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

ever. have tin, same right To- carry ON tins |
prosecution that W. have, You are not dcimr- |
red from further action hccnus" "" decline |
1t. You can 20 on with tins work where We |
leave oil IT you choose We think We are |
warranted 10y public opinion N stopping |
where we do, II you think y"u can 30 iurthcr |
with 1t, Won are welcome to proceed. W. shall !
not hinder Won. and. more than this, You can
list all the evidence We have obtained thus |
lar; We shall make no attempt I" influence
witnesses, OF to ohstruct you IN any manner |
in Your further prosecution OF tins work.
Thus the matter stands ut present
Huttlcboro bad been through with that |
experience of the New England communl- |
ties in attempting the suppression OF the |
liquor traffic common to most Villages and |
large towns where prohibition is adopted as
the policy of the law. Its temperance people |
had tried the usual methods OF liquor soiI- |
urcs, of arrests for keeping liquors with m
tent to sell, and of general warfare against |
the traffic, and with the usual result. The
sale was diminished for a time il always Is
during thee,. sporadic attempts to suppress
the sale The hopes Of the temperance PEG
pie are consequently elatcd; til" rigor of the
prosecution is relaxed. the old ways are
gradually resumed; and 10y and 10y matters
resume their wonted condition. In such n
state of things. the sale of liquor is partially
free; there is no restraint upon IT whatever,
ever body who cares to sell 1t, sells IT. keep
ing an eye ont, however, for possible raid,
for i'll the deepest calm the hquorseller
knows there may he 3 storm brewing. lie
knows that i'll selling liquor at all he is u law
breaker, and that at any time he may be
called to account This makes him cautious
in the display OF his goods; but he keeps
them on hand nevertheless, and in sufficient
quantities for his thirsty customers. 1t is
this sort of an experience which has been
chiefly instrumental III leading Brattleboro
TO adopt the new method OF stopping the in
discriminate sale usual in towns where the
enforcement of the law is intermittent.
The writer's individual experience in ct
tempting to enforce tie Vermont prohibltory
law is in point here, rs illustrating what
takes place always when public opinion Is
not equal TO its execution. 1t occurred IN
little country town on the top of the Green
Mountain range. where ne lived for many
years. Here, though the general sentiment
was against the law, a few were in favor OF it,
and the representatives, in the legislature
generally for political reasons doubtess)
voted to keep it on the statute book. But,
though public opinion was strongly against
it, occasional attempts were made to execute
it, Yet there has never been fine paid by
n liquor-seller in that town, though the law
has been in existence more than quarter of
a century, and the town has never in that
time been without at least half-a-doZen places
where liquor was sold openly. 1t is cont
monty said by the advocates of prohibition
that few determined men in any town can
insure the enforcement of the law: but IN
this town the few determined men could not
be found. After repeated failures to put 4
stop to liquor-selling 10y a resort TO the law,
Ill a,,fO inf nj, Al
until an event happened which awakened the
people to the evils of the free and unre-
strained sale of liquor. farmer from
neighboring town came up the mountain with
| his team for Il load of lumber. lie loaded
himself up so heavily at the numerous es-
Establishments on his way up and while there,
that he was unable successfully to guide his
horses with his double load on the way down.
The consequence was that he rolled Oft his
wagon, and the wagon rolled down the
mountain, over him and over his horses,
scattering the lumber in all directions, and
ending in a general wreck. The farmer was
picked up for dead, but it was soon found
that he was not killed, though he was seri-
" injured But the disaster and its cause
were the town talk for many days. There
WAS storm Of Indignation against the Il
quor-sellers.- fire along the whole line.
The writer had seen many such scenes.
though none 80 exciting, and he waited
quietly for some one to move in the imatter.
And the people did move; complaint, nu-
merously signed, was made out and present.
ed to a grand juror-tne proper oiiicial-ask-
ing him to prosecute. lie declined or ne
elected to do so, and 1t was ut once decided
to go to the states attorney, also proper
official and of a higher grade. Now here
came in the peculiar phase of things which
is always more or less apparent under the old
method of executing the law where public
opinion is against 1t. The excitement be-
gan to subside; tho hquor-sellcrs began To-
put in plea of exteuuating circumstances
some stoutly denying any sale, and others
admitting drink or two: hut all were so
very innocent of all intent of wrong-doing,
and so sincerely regretiul at what had oc
Cured, that the prosecutors began To WAIVER.
1t was their neighbors and friends whom they
were about to make criminals before the law,
and for doing only IN Il greater degree that
which they had often done i'll It less in their
own behalf many of the prosecutors
were drinking men themselves. The law
makes il the privilege of every citizen to be
come prosecutor-a meddler as 1t Is con
sidered i'll many communities, and So III this
Each man, therefore, said to himself finally.
at is not my business, any more than 1t is
that of any one else. to complain "t MIR.
Brown and Mr. Jones and Mr.. Smith Tor sell
ing this farmer liquor | shall only make
enemies Of these men, anu do no good any
way. They will sell again if We do fine them
now; il will not stop them, | Will have moth
ing to do with II" So the prosecution was
abandoned and the writer was left alone.
Undes the Brattleboao method, however, the
case is different. The officers of the law
take up the matter and press ii to II conclu-
sion. They fine the drunken man tor getting
drunk proceeding we had not thought OF
and then fine the sellers, and stop there,
and the community bears them out IN 1t.
1t should not be inferred that in all the
back towns of Vermont the attempts to en-
fore the liquor laws are AS abortiye as the one
described In many Of the smaller towns no
LIQUOR is sold at all. and the public sentiment
will not permit any selling, the law Is strict
" enforced. At least, II Is so stated by the
prohibitionists, and they are probably cor
rect, though the writer cannot fro;L personal
experience vouch for the truth OF any such
statements We Frequently have statements
from Vermont that the law is generally en-
forced here, and clergymen and Judges and
governors are occasionally invoked TO prove
the diminutiOn of crime in consequence of
such enforcement. 1t should be remembered
that these classes OF persons do not come in
social and business contact with that ee
rnent OF society which contains criminals and
drunkards to SO great an extent us the rest of
us, and their testimony of course given
with the best OF motives must he weighed
accordingly.
Another feature of the Brattlehoro plan is
the closing of all the saloons and hotel bars
on Sundays and on any other occasion when
in the Judgment of the village authorities
they should be closed. At the Soldiers Re-
union held there III the summer OF 1870, the
places where liquors were kept for sale were
closed at siN o'clock every evening, by order
OF the bailiifs. There WAS no exception 10
this rule no seller daring to defy this authori
ty which he well knew was the authority of
public sentiment 1t is moi to he supposed
however, that there was, on that account. II
total cessation of hquur-drinking during
those evenings of soldIerly reunion.
But there was no such wholesale rum
drinking at Bruttleboro as the writer was
witness of on another occasion OF like char
acter. and for this the Brattleboro method
should have credit. On the occasion alluded
to. one liuuor-s.llcr stated that during one
evening from p. III till about II. m, his
sales amounted 10 lover three hundred dol
lars, and in that time he sold only siN gHl-
Ions of liquors; the rest was water; to the
sale of which on Temperance grounds there
could be no objection.
The device Of the good people OF Gothen-
burg in Sweden for the restriction of the IL
Juor traffic If verify of notice here Full
details OF IT will Ice found IN the "loud"n
Quarterly Review" for octyrr, $50. 1t
seems that the evils OF the indiscrminate
sale of Intoxicating liquors were iclt there I"
such n degree .that the better class OF citi-
gems took up the matter with II deternlna-
iion 10 stop such sale. They accordingly
formed company, consisting OF the wealth
lest md wurthiest of the town. for the pun
pose of controlling the sale of liquors. Tins
company under the hws of Sweden which
must he peculiar to allow such ia transaction
purchased all the liquors needed for con
sumption in the town They allowed none
but their own employees or persons authorl'-
ed 10y the company to sell hHn"r' ana All inc
huuors sold must bc procured of the COM
many. A further condition the most I'M.
nortunt and singular proceeding IN the whole