Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1893-06-23


nearly half century and has worked
admirably. 1t Is, in brief, an arrange
ment by which each town contracts for
three years with II limited company,
which thus gets control Of all Licenses.
1t is allowed a net profit OF five per cent,
and all beyond that is handed over to
the city authorities for public use.
These authorities fix the number of
licenses, elect part of the managers, and
distribute the profits among deserving
charities, benevolent societies, and other
institutions dependent upon voluntary
support.
These drinking places are to be kept
plain and unattractive, with no private
apartments or any conveniences for
lounging. On the other hand, coffee
rooms are made as attractive as possible,
and reading and smoking rooms, bill
lizards, ten pins and other amusements are
provided. The labouring man is given
his choice between the tavern alone and
the coffee rooms, where he can take his
family, and the drinking place is made
t. pay the expenses of those who prefer
t. be sober aud temperate.
The more special regulations of the
traffic are as follows: The sale of intox-
icating drinks, in quantities under 40
litres, is legal only under license. This
is granted so sparingly that the traveller
NAV Journey for weeks in the kingdom
and see no distlllery. Retailing of small
quantities is illegal before 8 o'clock a.
M, and at any time between . p. M,
Saturday and a. m, Monday. Viola
tiers are fined from 20 to 100 crowns for
each offence. Any person appearing on
the streets In a drunken condition is
liable to arrest and to be fined not less
than 200 nor more than 800 crowns.
retailer selling to any one until he is
drunken is fined two crowns for every
such known offence. 1t is forbidden
that retailing be done by children or
other minor helpers, as these are sup
posed lacking in authority and in the
dscernment necessary to properly con
duct the business; and the retailer i;
held responsible if man becomes drunk
en- IN his establishment and because Of
this becomes a charge to the public
while he is fined eight crowns if hi
elects such one from his place to avoiC
responsibility. Substantially, thes'
regulations prevail throughout Norway
and Sweden.
Of the practical working of the sys
TEN, a competent observer says: 1T
{ practical workings are such that, during
residence of some months in Chris
tiana population, 12s,O0O in 1889
; never saw a drunken man." He re
ports seeing many Joyous persons" Sat
urday evenings and Sundays, but no
. where did he meet those, who, becaus
of mismanagement of the traffic, in an.
way INDUCED in the use of abusiv
t terms. In this, he is at one with tn
statements of the Earl of Meath, in hi
recent article in the Nineteenth Century
= in which he says that in his visit Ct
! Norway he "saw no men or women i
g rags no drunkards, no brawlers, n
! beggars, etc. Public houses have bee
= practically abolished in the country, an
! greatly diminished and regulated in tn
= towns"
: Very largely as the result of thus rec
ulating the sale of intoxicants, govern
: ing-in a measure, at least-the drin
4 habit, and consequently decreasin
/ drunkenness, it is claimed that the nun
Y Der of violators of law as compared wit
r population has shown a marked decreas
!, in the last decades. One in every five O
? the people now has deposit in 'Sa'
4 ing funds" Yet Norway is, as every
t body knows, anything else than RE
4 country. a prominent Norwegian says
t II have no douht that the greater part o
this sum would have been spent TO
: drink if We had been living under GU
/ old: imc laws.