Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-11-03
PROHIBITION or LIcENsEl
A Confederation Of Certain Arguments
Used by che Advocates OF License.

A Confederation Of Certain Arguments
Used by the Advocates OF License.
EXTRACT FROM AN ADDRESS DELIVERED IN
PUTNEY, OCT %, ny REV. +. II. KNIGHT
Published by request Of Putney citzensl
There are phases Of this matter which ap-
peal 20 us, not alone as church members, but
as citizens and this brings us at once to a
consideration Of the question Of law. Now,
as between prohibitory and license law, it
seems to mo there is but one choice for truly
temperance man to make and as far as am
personally concerned ! should vote for prohi-
btion at all times and under all circumstances
And I will tell you why.
In the first place, it is said that prohibition
doesn't prohibit. Very well; there's q law
against stealing yet mon steal, and there's
great deal of stealing done. l presume that
I've had quite number of articles stolen from
me, but that doesn't make me any more in
clined to license men to keep right on stealing.
Every man knows that il law direct and Sc
we're won't prevent q crime, then certainly a
law less direct and severe won't prevent it.
Prohibition doesn't prohibit, you say. The
very idea of license law is not 10 prohibit
and how a license law, with conditions and
restrictions however strict can, with the same
people and the same degree Of sentiment, be
more efficient than law, which, although
more severe, requires just the Same degree of
sentiment to enforce it, is beyond my com
prehension In short, license law doesn't
prohibit-never did-nevor will and, mas
much as prohibition is what we are after, we
never ought deliberately to vote for or favor
that which makes prohibition impossible
Another plea which men who favor license
make is that there is a considerable revenue to
be derived from the sale of licenses. Well,
that is true we cannot dispute it, There
does seem to be something gained in this di-
rection. But probably if a man in this place
or any other should pay thousand dollars for
license, he would intend to get that thous-
and dollars back again, and, ns is almost uni
versally the case, the consumer would have to
pay tho bill ; and in my opinion he pays too
much for his enemy now. More than this, /
believe that every dollar of such ill-gotten
gains to the government is blood-money, and
as God is Just, believe there will be fear
full harvest by -and.by from such sowing; and
don't want my garments stained with the
blood Of any man whom l have licensed a
rumseller to ruin. That is ono reason why
don't favor license law.
Another reason for the position l take is
that don't like the company / should be
obliged to associate with if l favored license
The recent victories in the West-and glorious
victories they've been have disturbed the
large distillers, and in their desperation we
find them forming protective unions and Civ
ing out their views and plans to the general
public. Have you noticed, that, while they
exhaust their vocabularies to fnd epitheti bad
enough to heap upon prohibition, almost with
out exception they favor a high license Now,
why do they favor license because they
know that while successful prohibition would
destroy their business, it could thrive and
prosper under the strictost license law that
was ever known. They are not temperance
men by any means, and, Of what they consid-
er to be two evils, they would fain choose the
less. More ihan this as a rule, wherever you
find man that is slippery upon this subject,
wherever you hud one who wants to serve
both God and Mammon in this dreotion-one
to the soundness of his Temperance principles
you will find that man leaning towards Ii.
cense every time. On the other hand, the
most Jealous temperance men we have-the
best informed, the most intclligent-agrce
unanimously that prohibition is the only way
out Of the difficulty. Between these two,
am not disposed to choose the company Of dis
tllers, moderate drinkers and men who don't
know what they are. | don't like the compa-
ny should have to associate with if l favored
license
Again If you license a man to sell rum,
you make the business respectable. 1t has
the sanction of the law, and the whole power
of the government at its back to protect it.
You make it right as far as human legislation
can make anything right, to engage in the
business and if it is right to engage in the
business at all, it is right for the dealer to
make every lawful effort to increase his sales.
How does the dealer in fruit manage? He
endeavors to place such a display of his goods
in the window, or where the public can see
them that the hungry traveller as he pass
es by, cannot help buying something. And
this is just what the rumseller has a right to
do under license law. 1t may be dark and
dull outside his doors 1t is bright and warm
inside. You may have noticed-I have-how
rich and beautiful the poisons look in the pol
ished glasses; how afTabe and social the
clerks are; how every appeal possible is made
to the eye and ear of the passer-by. But this
is not all. Walk down certain streets in any
great city, and you will find the atmosphere
heavy with the mingled fumes of all sorts of
liquor. How man with the terrible hold of
appetite upon him can walk down those streets
and not fall, is mystery to me. More than
this under license law, various well-planned
devices are right. IT is a somewhat common
practice with the lower grade of rumsellers to
mix liquor with molasses, and sprinkle it upon
the sidewalk for some distance on either side
of their door. 1t doesn't take much of a pro-
phet, my friends, to tell what the result will
be as the man struggling with the demon of
appetite within him approaches. But if it is
right to sell liquor at all, it is also right for
the dealer to use this and manifold other sa-
tanic devices to increase his sales; and this
fact intensifes my disapproyal of license
law.
Again; have been told repeatedly that, if
we only had a strict license law, the big deal
ers would watch the little ones and the traffic
would be kept within bounds. That looks
frstrate. have no objection to the idea of
watching the little onesi I think they need it,
But ioho scill loatch tie big ones ? Let US take
an example. Suppose you have license law
here. Under it two men are licensed-one
with capital of five hundred dollars, the
other with capital of thousand dollars
Both commence business lawfully. Soon the
watchful eye of the big dealer discovers that
the small dealer is breaking the terms of his
license. A complaint is entered the offend
er is tried. convicted. and sent to Windsor