Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1894-09-25
''What Is the Matter With Bennlng-
TONI"
sEARsBUReH, VT, Sept. goth,

SEARsBURaH, VT, Sept. goth, 1894.
Editor Banner: "What is the matter
with Bennington" Matter enough in
deed! She is waking from her lethar-
gy and showing that she has heart and
a conscience and spirit. And her Off
Gals are waking to their duty with vim
and fearlessness, and l am glad to see in
your last issue that they are not forget
ing to enforce other criminal laws along
with the liquor prosecutions. And 1T is
a good sign and quite amusing to note
how quickly the cry for high license is
raised, bolstered up Tor attempted to
be), by the arguments that were worn
out and obliterated years ago. we are
told that liquor will be made as long as
corn grows, and will be drank as long as
it is made, and consequently we should
repeal the prohibition law and enact IL
cense. They fail to mention that horses
have been stolen from time immemorial
and will be for ages to come, law or no
law, although Vermont and thirteen
other States passed prohibition laws
against it. more than a hundred years
AGO, And they forget to mention that
DEMONSTRATING in Bennington county had
grown to such dimensions, notwithstand-
ING prohibitory laws, that the people
were obliged to meet in convention at
Arlington to devise means to suppress
it, But they also fail to suggest as
cure for this evil the enactment of a
horse stealing license law, and that the
strong arm of that law be invoked to
make horse stealing respectable. Cen
tlemen of high license, the legislature
of Vermont will soon be in session. Let
us have horse stealing license law by
all means, then let us liberate G. R.
Young, and 1 assure you he will set the
ball rolling by giving $4,000 license,
and his pals will follow suit, and thou
sands of dollars will flow into our treas
uries. See what bonanza it will be?
And then best of all, the calling will be
raised to responsibility, so that our
children can engage in it without sneak
ing around in the dark. Mr.. Bassett
must be right. The law against horse
stealing don't amount to what it was in
tended for and ought to be done away
with. He says: "some might ask the
question, why not license person to
steal?" and admits that it is rather a
leading question, but says the cases are
not parallel. He is right; the cases are
not parallel. A license to steal would
license to steal only, but license to sell
liquor is license to manufacture the
thieves, and not only that, but idiots,
lunatics and murderers. 1t is license
to take ten cents of hard earned money
for two cents worth of poison. A Ii
cense to steal a mans intellect and man.
hood, to take away his children's bread,
and his wlfe's happiness and turn her
love to scorn and hatred, to make man
a brute at home aud curse to society.
No indeed, the cases are not parallel.
Mr.. Bassett admits that more sin and
evil comes from drinking than any other
way, and yet he counsels that we should
sit tamely down and caress and protect
the evil. l submit that he is doing in
jury to his own good sense and honesty.
have read with eager interest the let
ter of Judge White. 1t is grand and to
the point. hope we shall hear from
him again.
am astonished that Major Valentine
should assert that liquor selling is a
crime only as the law makes it so! How
is it that the wife murderer is crimi-
nal of the deepest dye, while the vendor
of the motive power of that crime is a
criminal only because the law says so?
And how is it that Wells Valentine and
all the other license writers in your pa
per admit that drunkenness produces
more crime than all other causes COM
(bined, and yet gravely ask that the State
of Vermont should extend the strong
arm of the law to protect the liquor sell
er and make drunkenness respectable?
=, Very truly yours, GEO. J. BOND.