Bradford opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1874-1881, 1879-08-09

efforts Of Dr. CLARK aud other temperance
workers, action was commenced against job
Clement ssloonlst. which resulted In tho tln.
Ing Of Clement. L. ID. Kelley also sufsrod
tho consequences incident to complaint for
drunkenness eight years since. At tho instiaa,
ton OF Rev.J L. Williams, pastor of tho Con.
gregational church, tho ladies' of the town cir.
culatsd and slgned q petition, praying the au-
thorlties ut Chelsea to enforce tho Prohiba.
tory Liquor Law. There was at this time n
general prevalence Of intempsrance but the
melting cause to action was that on tho way
nome nom religious meeting, several quito
young lads were discovered upon the street
In ~ beSstly state of intoxication. The moth.
ers hearts took alarm, they visited their d MS
tor anu desired his advice. lilo thinking the
eject could not fail to be beneficial, coun.
SEIZED them to circulate aud sign petition to
the county officers, blank tor which he fur.
nished. To pave the way he also preached
o temperance sermon. More than two hun.
drod ladies' signed their names to this peti.
ton. On its advent at Chelsea the county
grand juror from this town gets the credit of
representing "the petition as of no weight.
signed by feeble women and irresponsible per
sons" Be this as it may no action was taken
to the great disappointment and grief of the
signo~. Two years ago J. Gerry was fine d
for illegally selling beer and cider. Several
renchmcn have suffered tho consequences of
breaking the peace. Some young men from
Topsham were summarily dealt with last fall
during the Agricultural Fair. 1t is not claim.
cd that these are all the efforts made during
this time to enforce tho Prohibitory Law. I'd
moro complete statement would we think.
show yet more clearly that it has been
Through the exertions of o few individuals
EdainIy ta5hef than any action Of tho "powsrs
that be" by which anything has been accom-
plished in the way of supprcssing intemper-
ance. The only concerted movements being
that the women and the movement lately
inaugurated.
we make no accusation against the town
oifcers we neither assert that they could not,
nor that they would not. but we do assert
that they did not enforce the Prohibitory
Liquor Law. Having from the first organic
alton of the reform club, the three years of
Its existence, been nearly all tho time upon
Its ex-com. and laboring to tho best of our
ability to induce, by moral suasion, the in
ebriate to leave off his cups, the young men
to sign the pledge and keep it, being aware
that many who had signed that pledge in good
faith had broken it, and the reason being di-
rectly traceable to the unlawful sale of intox-
tcatlng drink, the most detrimental in its al
Turing effects upon the young men, we con
sidered to beer and cider, drink having sent
several men into untimely graves the past
winter, and post mortem examination upon
one of them revealing what cider will do, al
80 considering our responsibility to God fol
the manner in which we carried out our pledge
and having made solemn promise to the
wives and mothers of those unfortunate VIC
Tins Of appetite if our lives were prolonged,
to specified time, we resolved to make an
honest and impartial effort in another direc-
ton. Believing then as we do now and have
since the first organization Of the reform club,
that public sentiment outside of the political
rings would sustain the enforcement of the
Prohibitory Law, which belief will shortly be
sh own to be correct, to the satisfaction of all
concerned. What the town authorities ha
done in the past or rather what they had not
done, and the fate of the ladies' petition, clear
~ showed us two things. 1st That no move
ment at that time by town officers was likely
to be etfectual. End, That a petition to Vt.
court Of justice, no matter how well conceiv.
ed, no matter to what inspiring motives it |
was to be attri buted, signed by women was
worth the paper on which it was written.
Having had reason to suspect that county Of |
fcers might be human, and might hesitate to |
discharge their duty on the representation of
Q few interested persons and knowing that
ocular evidence would be easily obtainable,
only legal voters were invited to afix their
names to our petition. 1t was first presented
to tho leading men, whom we sought in their
homes, at their oounting.rooms, their offices,
their workshops, upon their farms and By
the wayside. Ut the 1919 signatures to this
petition, IS Of them we solicited and secured
In every case we allow them to read or read
to them the full text in distinct and au.
dible voice. Two men after we had read three
or four lines caught the import Of the re-
~" ~ 'oN ""."o' WIZ. 'ne 10
'naiA 'n"'S r'gne iaaies' 70 auead' ouf
experience was that the majority were very
careful las they ought to beg what they sign
ed, they questioned us closely and all who in
quired were informed of the disposition we
proposed to make of the petition,
rsrs,,o,,v d,d uo th,nL !. an, d,.v - ,,c,-,
tho TO- oesc;o,. snd 90 r.odw e. -sn..t .ha oon
vor...;on hod ,r,,h thor, ,aI.r soi;a;t;na .ha,r
sT M,
aS.,'a 49, -. "s.s' $500 -,
.;.;as :. ~ -. .s wv S
s,,aaaiS,. .,a,.a.s. 80 ~, 80 ...,s.,-
s.;..s,,Sa s " '.o.' o's .uu
-, $500 's s,. - W. .n 1891 .... WV
po.sOn ."en.y po'.on' WV U''.ai s,.0 u'' "a
~ sny "l'' n.s ~. .Son'0N W 'n0m' W .a.s
spoA us Ia. ~ wv. n"n'' YOU 10 s.-oAon
.,om ~ poa.Vn' 'noy n'.1 ~ la, s~ . "n'
'iiey nayo NY w ooutasu ss'uu' auo ..a' 'noy
"sy no ionsei W vompe,iee ~ '0 'e0n'ineu WIN
movement IN wnlcn tney nave no sympathy
tneir names Small 'ortn"'h 10 pucl'sneu LII o''ner
or DOM op'n'on ~ 'ncy nay uesisna'o' on 'no
other mana there are any men Oh SOUND mind VINO
were notiound wnen inc petition was circuiaeed
or any who nave had an accession 70 thelr couras o.
they can nave the privilege OF showing their color
ny adding ther mans 10 inc long iist Oh noole ana
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