Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-01-25

Facts About the Saloons. .-Experi-
ence the Only School for Fools
Living on our Ancestors-Queer
Moral Reflections by Truthful
James.
Mr.. EDITOR:-It's cold lately, very
cold. The saloons are the only places
where l can get well warmed up. They
warm us inside and outside there, though
not so much outside as in. The boys are
so busy selling drinks that they don't
have time to tend fires. Besides, it won t
do to put too much into fires after such
a run of bad luck as the boys have had.
OF course everybody knows that several
of them were pulled some time ago
and marched into court and put to a
blamed lot of trouble just to make things
took as if these prohibition folks mean
what they sag about stopping the rum
business. l guess some of these boys
have been up to see the judge once or
twice year for more than ten years,
but each time they come as strangers, as
uGW -NO OhC lClllClhOVlo 'lltbO nv
have ever been seen in court before. l
wouldn't bet some of the boys haven't
paid for first offences" dozen times.
A Dig row was made this time but no.
body was hurt. Some of the boys paid
little, but most of them paid nothing.
Things are quieter again, the innOcents
are noddin' and the boys are full of
business. Beer is the king everywhere
now. Everybody treats, and the boys
take in more money than all the rest of
the town. Now I'm giving it to you the
straight way it looks to the man behind
the bar. If his eyes are not open wide
enough to see things as they are that's
none of my business. l don't owe the
boys much. 1t might be some other way
if the boys would trust, but when buy
beer l show my five. If the day ever
comes when folks don't want b er-sa-
for as l said in my last, if the women
and preachers say Eeer has got to go,
it IL have to go, sure enough. l know
women and preachers, and it's no use to
run against 'em whether it's religion or
beer.
There's one thing to be thankful about,
old Santa Claus has had his day for this
year. He's great nuisance. When he's
here everybody robs Peter to give Paul a
Christmas present, and nobody feels this
like the Door rum-sellers, for there are
folks who will even pinch their drinks
to buy the children something for Christ
mas, and whatever the children get at
any time is so much less for the saloon
man. But things are looking up little.
The women and the preachers and the
law-and- order boys have had their inn
ings, but now the beer sellers have got
the bat and they're making base hits
right along. But they'll do the right
thing. They always do. They always
"come down. big when they've got the
stuff, and when the right parties call
around they'll have the best the bar af-
fords and get pocketful besides.
Likely you folks think I'm well up in
prohibition practice in this town. Well,
am. It's gospel truth, prohibition, if
worked as we work it here, gives us more
whiskey at lower rate than any other
game that am on to, and Eye had cape
rience, have.
Speaking of experience reminds me
that we have great deal of experiment
ing especially in every place that gives
our village fathers and other paternal
proxies show to make experiments
with other peoples money. 1 don't
know that any one can help it though,
for no one seems to knotU enough to help
it. Experience is a school in which
knowledge comes little high, but my
uncle Ben used to say that fools wouldn't
learn in any other. Being fool is cost
ly business, but it's a business a lot of
folks are in. 1t seems to me great pity
that our folks should be perfectly salts