Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-02-22
Black Valley Railroad.

Editor Of the Banner: There are times
when honest ard legitimate business is
to a certain extent under restraint, dark
clouds hover over the sky with uncer-
tainty as to the near future, when each
manufacturing Interest is on short time
or obliged to suspend Operations for a
season, though it be only for repairs.
Yet the business of the "Black Valley
Railroad" is apparently always in pros
porous condition. 1t is confined to no
one part of the country, climate or class
of society. 1t has its agents in every
community where there is an open bar,
back kitchen, underground dive, dark
alley, old garret, or flask in the pocket.
Every liquor dealer is a duly authorized
ticket agent, and seems tireless in seek
ing to overcome obstacles in the way OF
continued and increased prosperity for
the corporation. AS strange as it may
seem we understand that these agents
rarely ever take vacation, while the of.
fetal managers never put the employe
on short time or cuts his wages. Seven
days in the week the office is open for
business, provided some servant of the
law does rot happen to order'a suspension
of activities for season.
1t is somewhat difficult to obtain the
exact figures showing the size of this
business, as it is largely carried on in de-
fiance to the laws of the land, sincere de-
sires and protests of the best citizens IN
the community. The U. S. Commission
er of Internal Revenue states that over
20 millions of bushels of grain are an
nualiy consumed by the engine on this
road, the Distillery, with over million
! gallons of molasses and 80 million pounds
| of hops; low estimate value of them
would be about 81 million dollars, that
it costs to feed the engine. According
to the returns of Internal Revenue June
Both, 1898, there were in the United
States 4,743 operated distilleries, 1880
breweries, 2l9,SG3 registered retail liquor
dealers, 4,79l wholesale dealers, and 81
| 39S wholesale dealers in malt liquors, a
total of registered dealers of 230,052, If
| to this we add those who are dealing
without government permit and you
have a large army engaged in this busi-
ness of obstruction and ruin to man, ply
sically, mentally and morally.
There are 81, ,210 public school teach
/ o,, Oh 100 fhonSapi plarnvmnn nf
all denominations engaged in the noble
work of developing the power of the
young and building character essential
for good citizens.
The Black Valley Railroad corporation
has become vastly rich from the sale OF
10 cent tickets to the thousands of pa,
irons of their road. 1t has over 200 mil
lion dollars of capital stock, and large
percent. of this income is from the hard
earnings of those that cannot afford this
expense as it robs others of the necessl
ties of life. The managers of this road
are very modest about letting the public
know the extent of their business, but q
low estimate made by careful inspectors
claim that a summary of its annual busi
ness is as follows:
1t carries over 600 thousand travellers
into its Black Valley of woe and sorrow
where more than two millions of men,
women, and children are kept under
cloud of untold misery and wretched'
ness, causing annually over 500 suicides.
1t throws out at Beggarstown more than
400 thousand persons, 200 thousand of
whom are orphans. 1t carries 100 thou
sand persons to prison, 800 of whom are
murderers, carrying annually more than
10 thousand to a premature grave. 1t
carries down to disgrace and obstruction