News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1896-05-14


Ness house in the ordinary way and without
the smallest difficulty. 1t has also one bottle
of whiskey which the purchaser says was
bought at Lyman & HalPs drug store, in the
building owned by GOV. Woodbury., within
week. The purchasers Of the liquor In the
hotel have signed written statements of the
facts which the HERALD has. With the
names, room numbers, ETC., left blank, here
they are -
"RUTLAND, VT, Aug. ., 1895.
''7'o the Editor Of The Herald -
Il was in Burlington, Vt, yesterday and
registered at the Van Ness house, where ]
took supper last night and breakfast this
morning.
"At 10 30 last night went to my room
No. blank--and ordered drink of whiskey
to be sent up. The hotel porter, who took
the order, said that it was getting rather late,
but he said that he could get bottle Of Bass
ale for me. preferred whiskey and he went
down stairs and was gone about IL minutes.
He returned with a small bottle of whiskey
and some ice water. He charged me % cents
for the whiskey, which | paid him on the
spot. | drank portion of the liquor and the
rest is in the bottle which accompanies this
communication. "Yours truly,
"BLANK DASH"
"RUTLAND, VT, Aug. 5, 1895.
"TO the EditOr ofthe Herdld:-
81 went to Burlington Saturday forenoon,
August 3, and registered at the Van Ness
house. was given room dash.
Before dinner | rang the bell, and when
the boy came told him that | wanted some
liquor. lie asked what kind, and finally
told him pint of whiskey and pint of
beer. He went away and in little time
came back with the liquor as ordered.
mid him u 81 for If lranly a rt of bn
contents of both bottles, and hand the bottles
with the remainder to you herewith.
BLANK BLANK"
"RUTLAND, VT, Aug. 3, 1896
81, Dash Dash of Blankville, went to Bur-
lingtOn, Vt, Saturday, Aug. 3, 1895. went
to the Van Ness house and called for room
and was assigned to room No. dash. Sun
day morning | asked the bell boy for some
whiskey, gave him 81, and within a few
minutes the bell boy returned with bottle
of whiskey. / paid him 60 cents for same
No questions were asked by the bell boy.
"DAsH DASH"
These statements, with the signatures and
the bottles, are ready for inspection by Gov
Woodbury. himself or by any man he may
send to the HERALD Office for the purpose.
The witnesses are unimpeaChable. Gov.
Woodbury. doubtless knows some of them
personally. He would hardly question the
word of any one of them. And the HERALD
has within reach more evidence of the same
sort.
1t is perfectly true, as the HERALD under
stands, that the Van Ness house has no bar,
and for a long time has been without one.
1t is also true that there is no law against
keeping bar. The law is against selling
rum. And the Van Ness house has sold rum,
straight along. Apart from bar 1t has sold
1t precisely as hotels all over the world sell
it; sent it to 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 WILDE 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 regular
and prompt service of rum TO guests of the
Van Ness house, as guests of hotels are
served everywhere. Because of the peculiar
law of the state not every man who knows
the fact cares to make statement in public,
but mountains of evidence can be procured
il it is wanted. Hundreds of men are in
position to swear to the fact. IL is matter
OF common nOtOriety. There is not single
man connected with the Free Press who
does not know all about it.
In fact the selling there has been more
notorious and made more talk than in any
other hotel in Vermont because of the
absence + bar. The impression has been
abroad that Mr. Woodbury. feared that the
existence of a bar might somehow harm him
politically. We believe that the Van Ness
house is alone among the larger hotels of the
state in being entirely without bar, but
nobody with the smallest knowledge of such
matters need be told that 1t could not pos
siby be run successfully without providing
It's guests with liquor in some way.
The Van Ness and American houses in
Burlington were rivals years ago, with Mr..
Woodbury. owning and running the former
and j.. S. Drew leasing and running the
other. Mr.. Woodbury. bought the American
house lease, Mr.. Drew went into business
with him and for time the two houses were
run together. The American house was
finally closed and the building found new
uses, while the Van Ness house went on.
Mr.. VIC odbury. if we are rightly informed,
was never the active man of details In rum
ming the Van Ness house, as there has always
been partner or salaried manager to take
that work, but he has all along been the sub
stantal landlord back of everything as well
as the owner of the building. 1t Is hardly
necessary to say that the sale of liquor by his
agents and employees is selling by him. That
is true in reason, and the statute specifically
makes it true in law. The law also makes
the owner of a building in which liquor is
sold liable as a seller.
Across the street from the Van Ness house
is Lyman e. Halls drug store, in a building
owned by Gov. Woodbury.. The HERALD un-
derstands that it is at times in effect wide
open saloon, while at other times liquor SELL
ing is "stOpped" there, by which 1t is under
stood that the selling to strangers Is stopped.
1t Is notorious rum hole. Burlington peo-
pie now say that "the Van Ness house bar is
In there" meaning that the hotel gets its
liquor there.
We had no disposition to critcise Gov.
Woodbury. simply because of any liquor sell
ing he had been concerned in, but in trying
to show some of the weaknesses of the pro-
hibitOry law we incidentally referred to his
case. We were led to make the reference
especially by the curious parallel that APP
peared between his case and that Of Mr.. Howe
of st. Johnsbury. Let US suggest few
points -
Mr.. Howe was man of large means and
varied business interests, and active in affairs.
So was Mr.. Woodbury.. Mr.. Howe was
man of high social standing and In a general
way one Of the most highly respected and
useful citizens of his town. SO was MIR.
Woodbury.. Mr.. Howe was active In benev-
olent and other affairs of public nature.
The same thing was true of Mr.. Woodbury..
MIR. Howe was landlord of one of the larger
hotels OF the state. Mr.. Woodbury. was
landlord of another of the same class. As a
vital part of his business Landlord Howe
sold rum. Landlord Woodbury. did the
same thing. Landlord Howe owned his
hotel building and also another building in
his town in which liquor was sold that is,
to put 1t in prohibitionlst form, he owned
two rum holes and ran one of them himself.
The same thing was true of Mr.. Woodbury..
All the facts above stated in regard to Mr..
HOwe's connection with the liquor traffic
were notorious In his own town and else
where, and in no way injured his standing.
The same was true with regard to Mr..
Woodbury..
Right here the parallel ends. Rumseller
Howe has gone out of business as landlord.
and is In prison. Rumseller Woodbury. con-
tinues in business as landlord and Is gov
eTnOr Of the state of Vermont
No reasonable man will think one particle
the worse of Gov. Woodbury. because he
has furnished his guests with liquor.
All landlords in the world do that. But he
Is open TO criticism for what we will call his
want of frankness in doing II, for all pre-
tense Of being prohbitionist, and so far as
he has contradicted truthful statements made
in regard to 1t. And II will of course be I'M
derstOod that his attack upon the HERALD is
a thing that the paper could not pass without
o TeJOinder.
But the trouble Is with the law. II Is .
shame and disgrace to the people Of this state
to have such man as Mr.. Howe of st.
Johnsbury Inundated and outraged by Inn
prisOnment ms he IL. He committed NJ
Oiiense, as judged by his own town and by
all towns and by the whole world IL was