The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-08-14

Ness and had been assigned rooms.
Each ordered, through the porter or
bell-boy, whiskey, or whiskey and beer,
sent to his room. His order was
promptly complied with. No questions
were asked or objections made, and the
price demanded for the liquid refresh
ments was paid. These are the state
ments of the Herald's detectives or
spies, for they were evidently acting
under an arrangement with the Herald.
That paper states further that it has
bottle of whiskey which the purchaser
says he bought within a week at the
drug store in the building on the corner
opposite the Van Ness, building
owned by Gov. Woodbury.. The onus
of the Herald's charges lies less in the
specific instances it gives of alleged vic.
lations of the prohibitory law than in
the general declaration that the practice
OF procuring liquor in the manner de.
scribed has prevailed for years and is
matter of common notoriety. Liquor,
it maintains, is habitually furnished the
customers of the hotel in their rooms
and served to them at the public tables.
The drug store referred to is character
lied as ca wide-open saloon' and by
indrection is called the real bar of the
Van Ness-no bar being maintained
within the hotel because "Mr. Wood
bury feared that the existence of bar
might somehow harm him politically"
The foregoing, we believe, is sum-
mary of the main charges in the Herald
article.
The Herald processes to find in Gov
ernor Woodbury's case close parallel
to that of Mr.. Howe, and, after sug-
costing ga few points, says: "Right
here the parallel ends. Rumseller
Howe has gone out of business as land
lord, and is in prison. Rumseller
Woodbury. continues in business as
landlord, and is governor of the state of
Vermont" This article brought Gov
ernor Woodbury. to the front in the fol.
lowing letter, dated August Z, and ad-
dressed to the editor of the Rutland
Herald:
ct am much surprised at the editorial in
to.dsy's issue OF your paper headed Gov
ernor Woodbury. as Rumseller.' 1 have
owned the Van Ness House fourteen years,
nd Iu ri that irpa fhara hos haap mr. in
toxicating liquor kept in or about it, nor
have during that time been engaged di-
rectly or indirectly in the liquor traffic in
| the Van Ness House or in any other place
| If the guests Of the Van Ness House have
persuaded any OF my employees to act as
their agents in procuring liquor for them,
such employees must have obtained it out
side Of the Van Ness House, and they acted
upon their own responsibility and at their
own peril. You accuse me of owning tho
rumholes and running one. You designate
me as Rumseller Woodbury. and in other
words accuse me of being common GRIM
inal. I am willing to endure in silence
ordinary newspaper criticisms, but my per-
sonal self-respect and my respect for the
high Office in which the good people Of the
state of Vermont have placed me, and my
desire that the fair name OF Vermont should
not be traduced and discredited abroad, for.
bid my passing in silence the highly libel
GUS article referred to. therefore ask you
to make complete and immediate retrac-
ton in your paper, failing in which l shall
adopt legal means to bring you to account
for your outrageous libel"
The Herald not only declined to re-
tract but reiterated its charges, quoted
the statutes, and argued in support of
its contention that, under the law of
the state, the governor has been en-
gagged in an illegal traffic in liquor. 1t
rests its accusation upon the following
provision of the prohibitory law:
III person by himself clerk, servant OF
agent, sells, furnishes or gives away, OF
owns, keeps or possesses with intent to sell
furnish or give away, Intoxicating liquor OIL
cider, in violation Of law, he shall forfeit fol-
each offense to the state, upon the first con.
viction not less than FIVE nor more thar
one hundred dollars, and may also be i'm
|
more than thirty days; upon the second
and each subsequent conviction, not less
than ten nor more than two hundred dollars
for each offense, and shall also be impris
oned not less than one month nor more
than one year"
Upon receiving the Herald'S answer
to his demand for retraction, Governor
Woodbury. promptly instituted sui
for libel, assessing his damages at $50,
600. Hon. D. j. Foster of Burlington
and Hon. w. P. Dillingham; of Water
bury are attorneys for his excellency.
Governor Woodbury. has deemed
the Heralds charges, under the cir
cumstances he has recited in his lette
to its editor, sufficiently grave to de
mand an appeal to Cesar for vindica
/ ton, and his fate must therefore abid,
with Oe 'ar. Whether or not the sp