Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1895-11-30
<JOB WORK<
SUCH A.
POSTERS, HANDBILLs,
BILL HEADS, LETTER HEADS,
CIRCULARS, ENVELOPES,
CARDS, ETC, BTO., ETO.
Done at This Office
with Nsatnsss aad Despatch.
Prices Away Down.
EDWARD G. DANA.

chnsers OF Its commodities, whether
designated ~ agents or not, that they
shall obtain goods from no other
source. The enforcement OF such
condition must necessarily operate ~
"a restraint of trade anl prevent COM
petition. To carry out such rule to
Its logical sequence would enable the
wealthy corporation which has OBJ
tanned monopoly OF the market to
continue the monopoly aud to drive
out OF business poorer or less fortu.
nate competitors The attorney-ge gen.
eral then adds that innsmuch as no New
York corporation would be allowed to
carry on business in this way, it is OBJ
viousiy unjust and against public pol.
ity that corporation org.nized in
New Jersey should he permitted to
set up n monopoly in New York.
When the American tobacco Com
pany. as the trust Is officially styled,
was licensed to do business in New
York 1t was on the condition that ap.
plies to foreign corporations to abide
by the law and public polity OF that
state. Clearly, according to the at
torney general, tho trust has broken
the agreement it then entered into.
The soundness of the opinion is yet
to be passed upon by the courts. The
action about to be commenced will
determine whether the trust sis con-
ducting its business in the State of
New York in an unlawful manner, in
restraint of trade" or whether its meth
ods are consistent with public polity.
The courts are not bound IN the
slightest degree by the opinion of tho
attorney general though the latter
stands for the stnte. Yet while it is
impossible to forecast the judicial de-
cision on the very interesting points
raised in these proceedings, it is sig
niticant that trust have lost most of
the battles they have fought i'll the
courts. Certainly it may be. that
stste that forbids monopolies being
set up by its own citizens stultilies it.
self and wrongs them when it allows
a foreign corporation to monopolizs
or restrain the distribution of COM
modities within its borders.
The city must be safeguarded
against the criminal classes Life and
property must be protected ! This is
the first duty of those invested with
authority-the police commissioners.
Police Commissioner Grant is reported
to this effect on the criminal outbreak
of the hour: 1t is likely that the
crooks take advan ntage of the police
being ut the saloon doors. Yes, the
chances for their escape are thus better
than they we're before. 1t may he
true that if the police had paid
little less attention to the sa-
looms chances for the escape of MALE
factors might not have been SO good.
If this is the effect of concentrating
all the energies of the police toward
one end, then the management Of
affairs ut Mulberry street il bad and
should be changed. 1t is much more
important to the community to drive
tho burglar, thief aud highway man
from block, and keep them off it.
than it is to enforce the Excise law.
Hunt the outlaws out of the metropo-
lis! That is the supreme duty Of the
police ut the present timel
There is said to be a scheme on foot
to reduce the number of Legislative
committees for the purpose of central
izing power. Old Legislators see
good mnny rensons why there should
be no restriction. They cite two rea.
sons which they believe are sufficient.
The most important of the two lies in
tie fuct that the fewer committees
there are the fewer places there will
he to distribute among the members,
and consequently there will be
an increase of the dissatisfac
ton that is almost always felt
when the committees are announced,
Many member who might prove q
disagreeable antagonist and who was
ready to kick at the machine has been
placated by being made chairman of
some trivial committee. II IN effort
should be made to surmount this diff.
Guilty by increasing the size OF com.
niittees it might, and probably would
result in grnveIy retarding the work
OF the Legislature.
This leads t6 6'the other reason ad-
vanced against the scheme. Unim.
postant committees, like those on
commerce and navigation, Indian af.
fairs aud villages, have work to per-
form that, while it is comparatively
unimportant, it is still of sufficient
moment to merit prompt and careful
attention. If this work was dis
trihuted among the important COM
mttees one of two things would hap.
pen. it is c!a incl l-ether it would bs
superticially attended to or it would
be neglected entirely.
The excise commissioners will hold
II meetin. some time within the next
few weeks to copsider reduction of
the number of saloons in this city.
Each Of them fuvors the proposition,
but they do not wish to unjustly
interfere with the vested rights OF
those who have, their money in the
business. Commissioner Woodman
has asked the boards counsel to pre-.
pare IN opinion as to how the board
NAV proceed with the reduction and
still not having the action of the board
in any of the cases reversed. Commits
sioner Woodman sail that there had
been gradual, but small reduction of
the number of saloons in the city ever
since 1886, though there were still too
many. BNIcKERBOCKER.