Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1890-03-03
Letter From Illinois.
South Evdnst0n, Feb. 10

of deep concern. What is it all
about? Simply this: For thirty and
eight years Vermont has had strin-
gent and we'll enforced law prohibit
ing the public sale of alcoholic bev-
erages. The majority of her chill
dren never saw a saloon. Many of |
them never saw a drunken man
they would run from one as from q
wild beast. Wife-beating by drunk
en- husbands is almost unknown lit
tie children crushing the cam of
beer along the streets, is sight new
er seen in Vermont. The people are
thrifty, industrious, well-to-do; NOR
ais and religion are at premium;
vice and crime at discount. Poor
deluded Vermont What can be
d6ne for her? The friends of tenn
perance" outside the state (every
move by the National liquor traffic
is made in the name of ''the friends
of temperance'') are considering what
can be done to save Vermont. 1t
has been decided that what Vermont
needs as the balm for all her woes,
is ''high license;'' q repeal of her
prohibitory law and the enactment of
law authorizing in consideration OF
certain sum into the treasury paid
the opening of saloons and vending
for beverage purposes of alcoholic
liquors. In New York the forces
have been organized and Vermont
is to be invaded in the name of King
Gambrinus. Mr.. William A. South
erland, lawyer of Rochester, n. Y,
has been selected to lead the invad-
ing host. He was to open the cam
paign at Rutland on the 29th, and
the battle is to be waged until Yer
mont pulls down her prohibitory flag
and runs up the high license banner.
The question is, will Vermont sub
nit? Can she be driven from the
citadel which for thirty-eight years
she has so nobly held? An effort IS
made to have it appear that Vermont
is weary and dissatisfied with prohi-
bition and is stretching out her arms
to Hthe friends of temperance" in
New York for help! Vermont is
long, narrow state, with whiskey to
the right of her whiskey to the left
of her whiskey in front of her Yet
between those borders of death she
has stood in soberness and temper
ance. When the whiskey power
turns all her guns (money) on the
devoted little state can she stand? =?
That is why all eyes that can be lift
eS from Nebraska ere turning their
anxious gaze toward the SCREEN
Mountain State
The selection of Mr.. Switzerland
to lead the invading forces is a
shrewd and far-sighted move. The
children of this world are wise in
their generation. l am acquainted
with Mr.. Switzerland, having lived
in the same town with him and been
associated with him in school and
the only thing that surprises me
about his selection is, that he should
!, allow himself to be used for such q
purpose. But if his services can be
had no wiser choice could be made,
To whom would the people Of Yer
mont listen more attentively than tc
an able man of good standing, the
) son of a minister and of the same
politics as the dominant sentiment
in Vermont?
Another thing that qualities Mr.
; Southerland for pleading the cause
, of high license is in the fact that he
, has never lived where either prohi
bition or high license prevailed. H(
can therefore speak from the mis-
representations that have been poured
into his ears by the liquor dealers il
the name of ''the friends of temper
: ance." A few days since | made
this remark: s'Until / was eighteeI
years of age, when / first left m.
e native state, had never seen a sa
. loon or a place where liquor wa
/. publicly sold, and had never seel
> but three drunken men," Rev. j
T. Ladd, a native Vermonter, stand
J, ING bv, said: 'sAnd | can say tn
$ same, though possibly l may hav
t seen more than three drunken men.
;, The governor of Kansas recent.
S said, ''There are boys in Koneo
Il eleven years old who cannot remem
e Der having seen a saloon Can tn
n same be said of any license state
Y Did space permit [ could tell tale
), of horror of what / have seen an
: known of the fearful drunkenness
If prevailing among both men an
l. women where the saloon is allowe
J. to exist at any price. The presenc
,e of the saloon creates market fC
a its goods. In a little village nea
le here, where ''no license" had bee
If maintained for several years, a fol
is mer saloon keeper went to the pres
l. dent of the village board and pre-
if posed to pay $1,000 license if pc
10 mission would be given him to Sc
Is liquor. He was asked how he coul
De make it pay? and replied; "Poss
e. bly, the first year l could not becau'
IN we have had no license so long tn;
< the boys are not used to it; but
u think in about one year L could tra
them in so l could make a good thin
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