Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1898-10-15

had to be postponed until the next day.
Judge Jeffries and his colleagues sat up
night after night over their wine and cards
barely leaving time for a wash before
breakfast. Men who slipped under the
table to excuse themselves fem more drink
found some one at their neckties and upon
as king what was meant by it received the
answer 81 am the boy who unties the neck.
ties" i. e., for fear of apoplexy. l well
remember our minister slipping his wine al
one of bis pastoral calls As boy | had
beer at lunch, dinner and supper. Many
| had it at their breakfasts. In this country
we read in history that in North Carolina
drunkenness was epidemic. Men died
from their injuries in church raising be-
cause of drur kenness. Many churches
were built by the sale of rum. Colleges
used the lottery for raising funds. The
sign on some public houses was 'drunk for
penny, dead drunk for two pence; clean
straw provided" 1 was in Chicago on
Chicago day at the Worlds fair and With
700, 900 people besides the million more in
the city, there was less seen of drunken
ness than at town election 40 years ago,
What has produced the change Public
sentiment through the pulpit, the platform
and the public schools. We try to make a
law to make men better and we find it
won't work without public sentiment back
of it, so that today in all our prohibitory
states drink can be had for all who ant it.
As you stop for lunch at Rockingham
Junction Frank Jones' ale is on tap for
thirsty people who have nickle, and we
find in prohibition state one of the largest
breweries in New England. A gentleman
said to me in Maine that this law had pro-
duced more hypocrites and liars than any
other on the statute book. | found the
boats loaded with empty beer barrels re
turning to Boston. l found IS open saloons
in one town and the minister said OF course
there were many more that they did not
know of; in another small town seven open
saloons.
In Vermont, to test tn matter to a scep-
tical friend, | asked the landlord whether
he had any French brandy. He said,
No, but / have some OF the best wbiskey
you ever tastedn In ano'her town | saw
a notice on the bar door, "tar closed Tor
the present" In small village l asked
the hotel cl rk whether they could make
money at 50 per day without liquor. He
said, 8 No, we lost last year, but we have
bar this year; it is in No. 6, but we
don't sell much We had dance last
night but took in only So" And SO one
might go on. Maine paid over 100000
last year in United States taxes on liquor.
was in Michigan some time before knew
they had a prohibitory law, and then did
not find it cut until there was agitation for
its repeal. In one of my fields there were
16 saloons men laid on the streets in win
ter so drunk that the snow covered them
up and they appeared like so many graves.
How did it become a sober town? By
preaching against drunkenness. The very
saloon keepers had to admit that as a sin.
Work along the lines of the least resistance.
To-day all but one man IN office in that
town are Christian men and the saloons are
gone. The public conscience has been
trained to look upon drunkenness as a sin.
No law will run itself The very deca-
logue was written centuries before it was
kept and some of it is not kept yet. But
what is the trouble, you say. 1t is the old
fable over again. The hound was up
braided by bis master for not catching tie
pig. But" said the hound, ''he was
running for his life and | was only running
for my dinner Thousands vote for a law
who will not move for its enforcement
O1e thing is certain, no cause gains any
thing by not being honest about 1T, ard
men who tell you that you must go to all
sorts OF shifts to get drink in Maine or
DO not tell the whole truth 10
the msjority of place, you will get what
you ask for. The law is still weak through |
the flesh, and al gays has been, and always
will be- A moral change must come in man
himself. Public sentiment which is WE'LL
nigh imnipotent can only come through
The constant stirring up of the conscience
and the scientific training of the young