I'll try; never say,
Il can't'n. The rebels say the rebellion
never can be put down and all their
sympathizers say, Amen. The lovers Of
law and order in both cases say, "we'll
try" We have heard those who wish to
manufacture, sell and drink rum without
stint, assert that "there never was so
much liquor sold as at the present time"
Those whe make this assertion ought to
"bring forth their strong reasons. "
Nothing Of course but facts and statistics
can settle the question. So far as tenn
perance men can get hold Of the facts,
even in these war times, and compare
them with former years, they show the
contrary. No truly stanch friend Of
temperance believes the assertion to be true.
II is probably true that many of the
temperance reformers" have expected too
much from the prohibitory law. They
have acted as if they expected it would
enforce itself. 1t is not true that they
have devoted any undue energy to the en-
forcement Of tue law. The great trouble
is they have not devoted to it half energy
enough. They ought to have "done"
this thing and at the same time not TO
have left moral suasion ''undone." It's
not true that any considerable number of
temperance men repuiiate the prohibitory
law. The Sons. of Temperance, pretty
s'stanch" men, especially in Massachu-
sets. are without exception, we believe,
in favor Of prohibition, and they have
done more to enforce thu law in those
places whore they have active organiza-
tioas, than all other persons in the same
places. In our last Legislature "stanch
fr,eadn. came forward with license bill
~ = Substitute for prohibition. What
sort Of a reception did it meet with
Why, it was with difficulty It could be
allowed second reading. It was re-
ported again.t BY the Committee and re-
fused athird reading BY an overwhelm-