Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1888-08-06
A Great Victory for Temperance
and Republicanism.

The democratic liquor interests of
New Jersey were both amazed and
alarmed, when the republican legis-
lature defied them and proved its
fidelity to temperance pledges, by
passing high license and local OPP
ton law that meant business. They
were astounded at the boldness and
consistency of the republican ma
jority of the Legislature, which rep
resented the best and dominant ell
ements of the republican party, in
New Jersey, as in this state, in Penn
sylvania and elsewhere, in their hon
est devotion to such practical meas
ures of legislation as would limit
and restrain the greatest evils and
perils of every state and of the Union
as a whole-those that grow directly
and inevitably out of the liquor traf-
fic.
E. The only hope of the allied dem
ocrats and liquor dealers-or, more
accurately, of the saloon-ruled de-
mocracy-of New Jersey, was in
decision of the highest legal tribunal
of the state, declaring the republican
temperance legislation unconstitu-
tional and void This hope has been
cherished by most of the Jersey dem
ocrats, encouraged by the opinions
of several democratic jurists who
are constitutionally inclined to be-
lieve that any really effective tenn
perance legislation must be uncon-
stitutional.
The opinions of these eminent
democratic jurists have been officially
declared worthless and misleading,
by the New Jersey court of Errors
and Appeals, which by a vote of
eight to seven, decided in favor of
the constitutionality of the local OPP
ton feature, while the high license
feature was sustained by a unani-
nous vote. The decision of the
court is notable for its clearness and
self-sustaining logic, and will be-
come valuable accession to the ju-
dicial expositions that favor practi-
cal temperance legislation.
For instance, the decision thus
briefly states the reasons why the
law is adjudged constitutional and
valid, viz Assuming that the
extreme effect of this legislation is to
forbid the sale by small measure, in
my judgment it must be regarded as
a law regulating the sale of intoxi-
eating and brewed liquors. Every
license law is to some extent a pro-
hibitory law. 1t prohibits the sale
by all persons who have no license.
Such laws operate as check on the
sale, not an absolute prohibition,
and are in the strictest sense regula-
tions. Unless this view is accepted
we cannot stop short of maintaining
that every law which prohibits any
portion of the liquor traffic is pro-
hibitory law. The court upholds
the classification of licenses defined
in the act on the ground that the
basis is substantial one and beyond
all question as to its legality"
So the republican legislature is
abundantly and completely justified.
Its work was well and honestly done.
1t meant business. 1t redeemed
party pledges. 1t gave the lie to the
absurd and iniquitous charge made
by third party prohibitionists, that
the republicans were insincere in
their temperance professions. Anoth-
er illustration of the fact that the
republican is the only great party
that ever dared do anything effect
ual in the way of temperance legis-
lation.-Maa Dc Express.