Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-11-28

from teal stated " lHe NtHttHFt 1oLi
rival town, Rutland, | know has lately
purged itself of the foul demon, and trust
that Burlington will not be found appearing
in un!avora'le contrast.
Respectfully yours,
Benz H. BALDWIN.
The paragraph from the riconderoga Se,r
tine! enclosed by our correspondent, is Is fol
lows:
1--WE will compare the city of Burlington
VT with the city of OGdcnsbnrg, y. y. In
the former city are one hundred and twenty
four places where malt and spirituous liquors
are sold as a Leverage. In Ogdcnsburg there
are twenty-five The population of these
two cities is nearly the same, and the pro
portion of ram shops is nearly five to one
One is under prohibition law; the othei
under well regulated license system. One
represents l2i lawbreakcrs, and the other q
who violate no statute. One represents free
rum and unchecked ruin; the other the gov,
erned sale of intoXicants and less than . pei
cent of rum sold illegally. The arrests fol
drunkenness in one are more than five time:
as many as in the other, and the difference is
in favor of license There are more places
in the State of Vermont where rum can be
obtained than there are places where the nee
essaries of life can be obtained. There are
more arrests in the State for drunkenness
than for any other one crime. "
We have heard this sort of talk before. Ii
would be a sufficient reply to it, to ask how
it happens, If the prohibitory law increases
the sale of liquor as compared with license
system, that the liquor dealers, wholesale
and retail, are universally violently opposed
to prohibition always fighting any move
ment to establish the rrohibitory system
where it docs not exist always trying to
get license system substituted for prohibi
ton wheic the latter las become the law
Nobody knows better than the liquor sellers
that the rIohtitory law, wherever it ha:
anything ike fair trial, greatly restricts the
traffic in aud use Of intoxicating beverages
OF cours: sucl, II law will be frequently
broken, especially in large towns. The law!
against stealing aid murder do not wholly
repross theft and murder; and no law cal
wholly prevent the sale of liquor, but the
prohibitory Law, so-called, remains after oveI
twenty-five Years CT trial, the most effective
legal iacthod Of restricting the traffic i'll il
toxicatirs drinks.
As TO the comparison between Ogtlensburs
and Burlington instituted by the Ticonderog,
paper, We have only to say that it grossly mis-
represents The state Of things in Burlington
Far too much liquor is sold and drank in thi.
city; but We have reached here no stage O.
free rum and unchecked ruin" The salt
of intoxiCants, is, we believe, decreasing
though our population is increasing, anC
we have no doubt that it is much less
in proportion 10 population, than in Og
densburg or any town Of its class il
any license State. We have made some in
quirics Of our police and officers of justice
that partly in consequence of frequent pros
ecutions for selling liquor, and partly as 1
result of the labo:s Of the Reform Clubs ant
temperance organizations, there has beer
during the past year a marked decrease il
the number Of persons who sell liquor TO
greater or less extent, and corresponding
decrease in the sale OF liquor and in tn
amount OF drunkenness There are no oper
bars in this city-no drinking shops, profess
ing 10 he such, 10 tempt the man Of feeble
will and strong appetite by shows of bottles
and signs advertising sppetizing drinks
Perhaps a dozen places, hotels, saloons ant
groceries, have small bars, away from public
view, in back rooms or dark cellars, most o
them protesting to sell only lager beer. bu
doubtless also selling liquor to greater o
less extent. To these arc TO be added doz
en- or twenty persons, keepers of Irish ans
French boarding houses, small grocers, WON
en- with jug of whiskey hidden away in ,
closet or bedroom, etc, who sell some ale tC
their boardcrs and liquor when they dare
Some of these have been so sharply followed
up by the law during the past six month:
that they have forsworn the business. The
arrests for drunkenness in this city, as we are
informed have not averaged two week fol
the past three months. But drunkenness i.
an offence, and drunken men when seen il
our streets, are rs 4 rule arrested. Wher
arrested they have TO tell where they go
their liquor, and 4 prosecution OF the sellei
follows. The law is not a dead letter here
though beyond doubt it might be more rigid
Is enforced.
We do not know much about Ogdensburg
but it is an exception to every other New \ orR
town, if for every one of its twenty-five Ii,
censed bars, there are not two or three Other
places where liquor is sold without license.
DIR. Croshy's Society for the Prevention Of
Crime, we believe, found in the city Of New
York, with its numerous police and strong
interest 10 enforce its license law, no less than
nine thousand unlicensed grocgerics
Doubtless there are fewer arrests for drunk
enncss in OgdensbUrg then here for the sim.
PIE reason that Us Il rule, in New York State,
drunken persons are not arrested unless com
milting violence OF grossly disturbing the
public peace. But there is much more
drinking and drunkenness there than here.
There is no need to follow up the SentnsF.
ni@,lAlcmc'.ts No one who knows any.
thins about Vermont will believe the crazy
or hesolied assertion that there are more
places in our State where ruin is sold than
where the ncct ssarcs OF lie can he obtained
Vermont, thanks largely to ~ prohibitory
law, is MS a whole temperate and orderly
State Travellers through its towns and
rural communities universally testify to the
Sobriety Of its population, and to the disre,
putc into which drinking habits have fallen.
And while there is still work enough for the
fsiurmrr, thr'c j. nothing in any truthful ac
cpu;t II the condition 81 things here rs re
CARDS the liquor traffic, which affords Il
shadow of an argument for return to the
license system.