Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1894-05-07

after forty years of trial with the law.
shows that in their judgment the law
is a success. So overwhelming is the
sentiment in the state in favor OF pro-
hibition, that every effort in the leg
islature to change to license Or to
any other system is an utter failure.
The imperfections Of the law and
some partial failures with it here and
there are so small that they have no
effect upon public opinion. The effort
of a journal as ably edited as the
Herald, with all it's clatter aud TRADE,
is as nothing against public sentiment.
Hence it is utter nonsense on the part
of any paper to attempt to turn the
tide of favor against prohibition in
| this state. Bright as Bro. Perkins is,
and sharp as are his thrusts, the tie a :
erance people of Rutland look upon
his performances as the emenations
Of man cranked on that subject. To
our personal knowledge some of the
strong men Of Rutland feel that the
town is abused and misrepresented by
the Herald.
The MONITOR recently publised a
short paragraph in regard to the
course of the Herald which called
forth the following remarks from that
paper:
"What the MONITOR says may not
be in itself of much consequence, but
it is worth a word. Consider: Here is
Rutland, running over with saloons IN
a NOV not rorpoitfQ6 hu cj rai1ar com
munities in other states, with local
government corrupted and endless
mischief bred. The law of the state,
amended over and over again, has for
forty years failed to put the sale of
liquor under any restraint whatever,
and finally gang of thieves have
found ways to use the statute to rob
the taxpayers of thousands Of dollars
yearly"
That we might know the truth in
regard to some Of the statements of
the Herald, and get at the facts in re-
gard to recent transactions, we wrote
gentleman who is as we'll informed in
regard to the affairs of Rutland as any
man there, and whose reputation for
truth, candor and good judgment no
man would deny, and received the
following:
ssThere are no liquor saloons in Rut-
land which are run openly by the
business taking front room and set
ting it's wares in the window and upon
it's shelves; but there are a consider
able number of places where the in
itiated can find liquors on sale, and
where strong drinks are sold and
drinking is done standing at a counter
or bar. This 1 state from my infOr-
nation and have no doubt aof it, = ale
though [ have no personal knowledge.
1t is not true that Rutland is running
over with saloons, and l do not be-
lieve it is true that there are as many
places where liquors are sold at all
here, as there are open saloons in
places of the same size in States hav-
ing high license or local option laws.
There are too many such places here,
but they are driven out Of view and
into places where they have to be
looked for, instead of standing out as
a temptation to the young and men
ace to public morality. The prohibi-
tory law even as administered in the
City of Rutland, tends to promote the
public welfare, and render our streets
more pure and decent, than any kind
of law that would allow the public
sale of intoxicating liquors.
There is undoubtedly much cause
for complaint in the method of prose-
cution that has grown up, and it ap-
pears that prosecuting officers have
in some instance, used this law as a
means of creating an income for
themselves, more than as vindica-
ton of public justice and enforcement
of statutory statute. In my judg-
ment this has been brought about to
some extent by the law allowing the
Governor to appoint Special Prosecu-
tors, instead of imposing duties on
States Attorneys and Grand Jurors,
under sanctions they would not dare
trifle with. Public sentiment has
much to do with the enforcement of
criminal laws, and one of the essen
tials to a prevention or punishment of
crime, is a correct and healthy public
opinion. It must be confessed that !
public sentiment does not go out in
approval of cultivation of liquor
prosecutions for the purpose Of bring
ing income to officials who apparent
" are not earnest in the suppression |
of the liquor traffic So far as have
observed the States Attorney of this
County has been faithful to his trust, |
but he is handicapped by finding in
his way lot of hungry fellows, who
have succeeded in procuring special
appointment, that they may protect
liquor selling to the extent of bleed
ing the dealers out of about all they
can pay without being driven from
committing crime under the law.
I wish we had abler and more pa
triotic men engaged in the prosecu
ton of crime, and also in forming
public opinion in our midst. While
Special Prosecutors are an expensive
luxury to tax payers, and an impedi
ment generally to the enforcement of
the liquor law, they are not SO great
a public calamity as the perpetual at
tack on good laws by newspapers that