Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1895-08-22
The RttI,,J H,r,II'S ISaIiauce

The Rutland Herald, it would seem, re-
lies for its defence in the suit for iber
brought against it by Gov. Woodbury. OH
the clause in the liquor law which forbidsa
person to sell or furnish intoxicating To-
quor "by himself, clerk servant or agent"
It's editor assumes that if he can prove
that a servant in the Van Ness House has
procured liquor for a guest he will have
proved that the owner and proprietor OF
the house has violated the law. 1t says:
at is not necessary for man TO know
that his servant makes the sale, or to di-
rect or approve the selling. The sale it.
self ends the worsted If the servant, act
ing as servant, sells rum, both servant
and master are rumsellers under the law"
In other words, the Herald assumes the
law to be that if a persons servant sells
or furnishes liquor, such person is himself
a seller or furnisher. 1t is hardly neces-
sary to say that such is not the law or
course a man may be a seller without
drawing the liquor with his own hands.
If he employees servant or clerk, or bar
tender to sell liquor, he sells by such en-
ploye and subjects himself to the penalty.
But it would be a curious state of things
if a person who employs q servant for Il
specific duty or set of duties, makes him
Sell or herself liable for any crimes or Of
fences committed by the servant outside
of those duties and without the knowle ige
of the employer The law is guilty of no
such sbsurdity.
If the Herald, when the case comes to
trial, is able to prove that Gov. Woodbury.
ever employed servant or clerk TO funish
liquor to the guests of his hotel or that
he ever directed one of them to so fur
nish liquor, it will have so far maintained
it's case. If Gov. Woodbury. is to be be-
lieved, however, no such fact can be es-
tabishcd. lie tells us and the public that
he has never sold liquor himself, or by
his servants. The bell boys, who have
sometimes gone outside of the hotel an
obtained liquor for guests, have been the
messengers and servants, for the time be-
ing, and for that purpose, of the guest,
and not Of the proprietor and their act
cannot imphcatc the latter.
The Herald has to all appearance under
taken a pretty hard contract 1t has as
serted and will have to prove that Gov
Woodbury. has sold liquor lin the ordinary
way,"-"procise as hotels all over the
world sell it"-"days and nights and sun
days, week after week and year after
year" The Ordinary way" as everybody
knows, is for hotels to have bar, oil
place where liquors are sold by the drink
If they have no bar they keep ON hand q
stock of liquors and wines, from whicl
the guest is supplied and the profit iron
the sales is part of the profits OF tn!
hotel The Van Ness House, as Is wei
known, has been an exception to this
"ordinary way" 1t has had no bar, NJ
stock Of liquors for sale, no place for the
sale or furnishing of liquor. No profits
from the sale of liquor have gone into It's
; profits or into the pocket Of It's proprie
tor. To call its proprietor a notorious
rumseller under such Il state of facts, i!
: TO outrage truth, dccency and the Eng
fish language. OF course the Herald vii
} say that this state of facts remains to b.
proved. True; but there are some things
: which point pretty distinctly to what car
and cannot be proved in the case. Col
| Woodbury. was candidate for the nomi
7 nation for governor in 1890. The canvass
was a sharp and doubtful one. The dis
closure of the fact, if it could have beer
5 shown to be a fact, that he was rum
seller, would have saved his opponents al
2 the money and the labor so freely eX
I pended in the successful effort to defea
Y him and to nominate another man. NJ
s attempt was made 10 show any such fact
t in that canvass. Would not such knock
1 down argument have been used, if it hat
d existed?
n Col. Woodbury. was again a candidate
Y for governor in 1894; and no charge or hin
= or suspicion that he was a habitual Vic
Q lator of our laws was brought forward t
Il prevent his unanimous nomination. Hi
f name headed the republican State tickle
= in the last State election Is it to be sup
{ posed that the democrats would have fail
6 ed to use SO potent a weapon for his de
s feat, if it had been at their command
S The thing is not supposable. The Cover
= nor refusal to pardon Landlord Howe an
: his open challenge to the Herald, by sui
e for libel to prove its charges are not tn
: acts of man who is conscious of gull
S And his friends need have no fear tina
= the trial will cover him or them with cor
fusion.