Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-06-06
PROHIBITION IN THE WEST.
HOW IL works In n Young rOwu-Thir.
teen Years Experiment. and IT'S Fa-
vOrable eHesUlts-Pienty of Drink Ing
nut no O"PUbIiCs"-A Forfeiture Law
from the N, Y, Mail md Express.I

+, ""' ho 'f"oncs "A forfeiture Law
/; from the N. Y. Mail and Exprcss.l
Colorado Springs was founded by
party OF capitalists in 1871, upon prohibi
/ ton principles. Each deed contains
, forfeiture clause, which provides that
Intoxicating liquors. manufactured, sol,
or otherwise disposed of as beverage, il
ny place of public resort, in or upon th,
preI' ses" in question, they (the land
ant .'1lldings) shall thereby revert to th
orifl i owners. There is also cit,
ordlI 'l 'e forbidding the sale Of liquor
Under thcse restrictions the town hal
lived and grown for thirteen years, and i
presents itself to-day one of the faires
and most decent places of residence in thu
West. That this result is largely due tc
It's prohl5itory liquor law, think nobody
can reasonably deny. Such result alsC
goes to show that prohibition is practic
able III communities where a majority
prefer it.
1t is always to be remembered that
prohibition does not prevent any man
from drinking person living under its
restrictions is still at liberty to drink ae
much ms he chooses. As a matter of fact,
drunkenness is prevailing vice here as
1t is everywhere else, and even a street
affray, with too free use of the pistol, is
not unknown. But one sees here no
grogshops, high or low, no e-and-e -easies,
no varieties, no shades, none of the multi
farious "palaces" and retreats which
thrive on the social glass. To deprive
such places of the sale of liquor takes
away their main prop and effectually ex-
cludes them. Thus, also, the town pre-
sents no attractions to the murderous
cowboys who are such terror to many
parts of the West. Not that the cowboy
is always bad fellow, but when party
of them go to town to spend their earn
ings in grand spree, they have way Of
using their revolvers which is far from
| pleasant to the rest of the community.
| The absence of saloons introduces an ell e.
meht of order which would not otherwise
exist here. Citizens and strangers feel
a strengthening sense of security in their
J daily walk as well as in their excursions
into the suburbs.
A certain class, of course revile the law
and expend much ingenuity IN devices to
violate it. Hitherto the grossest viola
tions have been on the part of the drug
gists who have maintained q mysterious
"back room" behind their prescription
counters, and some of whom have really
subsisted upon their liquor traffic. Then
there are two "clubs" for drinking pur-
poses, whose methods it is not necess-
ary to describe. All these law-breakers
have strong "backing," and witnesses
against them are difficult to obtain. Most
of them have been or are being prosecuted
in the courts, and under an honest mum
cipal government, they are sure to be
driven to the wall. The State courts and
the Supreme Court of the United States
have decided in favor of the forfeiture
clause in the deeds Of town lots, and val
liable property has thus been taken from
the owners.
Some respectable citizens think that
business prosperity would be increased
here by the modification or abolition of
the liquor law. For instance, the new
two hundred thousand dollar hotel would
undoubtedly be more profitable, as well
as more attractive to some visitors, if it
were allowed to have bar The stock
holders of the property, however, as well
as the best citizens generally, seem will
ing to make some personal sacrifice for the
common welfare. The hotel has sold Ii
quor by the bottle ever since it was start
ed and nobody has lodged complaint it.
physicians to drink wine with their meals,
and these with many others would feel
themselves injured if this privilege were
denied them. This unchallenged viola
ton of the law shows one of the many
difficulties of the subject, and it perhaps
shows also a disposition among even the
most respectable residents to make some
modification of the statute.
| Monr occort thnf t,a t1,rnu,n
in the way Of getting liquor here make
! ,lr'nkers so much the more determined to
have it. This ill.,, ill.," ne lrue' out IL is also
true tnat maj, ,,,eople are less Incnu.,. ~
drink as soon as they are debarred from
doing 1t on the impulse of the moment in
the first convenient saloon. Moreover,
the saloon is the drinkers chief rendez-
vous, and when one is gone so is the
rthsr.
As in ether places where prohibition
prevails, liquor is easily obtained IN
neighboring towns. People can take n
short drive from here to Colorado City or
to Manitoba and get ag drunk as they
please III good old barroom style. \ short
journey north to Denver or south to
Pueblo, will transport one to cities where
the liquor seller has full swing. The ma
iority of the residents of Colorado Springs
do not seem to envy these places their
licenses, and after thirteen years trial of
prohibition still stand firm for it. At the
municipal election this spring, prohibi-
ton candidates were elected for every va
cancy. The city ordinance against the
sale of liquor, instead of being relaxed,
has recently been made still more strin-
gent, and the disposition to enforce il
seems stronger than ever.
In conclusion, l think it may be said
that prohibition in Colorado Springs is O
success; that it has made the town more
desirable as a place of residence and bet,
ter i'll every way than it could otherwise
have been that public sentiment in favor
of it shows no indication of weakening.
Any one who sees this form of liquol
legislation i'll successful operation cannot
but be impressed with its results results
which no system of high license can Sc
cure in equal degree.