The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1895-08-09
Is Our PrOhibitOry Governor Rum
seller!

The discussion over the Howe cas-
at st. Johnsbury has a highly amusing
as well AS instructive issue. The Rut
land Herald, commenting ON the i'm
prisonment of such a prominent ant
public spirited man as Mr. Howe TO
having liquor sold in his hotels, assert
ed that if the law were systematicall!
thoroughly enforced, half the promi
nent men in the state, including thu
Governor himself. would be behind thu
bars. Gov. Woodbury., it said in effect
was guilty of the same crime for which
he refused pardon to Howe, because
he was the proprietor OF hotel ano
buildings where rum is sold. The Bur
lington papers promptly denied the
statement as false and out
rageous libel. " Thereupon the Her
aid proceeded to its proof. 1t says
it has in its office three bottles con
tanning whskey and one of lager beer
which were bought in the Van Ness
house at Burlington, the governors
hotel, within week and in the or
binary way. 1t also has bottle OF
whslIcy bought at the drug store in an
other building owned by Gov. Wood
bury at Burlington. Letters are pro
duced from three citizens, vouched for
as reputable, whose names are held
back, who give details of how within a
week they put up at the Van Ness house
and ordered whiskey or beer or both
sent to their rooms at various hours Of
the day and night, and had no diff
Guilty in obtaining the liquor The
Herald adds:
1t is perfectly true. as the Herald un
derstands, that the Van Ness house has
no bar, and for long time has been
without one. 1t is true that there is
no law against keeping bar. The law
is against selling rum. And the Van
Ness has sold rum, straight along.
Apart from "a bar it has sold it precise
ly as hotels all over the world sell it:
sent it to the guests at their rooms and
served it to them at the public tables.
1t has done this straight along, day
after day, and days and nights and
Sundays it will be noted that one of
the purchases described above was
made Sunday and week after week and
year after year. There has, to be sure,
been some hocus pocus and beating the
devil around the stump in the business
but nothing has interfered with the reg |
uar and prompt service of rum to guests |
of the Van Ness house, as guests of
hotels are served everywhere. Hun
1reds of men are in position to swear
to the fact. 1t is a matter of common
notoriety.
1t is certainly true that liquor is fur
lished to guests in the VanNess house,
which Gov. Woodbury. owns and
'uns himself though has asserted
hat he had nothing to do with
his traffic and gets none
If the profits, directly or indirect
V. 1t has been understood that the bus
ness was done by employees on their
,wn hook and as Woodbury. is sharp
nd careful business man, it would
naturally be supposed that the wages
f the employees are gagged somewhat
lpon the fact of the profits that they /;
aake out of their liquor. If so, of l
curse he gets benefit from it indirect ,
"" The writer has seen bell boys in ,
he house come up to guests and solicit {
riders. A least it is true that the c
usiness is done in the house, done {
Systematically, constantly and to the {
of its patrons all over the Il
tate and country, and it is equally h
'ue that Gov. Woodbury. could stop it I
he wished. True, ii would r
amage his businessthousands of dollars t
year and render it imposs ible to "
nep so excellent hotel as the Van |
ess house is. But this affords not !
article of excuse. If our prohibitory a
W is right. if the argument Coy. il
oodbury made for it in his message II
as worth the paper it was written on, .
lie man who allows liquor to be sold 81
| his premises year in and year out, t,
I'd as an adjunct to his regular bust II
,ss, is the next thing to rumseller !.
mself and deserves the penalties of s
ohibition. This is not only reason, n
1t it is what the law itself says in II
lposing fine of from $40 to 5000 on ',
e real estate owner who allows $;
luor to be sold in his buildings. b.
Putting the best farce possible on it, q
d granting everything Gov. Wood y
my and his friends claim about the
the situation is humiliating f.
d illustrative of the infinite hypo- A
lcy and false pretense of this prohib- 81
Try system. There have been hun n,
eds of cases in Vermont, and several A.
this county, where men engaged in Ju
e liquor business have been elected
platforms unctiously proclaiming
to important executive ST
sition and enforce the law they are bl
violating. But the farce has tn
YER before gone SO far as to make tn
III law breaker the chief executive ca
the state. Ike
| or
The boards of health of the New Eng bo