Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-07-06

which the control OF the liquor traffic pre-
sents to the society, help from any quarter Is
welcome. Ii, too, instead oi deductions
drawn by Il PRIOR reasoning from w"ll-settled
principles, which. to be sure, are valuable.
aid comes in the more Tangible form of re-
suits derived from actual trml. faithfully car
ricd on 10y competent cNpcrimenters amt
honestly reported, IT Is douhly welcome. II
is this sort of AID which is now offered for
our consideration, and which though com
paratively insignificant in quantity is OF "a
character to make ii exceedingly helpful I"
MS in determining the proper method of deal
ing with the sale of intoxicating liquors.
In the germ here presented We hope thcrc
may be found the promise and potency al
Il complete plan Tor the socml htndlnSnl tue
temperance question.
Brattleboro's method for ii Is ni tins
beautiful Vermont village that We write Is
the very practical one of attempting no more
than can Ice accomplished. The authorities
OF the village do not aim n, making 1t tenn
perance village specially. lh9y say tlmt
with tho temperance question ms SUCH they
us officers have nothing to do. any more.
for instance. than they have with religion or
education. They claim, however. that ~ lar
as the habit of intemPernuce iuterieres with
the good order of their village they have
great deal to do with it, 1t is their business,
they hold, to preserve order, and when
drink" disturbs order, they Will disturb
drink" So far, then, there is a warfare he
tween the village authorities and the liquor
sellers; but the former MAINTAIN that the
board of bailiflS is not temperance society;
they therefore decline TO use the extreme
mower of the law believing that in this way
they obtain better results than in any other.
The facts seem to bear them ont IN their
60 har ,ia he
lagc Of Brattleboro the luietest yillcge IN all
New England. Their method Of securing
this result il MS follows:
Under tho law every case of drunkenness
is capable of producing four distinct prose
cutions one against the drunken man and
three against the seller. The three against
the seller are first, n prosecution for the act
of selling the liquor second, one for the
keeping it with intent TO sell; and. third, one
for the search and seizure and contiscatlon
of liquor if found. 1t is the last two prose-
cutions which the Brattleboro authorities de-
cline to bring, but which are brought every
| where else where the enforcement OF the law
is attempted.
To detail particular case, that the prae-
teal working of this plan may be more clear
IL seen: is found in the streets intoxica-
| ted, and because of such intoXication dis
turber of the peace. lie is arrested and
sent to the lookup When sober enough to
be examined he is brought before magis-
| trate and fined five dollars and costs. In de-
| fault of ravment, he is committed TO the
| county Jail. and stands committed until the
fine is paid. During his examination, he Is
compelled, under the law, to disclose where
| he obtained his liquor. (The law Is impefa-
tive on this point; the magistrate must IN
duire and the accused must tell where he
procured it, The hquor-seller is then ar
| rested and if the otfense is proved, he Is
| fined ten dollars and costs. 1t frequently
| happens where the case If an aggreved one,
| that more than one offense is charged against
| the seller in the same prosecution. In such
A case the fine may be for several offenses-
ten dollars for each according to the rulings
of the magistrate and the pleasure OF the
prosecuting officers. At these trials for the
| sale of huuor- here is another feature OF
| the Brattleboro plan-one or more OF the
village bailiffs are present, not as prosecu-
| ting officers, but i'll the interest OF law and
order. No statute compels their attendance,
| no custom even; but sense of the RESPONSE
| hilities of their position incites them to see
it, that the law is effectually put in force, so
far as it is necessary to preserve the peace
| Public opinion requires this of them. The
offender, too, is more sensibly confronted
|
| of an official of this character than lie is by
constable, grand juror, or village policeman.
| The effect of such attendance by the bGilifis
is very marked Here the prosecution ends;
the two further cases in which the seller may
be involved are not brought, ard he knows
| that they will not he. Consequently he
| PAYS his fine and keeps on selling as before,
| but he is very careful TO whom he sells. lie
keeps an orderly house, well knowing that if
he is caught again the penalties will be heay-
| Ter. Furthermore, he ID well aware that
what has been done to him has not been done
out of anv spirit of revenge, nor from what
| he is very likely to look upon as spirit of
fanaticism. 1t has not been done by the
Temperance people, as such, at ALL IN TACT,
| the very persons who perhaps have been
most active in Furnishing him have not I'M
frequently, it may be, hob-nobbed with him
at his own bar. So he knows very well that
what has been done has been done by society.
represented by the officers of the body polite
| of which he is a member; and that public
! opinion has compelled these officers 10 do
| it for the preservation of that society. de
| takes n common-sense view OF the case, and
while he feels that he has been severely dealt
| with. he knows that he has not been unIustly
dealt with. The logic of the whole proceed
ing is very clear to his mind. He therefore
submits with good grace, and tries to do
| better in the future.
II is altogether likely that were the sent;-
ment of the community in favor OF the full
prosecution of the law so As to drive him ont
of business entirely, he would be equally
| philosophical and submit to the inevitable
Just rs gracefully; but so long as he knows
that il is not, he wars against the extreme
| penalties. Herein consists the gst OF the
IL 10 IN -
quirements of public sentiment and there 1t
| stops. 1t can only go farther by the demand
OF public sentiment for an advance. II Is
SUCH q nicely adjusted system too, tha. 1t can
follow last As fast as public sentiment leads.
The friends Of temperance have the matter
| entirely in their own hands under such sys-
| ten. They have only to educate the public
| ND TO total prohibition, and under the Brat
tleboro system this final result il accom-
plished. 1t only falls short of total prohibi-
ton, because such prohibition is not de
manded by the community. That being the
case the liuuor-seller, when he finds the pro-
hibitionists going beyond the demands OF
| public sentiment, or what he believes it to
| he. which amounts to the same thing with
| him, and bringing against him the two re-
naming prosecutions which are possible I'M
der the law, is in Il totally different frame of
| mind from that of the seller convicted under
the Brattleboro plan. He considers these
men his natural enemies, and also the enc
mics of society itself and, therefore when
they begin Il warfare upon him. all his COM
bativeness is aroused. He resorts to all the
methods known to the law to thwarr his per-
secntors- for such he deems them. He HIDES
his liquors from them, plays tricks on them
with colored water, and ill-smelling and ILL.,
tasting liquids. gets them INTO traps, where
they fall into cellar ways and pitfalls: has
dozen different aliases under which he car
ries on his illegal traffic, so that the writs IN
the case are, ten to one, made ont against
the wrong party; and if actually caught ut
last in the meshes of the law, cuts its mani
fold Gordon knots by deliberate lying and
downright perjury. In such All event, he
and his cloud Of witnesses will lie the case
through to the end as uncornedly AS they
would take cigar. They think 1t no sin to
use any means to,circumvent such hypocrites
and public enemies AS they conceive the pro-
hibi,ionists ia be- Fight the devil with
fire. is their motto, and they act up to 1t.
They invent opprobrious eplthets for their
opponents, calling them ''ramrods. ''radi-
calls, and other derisive names to bring
them into disrepute among the people. 1t
never occurs to them that the temperance
people are often actuated 10y the very highest
liquors. 1t is not the least argument against
the whole system of prohibition and one on
which all good citizens should deeply ponder
that it furnishes such opportunities for de
ception and lying and perjury, and that the
opportunities are so largely improved. There
some things worse than lntemperance,
and these nre among them. 4 police court
whore the causes are constantly won by per
sistent perjury and systematic fraud Ii an IN
stitution more demorliIing to community
than an open bar. The remedy here is clear
~ worse than the disease. This state of
things the Brnttlehoro method aE"lds.
Another marked feature OF the plan Is the
adherence to the well-known principle that
IT Is easier to execute the provisions of II
prohihitory law through the regular officers
of the law than through amy special officers
designated for that purpose. In some places
III the STATE. special constailcs (wh". how
ever, serve processes III other cases. are APP