Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-04-09

ried on II be well lighted, roomy, airy, and
clean. w. Good victuals, at moderate
prices, to be always procurable in drinking
houses by any body demanding them
This plan is said to have worked well in
Gothenburg to have considerably restrict
ed the consumption of liquors, the company
having greatly raised the retail prices at
which they are sold to have correspond
ingly reduced drunkenness and crime and
to have lessened the cases of delirium ire
mems in that city By one third.
1t will occur TO most American readers,
we fancy. that there will be some serious diff
fcnlties about this plan, if adopted in this
country 1t is not every city and town in the
United States in which the absolute con-
troll Of the liquor traffic could be placed or
kept in the hands Of company OF high
minded men, willing to invest the necessary
capital, supply the stocks of liquor, run
number of public bars, saloons and gro
ceries and lay over all the profits to the city
treasury Such power as the control OF
the liquor traffic of any considerable place,
with the absolute authority to fix prices and
to license more Of fewer places of sale, would
become inevitably an element in party and
municipal politics. And, in nine cases out
Of ten, it would be secured by men who
would put two dollars into their own peck
cts for every one they put into the public
treasury who would make still more out Of
the political power which they would secure,
in securing control OF the whiskey Of the
city and who, instead Of having no tempt
alton to stimulate consumption of Liquors,
would have every temptation to sell the most
liquor at the prices which would bring the
most profit.
1t is hardly necessary to point out the
fact tina; the prHaple Of plan which con-
fines the traffic to a single company IS not
different from that which confines the le-
gal traffic to single agency in each
town, as in Vermont or to note the con
-idcration that a plan which lets the rich
man have all he wants, while the poor man
is denied his dram by the high price at which
it is sold, is not likely to be popular with
the class that control the politics Of so many
American cities
Some of these things, Of course, have &C
CURED to as thoughtful man as Mr.. Weed
en- lie thinks it would not do to start ut
/ least with the pressure Of close mono
poly" lie would be careful about limiting
consumption by exorbitant prices. In fine,
| his plan would seem to be not the Gothen-
burg system at all 1t is merely to - open
a restaurant with liquor license, Tor every
one thousand inhabitants in 4 town, and to
grant srocers' OF package license for every
three or four thousand people. with,w sup
pose, some raising of the price Of drinks,
and some provision Cor preventing any profit
TO tie reta.ler,-the whole apparently to be
under the infringement OF 81 the wise men,
the strong men Of affairs, the administrative
men in any community, who INST " take
hold and carry the principle into success
ldl operation This is pretty vague Not
the lea~; omission Is the absence OF any pro
vision ilI preventing tie unlicensed traffic.
Thi, eau perhaps he prevented in the mon
archy OF Sweden, but it has never been pre-
vented 10 any State in this country and,
without some new discovery in legislation,
it is not likely To Doe prevented in any place
which woail not enforce a prohibitory law
ON tie whole We cannot zee that the
Gotheubur- plan. or Mr. " eedens plan,
would Doe likely to f.o,e superior to our Yer
mont 80 called " Prohibtory Law, which
doy~ u.t interfere with the rights or the
pleasure of the individual, save as he may
be Ii.huuliy required to subordinate them
! to the safety and welfare 81 the community
which take, effect within no man. castle,
unless be la, made OF it IN effect public
house which does not undertake TO rega-
late any mans private habits which re
strict- the Use ot liquors. by restricting the
trait. at the point where it has relations 10
the order OF society and j. 2 proper subject
oflegislation which may be made and IS
made in practice, what the community
choo,e To have 1t in some places more,
and in others les effective everywhere,
where at all regarded, tending to make
drinking and drinking places disreputahle
to drive the bars out OF sight to remove
temptation irom The weak AMI to as-i-;
the moral effort for temperance. which it
>hoald not be allowed to -upereede.
We do not clain for it perfection. We
can see points in which it might be
modified, with probable good effect but,
till something clearly likely to be better Is
presented, and by parties whose tastes.
habits ami associations do no. lead them to
favor ireer rum, it viii he apt To stand, in
this State.