Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-03-22
MORE ABOUT THE LIQUOR AGENCY.


MORE ABOUT THE LIQUOR AGENCY
Editor Register-l am Informed by our
selectmen that they have decided not to
remove the liquors from the town agency
because they believe they have no legal
right, and | am also informed that they
have taken an inventory of the present
stock, and | presume intend to obey the
instructions of the town not to purchase
any more during the year. | am also as
sured that they intend to perform their
whole duty in the premises with watch
full care. 1t is plain from an eXamina-
ton of the statute that the duty of the
selectmen begins and ends with the rea
sonable supply of liquor upon the de-
mand of the town agent and the fixing
of the selling price. No. 4G of the laws
fixed by the selectmen shall be, as nearly
as possible, the actual cost price to such
town of the liquor and the expenses of
the sale thereof" Section 3795. chap.
1863, of the Revised Laws, reads: "If the
selectmen, in fixing the compensation of
an agent, make contract having a ten
dency to induce him to increase his sales
for the purpose of increasing his COM
pensatiOn, or make or agree to make such
agent compensation other than in a spe-
citic and definite sum of money, every
selectman so offending shall forfeit not
more than $500 and not less than $780,"
Section 1897 of the same chapter reads :
''If the agent of a town sells Intoxicating
liquors at an eXorbtant profit, the COM
missioner, on application of three legal
voters of such town, shall ascertain
whether the agent is guilty of so selling,
and if so, shall forthwith annul his
license" 1t follows from these laws
that the selectmen have the power only
Of fixing the selling price of each pint,
quart or gallon, without regard to the
possible loss or profit of the years busi-
ness, and can exercise no control over
the amount of liquors to be sold. 1t has
been the practice of our selectmen, as the
town reports show, to keep and carry
over from year to year from 500 to $1,000
worth of liquor subject to loss by evap-
Grafton, theft, expense of insurance and
interest. 1t was the opinion of the vOt-
ers that this unbusness i like method
should not continue; it was their conyic-
ton that very large proportion of the
sales were unlawful; that the business
of the agency, without imputing bad mo-
tives, had been scandalOusly conducted
In this heartily concur and my individ
ual conviction is. that nine-tenths of the
sales are contrary to the statute. In view
of the fact that the selectmen have nc
control over the amount of liquor sold
the question is presented of the power OF
the commissioner. The statute prescribes
that the agent shall, in the sale of sucf
liquor, conform to such rules as the com
missioner prescribes. Can the commits
missioner make such regulations as arc
necessary to prevent these illegal sales
or is his authority limited to the power
of removal?
Our present commissioner is a thor
ough temperance man, and from stand
point of personal acquaintance. friend
Ship and high esteem | want to addres.
to him publicly few plain words. Tn,
feelings of the friends of temperanc,
have been outraged by the evident illega
sales at the town agency: the anti-tein
perance people point the finger of scorl
and contempt at the hypocritical pre
1 tence of acting in the interest of temner
ance and vet Constantly. openly and fla
GRAVITY violating the plain provisions O
the statute. Our selectlnen have resolved
in the future to faithfully perform thei
simnle dutv: how much of the responsi
bility is shifted upon YOU and your agent
The people of our town demand to know
whether the feelings of every temperanc,
man shall he shocked and his conscienc
scared bv being the recipient of the pro