Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-08-04

veteran distiller in Illinois, Mr.. Gersh
Martin, writes 10 the Peoria Saturday Even
ing Call to direct the attention of those en-
gagged in one department or another of the
liquor trade to certain facts which they are
given to overlooking He says there are now
on hand in the United States 1850, 900, 600 gal
Ions of whiskey, co. 600 900 gallons of which
arc in United States bonded warehouses; and
that, although the foreign demand has fallen
of from 200 600 barrels in 1SS0.81 to nothing
at ALL the distillers, in order to keep their ex-
pcnsive machinery running, have continued
TO accumulate whiskey in bond, in hope of an
increased demand in the future. Our 80, OOO.-
600 people to-day actually drink less whiskey
than our population of $4,000, 600 drank 30
years ago-tho falling off being largely attrib-
utable, in Mr. Martins opinion, to the use of
lager beer. Thirty years ago, Mr.. Martin
saws, farmers bought whiskey by the barrel
now they buy it by the jugful, and nine farm.
ers out of ten now vote for prohibition where
the same proportion, 80 years ago. would have
voted against it.
So much for the adverse conditions, in the
shape of diminished demand and consump
ton and an increasing stringency in leRisla-
ton, under which the liquor trade labors But
Mr. Martin goes on from this point to warn
those who are in the traffic against the folly
of banding together to resist public sentiment
ma lHb lhWbs llb bhN5t huDhlbnllhllY, InAt
they are altogether too weak to oppose the
forces they are certain to arouse by adopting
such a COURSE and are only likely to invite
their own destruction by so doing. He says
"the worst enemies of the liquor manufac-
ture and trade are those who seek to band the
liquor interests together and to fight both the
temperance movement and the law" The
forces that would be arrayed on either side in
such a conflict are described by Mr.. Martin as
follows:
"There are less than 100 great distilleries in tbe
whole United States. The retail Dealers the saloon
men, are generally men without means and not of
habits to acquire much wealth. With exceptions
like PEORIA the wholesale dealers are not much better
The social position of the liquor trade holds sort
Of comparison to the social status of American slavery
The moral and religious sentiment of American soci-
ETY. is against 1t. the women are against it. This
moral sentiment stands like stone wall to confront
it, OF course this is free country, and any man, any
EDITOR any class or any interest, has an undOubted
right to beat its brains out against this stone wall 1t
is their privilege as well as their right. But person
ally you can count me out of any such idiotic id
nonsense. Let the liquor men go along quietly; let
them take out their license aud obey strictly the law
let them provoke little attention as possible TO their
business let them ward OFF opposition by seeking to
concate rahes than antagonize the sentiment of the
whole country and their business will go with as
little disturbance and annoyance 1t possible to do
But let financial collapse of the distng interest
now, or in the near future, and it will
cry capitalist and business man from reengagng
in the dstiling business Then, with the Temperance
element rampant and no capital to fight it WITH pro-
would not be left distillery, brewery a saloon in
the whole United States"
These may seem like extreme expressions,
but they are not uttered from the temperance
point of view; they are the words of man
personally interested in the prosperity of the
liquor trade, and are intended as o serious
warming to others engaged in the same trade
They are backed by a long experience and
good deal of sound sense. Liquor manufac
turers and dealers who can discern the signl
of the times will scarcely fail to understand
how much there is to sustain Mr.. Martins
warming and advice. Many conservative me1
who are not ordinarily allies of the tempe
rance movement, especially when it takes thu
form of legislation, are being driven over t
that side of the question solely by the AFRO
gance, the disregard of law, and the intolera
Die demands of the liquor interest. In Ohio
the liquor dealers organize resistance to a Law
which only puts them under the same restric
tions as other forms of business as to SUNDAY
selling; in Indiana they are organizing TO pre-
vent the people from having chance to vott
on the question of prohibition; in Milwaukee
they are making a determined effort to breal
down the business of men who are trying t,
suppress the Sunday theatre nuisance, simpl,
because they fancy the next effort will be t.
suppress Sunday liquor sellingj in Massachu
sets they are reviving the Personal Lbert.
League UT forming new olBanlAation unue
that name, in order to obtain Liberal licens
and other laws and oppose ''prohibitory an
sumptuary legislation" AS Mr.. Martin we
says, in a free country it is the right and priv
ege of any interest to beat its brains GU
against stone wall, if it likes; but it seem
to us an open question whether, viewed sin
ply as a matter of policy, it would not be vii
er for the liquor interest to preserve conci
iatory attitude and give loyal obedience to th
laws, than to unnecessarily provoke oppos
ton, and to solidify the now disunited ell
ments in public sentiment, which will be SUI
to come together if an issue is made betwee
free rum on the one hand and law and publ
morals on the other.-B0ston Journal