The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-03-01

An Open Letter.
To L. Le1ciS, Esq, Secretary Prohibit
tiOu Club:-DEAR SIR Hoping that
some ADLER hand than mine, long before
this would have taken upon itself the
trouble of critical examination of your
circular in the interests of your local
prohibition organization, bearing date
of january %, 1888, | have long de
layed the exercise of privilege which
feel belongs to every member of a com
munlty where party arises therein i'm.
putting iniquity unallOyed to the results
of every attempt of the present domin-
ent parties and assuming itself to possess
the only method as well as material
with which to eradiate the evil-namely
the privilege of inquiring in the first
place as 10 the truth of its position, the
sincerity of its professions of unbounded
disgust, secondly as to the quality of the
remedy proposed, that is whether it has
not mistaken the true condition of af
fairs through a misleading zeal in a sin
gle cause; and last y as to whether the
departure intended, in view of the eX-
listing circumstances, has cone to be a
political necessity, one which will JUST
fy a body of men in the material injury
of the party from which alone, they
have drawn assistance or may expect
support.
You proclaim the advent of your par.
ty with a degree of assurance which
might be admirable in another cause:
but with remarkable inconsistency,
while you deplore their present cOndi
ton you seek to initiate their methods,
not scrupling even to visit the iniquity
of the evil indiscriminately upon the
heads of all without regard as to their
deserts nor reflection as to the justice of
your attack, Perhaps, in fact, its bold
ness may be imputed to your short ac-
qualnlance in the neighborhood for
while you allude to the history of the
town for fifteen years, in the same SEN
tence you admit your inability to furnish
your readers with that record, circum.
stance as fortunate for several of the
movers of your attack as it is necessary
to the maintenance of your present pO-
sitiOn. In order to criticize, person
should be familiar with his subject.
shall therefore assume that these things
are known to you and being so known
it cannot be possible that your claims as
a reform party are made for other pur-
poses than to catch the ballots of un-
wary men who may chance TO be misled
by the contrasting pictures cOnjured up
and arrayed in your circular but drawn
from no better authority than a faint
ground work of fact and an after dinner
imagination:
"In this crisis of affairs the prohibi
ton party candidly invited your atten-
ton to its position, Its aims and its pur-
poses" quote from the third page Of
YOUR circular. When the assumed can
dor becomes timed with eXaggeration it
casts no reflection upon the facts ira
duced but advances serious doubts as to
the intentions of those who adopt il in
their intercourse with other men. AT
the bottom of the first and beginning of
the second pages you loudly complain OF
the alarming prevalence of disorder,
outrage and crime;' indeed, to read
those pages ,One would suppose the town
at the present time, plunged IN the deep
est dye of fraud, iniquiIy and disgrace;
but looking matters broadly in the face
am pleased to find just grounds upon
which to differ with you in your opin-
ions regarding our list Of public town
officials, on the contrary, from my expe-
rience and dealings with these men
have found them to be quite generally
honest and capable as this world goes
and have never taken the trouble to
inquire as to their religious dispositions.
Having recourse once again TO the cir.
cular to which have above referred, at
its very opening you allude tn the tick
cts annually placed in the field for the
consideration of the voters, as various
mixed, split and mongrel tickets" thus
attempting tn stigmat 2 as dishOnorabe
the considerations which move the nom.
nations, namely non partisan admin
istratiOn of public affairs IN the Interests
of all; but with ludiCrOuS disregard of
your former professions of policy and
tie position in this regard, you claim to
have chosen for yourself, you nominate
Of the citizens of Bennington and vicn-
ity, a ticket composed, not alone of pro
hibitionists, but OF prohibitionists,
Democrats and Republicans, with
a decided preference for the lat or,
some of whom consent to allow their
names to be used, only with the under
standing that they are not to be expect
ed to support the ticket when placed in
the fell. Cand n should be made Of
other stuff than this But is it not pos
sble that pardonable zeal has induced
you. III the interest of partisan welfare,
TO sacrifice bit of frankness, on the
whole to look to candor as Disguise,
better than any other adapted to draw
into the political candle the moths that
love fllring light; to increase your
own numerical strength at the expense
of the party which alone has the dIspo
stou to render you such i'll requited as
sstance shallow expedient for the
obtaing of political influence and the
opportunity to Iule.
Let us now turn to the position of af
fairs in Bennington with reference to
the position which the prohibition party
through you and its recent circular,
selects for itself, and the ground upon
which it has chosen to stand during the
coming campaign.
Not before, for many years, has the
statute prohibiting the traffic in intoxi-
eating liquors as beverage, been so rig
idly enforced as during the one just
past. Prosecution upon prosecution has
followed in rapid succ, ssicn until at
length no known public bar is left in the
village Of Bennington. Instead of mid
night revel and wassail, ''vexing with
mirth the drowsy ear of night peace
and quiet very generally prevails. The
police court, the police court, resurrect-
ed from its ancient tomb Of unpOpuari