The Portland daily press., 1869-01-27
a Terrestrial Earadise-RssEltso of
Liuuor Prohfhisiou.
From the Now York Tribune

kAAS-- t~~S ~NSW 4VEh AAAS~S'I
Ihe thriving young community known as
Vineiand in West Jersey was founded on two
fundamental principles: l. That no land should
be sold except in small tracts to actual set
lers, under stipulations which oblige the pur-
ehasers to enter at once upon its improvement;
z. That there shall be no grog shop, lagar-6eer
saloon, or other place licenced or permittes 10
sell alcoholic liquors, unless the people, az "a .
regular election, shall otherwise decree Nas
they never do nor will) The set tisne. .o 70
now some twelve years old, and mas hD't .on
thousand inbabitants-all OF tneni' W. sonie
half dozen families, emigranls III inouerate
circumstances, including widows with young
children, and the usual proportion of disabled
or infirm persons. Aside from the founder, Mr.
G. K. Lands, we believe no one of them could
be considered rich, and not twenty would be
termed fore handed" in New England
Most of them live by tilling the soil, which is a
part OF the well known Jersey barrens," for
merly devoted to the production of charcoal,
anu covered, from time immemorial, with a
snln growth mainly of stunted pitch pines and
Stud oaks. Naturally, many were utterly
without experience in agriculture, and net
well adapted to the new career on which they
entered late in life. Surely, il there should be
pauperism anywhere, we might reasonably ex-
pect 1t to be developed among the pioneers OF
Vlne'and, many of whom brought no more
means than sufficed to pay for their land, and
had to clear, build, fertlize, and plant, from
the proceeds of their daily labor. Yet the
Overseer of the Poor, Mr.. 7. G. Curtis) re-
ports as follows:
Though we have population of 10000 peo-
pie. for the period of six months no settler or
citizen of Vineland has required relief at
my hands as Overseer of the Poor Within
20 days, there has been one case among what
we call the floating population, at an expense
of a.
During the entire year, there has only been
one Indictment, and that trifiiDg case OF as
lfld hnf fnrn a.
ton.
So few are the fires in Vineland that we
have no need of a Fire Department. There
has only been one house burnt down in a year
and two slight fires, which were soon put out.
We practically have no debt, and our taxes
are only one per cent. on the valuation.
The Police expenses of Vineland amount to
$75 per year, the sum paid to me; and our
poor expenses a mere trifie.
ascribo this remrakableistate of things, so
nearly approaching the golden age, to the in
dustry of our people and the absence of King
Alcohol.
Let me give you, in coatrast to this, the state
of things ia the town from which L came, in
New England. The population of the town
was 9,500-a little less than that of Vineland.
1t maintained forty liquor shops. These kept
busy police judge, city marshal, assistant
marshal. four night watchmen, six policemen.
Fires were almost continual. That small
place maintained paid fire department ct
four companies, of 40 men each, at an expense
of $4,000 per annum. 1 belonged to this de-
partment for six years, and the fires averaged
about one every two weeks. and mostly incen-
diary. The support of the poor cost So, 500 per
annum. The debt of the township was $120.-
900. The condition of things in this New
England town is as favorable in that country
as that of many other places where liquor is
Sold"
We challenge those journals which uphold
these facts before their readers and then argue
them down If they can.