Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-01-30
A. 3. VALENTINE.
FROM LIEUT.. GOV. MANSUR.

Island Pond, Jan ii, 1896
My Dear Harris:-I believe in the pro-
hibitory law. While 1t does not entirely
prohibit, 1t Is the best law we can have
to control or restrain 1t. / believe in en-
forcing 1t. ] know that there has been
a great Improvement In enforcing 1t Tor
the past 20 years and as whole Ii Is
better enforced to-day than ever before
and II test should be made you would
find that the people are stronger for pro-
hibition than ever before. heard man
say this week Fifteen years ago i could
count 1000 men in my town myself among
them), who made 1t a practice to openly
frequent the bars and drink together ana
II we visited one another's home we had
1T there, to-day you could get none OF
these men to go into place where rum
is sold, and II you visit their houses you
will not see any. and 1t Is very unpopular
to appear in company with even the smell
of liquor in ones breath. Every young
man feels 1t a disgrace to be seen going
into a saloon. The traffic In my town has
been driven out or into secret places ana
all because of the prohtbitory law so
you see here Is one place where 1t Is do
ing good work. There has been great i'm
provement in Island Pond in the last
fifteen years. The duty Of good citizens
is to call upon the officers to prosecute
after making complaints and furnishing
a list of witnesses, and If the officers do
not do their duty or fail to allege in all
complaints prior convictions, have the
officers indicted No backward step be-
cause of the clamor that the law Is not
enforced. 1t Is because 1t Is being better
enforced why the clamor. Is there any
sane man, If he will just stop and think.
who can believe for one moment, that
the class of men who are now violating
the law and the large majority of those
who want high license would be in favor
of the prosecutions for the violations OF
the provisions and restrictions of such
law? Experience shows that liquor sellers
only want the shelter Of a license. and
when secured, pay no attention to its
restrictions. A license law in my opinion
would not be so well enforced as our pres
ent prohibition low. No one denies that
there are many violations of the law, so
there Is CT the decalogue, but we should
not want to abolish the decalogue. 1
know there are some good people who be-
lieve in high license, but large majority
of those clamorlng against the law are
those who want to feel free to sell all
they can, and those who want to have
drinking made respectable Fifteen years
ago vt was not thought anything of to see
men intoxicated at conventions or all
kinds To-day II a man gets intoxicated
at such a place he Is soon made to feel
his company Is not wanted. VINO ever
heard fifteen or ten years ago OF a man
being sent to tho workhouse for selling or
intoxication? / tell you, friend Harris.
this howl against the law is because they
feel the law We have changed the law
too often but there Is one thing more we
ought to do. Subject every man VINO
rents a building where he knows liquor Is
sold to the same penalty as the seller. 1
am glad you believe in the law; urge its
enforcement. Yours truly
H. NJ MANSUR,