The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1896-05-15

cants than any license law hs been else1
where. For this reason none or the many
attempts to repeal and weaken the law have
ever even approached success.
at is a pity that our state should have
paper, elsewhere considered respectable,
which does not hesitate to 'foul its own
nest in its bullheaded opposition to the law
Its conduct, in this respect, is dsapproved
by MANY even of the opponents of prohibi-
ton in Vermont: and while its ISLANDERS of
the people of Vermont and of the leading
citizens thereof cannot but hurt the state
when taken up and reproduced by the
journals of other states. here at home they
serve simply to strengthen the law in its
hold on the statute book, and in the con-
tidence and support of our people. . Bur-
lington Free Press.
We reprint this editorial entire both be-
cause it touches a live and important subject
in remarkable way and to further the in
terests of polite literature. The judgment
and temper shown are at least well matched,
and the methods are those common to the
contemporary. Whenever it has discussion
with any other paper it promptly begins to
misrepresent what Its opponent SAYS and
abuse it. If demonstrated with It talks about
having better use for its space than printing
what the other paper says. 1t has half a
column for Misrepresentation, butlnot an
inch for reprintng. And then the Free Press
never fails to declare that any exposure of
home crookedness is ian attack on Vermont"
1t defends everything that exists and
every man in office, no matter how much
rascaity may be involved, and seeks by
tactics unknown In the rest of the news
paper world to work its way out of the
strange positions it gets into. All this is i'm
portant now because IN the article given
above it is speaking for the chief executive
of the state of Vermont Right alongside in
the Free Press are printed some letters from
St. Johnsbury men to Gov. Woodbury.
without signatures) protesting against par
donng Howe. The whole thing is Of course
straight from Gov. Woodbury. himself.
The HERALD'S statements are contradicted
here and there. In some of the instances the
nature of the case is such that detailed proof
cannot be given on either side, and the public
must be left to judge. In other cases proof
can be had. But when the Free Press talks
about the scarcity of rumselers in the state
it perhaps falls into error by limiting too
closely the definition of the word. In one
sense 'rumseller" is simply the person who
actually sells rum with his own hands. In
another it is the person who owns the rum,
also. In another it is also the person who
profits from the selling, directly or indirectly.
The Vermont law makes the owner of a
building in which liquor is sold rum
seller. Now, it is likely enough that if
the editor of the Free Press, Mr.. Bene-
dict, will look his possessions over he will
find that be is himself rumseller in the wide
sense plainly meant by the HERALD. Owner
ship of stock in almost any railroad makes
him one, as does ownership of land or any
thing else yielding a revenue from the liquor
traffic. The HERALD meant Just what it
said-not what the Free Press says 1t said
on this point, and the truth of its statements
will be readily admitted by any candid man.
Dt,f oil 10 &c NV thn lat tpl-o nm
the real subject of the Free Press remarks
Gov. Woodbury. as rumselIer. In the first
place, it should be said that the HERALD
made no attack. and has no attack to make,
| on the governor for refusing to pardon Mr..
Howe. If the law is right his action was
right. The governor need not have defended
himself by printing the letters he does. The
HERALD took the Howe case up because it
| illustrated sharply the weakness of the pro-
| hlbtory law. 1t was attacking the law and
| nothing else. 1t referred to Gov. Woodbury.
only incidentally, and certainly in a courteous
| way. Here is, if we remember rightly, all
| that the HERALD has said touching the
| governor in connection with the case except
in the bare statement of facts
Suppose that the st. Johnsbury experience
were repeated in other places all over the
state-how would the house of correction
look! Who keep and own the hotels in Rut
land and Burlington and Bennington and
Middebury and Vergennes and st. Albans
and Newport and Montpelier and Wood
stock and Brattleboro and so on? Rum Il
sold in every one of them every day in thu
year and many times day, and every keeper
! and owner is rumseller in fact and undel
the law.
II
But If the law were actually enforced for
single week members of the legislature woulc
tumble over each other in getting to Mont
pelier to repeal or modify 1t, in response to
call from the governor, given because o
universal and imperative demand. VIII
should this happenY Because half the prom
inent citizens of the state would be In prison
Nearly every man in the state of any mean
is a rumseller, more or less directly, and
very large proportion of them are guilty unde
our law.
Gov. Woodbury. himself owns the Va
Ness house at Burlington and has owned it
long time. We believe that he also owns tn
building across the street, which contains
: drug store. Nobody thinks the worse of hin
for that-of course not-and all over the stat
men highly esteemed and universally truste
have similar interests.
) Now we considered all that a mere inc
, dental reference to notorious facts to whic
Gov. Woodbury. could not possibly objec
The intimatiOn is simply that liquor Wa
sold in the Van Ness house and perhaps in
| building across the way owned by tn
governor. There is nothing said by tn
Free Press about the drug store, but Coy
$ woodbury. takes what we said as II we ha
0 accused him of stealing sheep and comes
us with fiat contradiction and string {
y peculiar left-handed compliments. If "
!, now state and prove the sundry facts in
: reasonably plain and decisive way tt
e governor cannot complain.
AS Editor Greeley used to say, s'More {
t this in our next
:, From the Rutland Herald for August
o 1895 Article on which the suit was based
Gov. Woodbury. as a Rumseller-som
- Detailed Facts.
1t THE assertion that the governor of We
D. mont Is rumseller and lawbreaker Is all
= false and outrageous libel. Among the V
al rious building owned by Gov. W oodbury
IS this city is hotel; but It has no bar. Liqu
IS Is not sold in it. and never has been durii
Re his ownership of it. The governor has pol
le zeal and other opponents, who would
~ very glad If they could have the hotel
IA owns prosecuted for violating the prohil
D. tory law. No such prosecution has occurre
al because there has been no violation of Il
10 law on which to base 1T Huntington FIR
re Press.
j. The HERALD has in its Office three bottl