Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1889-01-04

The Vermont legislature has distinguished
itNclt by providing, with respect to carrying
out the existing prohibition laws, that ut shall
be the Uuty of any sheriff or his deputy or any
constable to search without warrant ant
wagon. carriage. cart. sleigh. Sled,
tIunf, boz, hanl-haE. sal'hc.. bahdie or
or street in the state for Intoxicating Liquor
if he thinks there J. = Chanrc OF tnGinE any by
80 doing This was dulN approNci I% The SoN-
crnor and became operative within the last
thirty days in one Of the CONFERENCE.-The Of
this alleged free CoUutr. IN the last qu&rtCr of
the nineteenth crrt'u',.
lrthr officer can discover the con;raband
article hc is rewarded by uao-iourth the I'm"
inflicted upon the "ovU"r or keeper" Under
the law me can 'Ilk q. to man. -Ciz" h!~
Aaud-hn-. il "c hHe one, search il, aud also MS
clutnc-, simply giving a. rod ON tn2t lac wants
toa,cCri"jn if hr lG- any liquor about hm.
process with impunily aujc5- some patrio,
considers the oppIc' SIGN to b" one of the Kind
which iu.jii,g~ revolution and Uoc~ society the
- rvicc OF rluhhluL him.
ono may search IA 'ain among Russian stat
uir- uv cuiri- for IN instance where the priu"i-
pic Of personal liberty Is more directly violated
tltu ii is here. or where aWhurlll IT. -iVca
moro completely the form and spirit Of dcSuOl-
ic tyranny. T. !. t"".
1t i. not To- be denied that the prohibitory
law Of our state VA, been Of late years stiff
.nod To AN cytcnt which makes some good
temperance people apprrhen-iyc Of a reao-
ton The most rigid law is not always the
most elective \ law which should in.iict
III" penalty OF death lruon the unlawful sell
M OF q la. IF STRONG beer or cider would
rot no ~ effective ~ olW present statutes
which pIniShpo 'hr offence by a fine of five
dull,r, - 90 tn" particular enactment al
hldnd to ahovc--whcn wa~ passed 10y the
las. Legislature, with very little al
toutiun tu il. provisions on Tn" part Of tn"
people and nnj much ON the part of the
legislature it is, Ike many other criminal
statutes open To gross possible abuse. and,
like them, will be dependent tor public mp
proval on the way in which it is admins
tered Il was designed, we suppose, to hit
the case. Of persons who pedile liquor FROM
,atchel. or from bottle. concealed about
their ilpr>uns at the State and county fairs.
Any officer who makes it an excuse for
noeuic-, muc-tatiun of law abiding men and
women viii find himself in trouble.
The police of New y ork city are constantly
airrstng people without warrant. They
search satche, and pockets every day for
counterfeit money, concealed weapons and
| evidences OF crime. If they should abuse
this desputic authority by arrcsting and
searching pcaceablc men and women on
| Broadway. there would Of course be row.
| More or less arbitrary authority seems
! to he indispensable for the eirec-
! tive administration of criminal law.
| But in Vermont, AZ elsewhere, the citizen i,
under the protection of laws designed tc
! guard him against needless arrest false i'm
pri.onnent or improper molcstation; and ii
practice there is little fear that the statut,
in question will he abused, to the oppression
Of cur people.
The warden of the New York tombs an
nounces that 50 long as he i, in charge ther,
will be no flowers delivered to prisoners
He says that he has been driven to tax,
this position, because the women who senC
in flowers almost invariably pick out tn,
very worst criminals TO lavish their atten
tious upon. 1T is really surprising, ~ h
adds chow many respectable women there
are vino will get perfectly maudlin over tn
woes of some poor murderer, and if his vic
tim was some detenccless woman, that onl,