Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1898-02-10


tobacco; he drinks tea and coffee. The pre-
hibitionist overlooks this natural desir
in man. Seeing only the abuse, he trie
to change mans appetites by statute, T.
create virtue by law. As easy to stol
the torrent OF Niagara Seven states hav
such laws on their statute books. Main
is the banner prohibition state, yet thu
larger towns, containing 81 per cent o
population, have one drinking place Il
Neal Dow, goes by the name OF "rum-rid
den" Hundreds of people have theil
names aud places of business on the U. s
revenue books as paying tax, although
this is prima facie evidence of illegal traf-
fie. In Iowa the drug store takes the
place of the saloon. In Vermont every
town has its places where liquors can be
got for illegal purposes. In short, prohi
bition does not prohibit. On the other
hand, try high license. Passed in Boston
in 'S5, it cut down the saloons by 800 in
'S6 and by 1000 in 'S9. Philadelphia passed
the law in '91 and reduced her saloons by
one half. Each has one saloon to about
900 persons. From '89 to '94, 81 people out
of every 1000 were arrested for drunken
ness in Boston. In the same time So out
OF every 1000 we're arrested in Bangor,
Me. Maine, Vermont and Iowa take the
money from the taxpayer for courts, sher-
| ifs, trials, and still have the traffic. Bos-
/ Ton gets anu
| g 600 900 every year from the men who
make the money out of the business. Is
your boy going to take his first drink in a
| public barroom or in the back room of a
/ cigar store Now which would you rather
have, prohibition, that does not prohibit,
or high license, which pays for itself and
| controls the LIQUOR traffic
Rev. T. A. Howard, second affirmative
1t will not be disputed that the liquor traf-
| ic is the most gigantic evil. The saloon
| is the cornerstone OF crime, pauperism, vice
| and political corruption. How shall we
treat this business ignore 1t, license il or
prohibit it =? To license il is to legalize it !;
10 prohibit II is to forbid and prevent it.
favor state prohibition because il is right
in principle. The traffic is criminal. Pro-
hibition witbholds the sanction OF the
tate and thus discountenances il. The
people will be educate in the right direc-
ton. The business will be hidden, guilty
and lawless. To prohibit it is right and
the highest duty Of civil government.
Prohibition can be made success in prac-
tical operation. 1t can be enacted, en-
forced and car not but destroy the traffic.
1t is n law that would today grace the stat
ute books OF every civiliZsd government
except the Unit, States but for the ava
rice of man, and the Unit I'd States but for
avarice and poll ical ambitions. | do not
believe in license because IL is wrong in
principle. The traffic is a disgrace.
curse, a crime, calamity. To licenseit is
to legalize Il to legaliZe 1t is to counte-
nance it; to countenance ii is to sanction
it; to sanction it is to encourage it; to en-
courage 1t is to protect ii; to protect it is
10 make 1t respectable. License Is fall
ure in practical operation. 1t does not re-
strain or regulate the business. We never
tank of regulating other evils in this
way. License has been on trial in most
OF the states go years and the use OF liquor
has steadily increased. II does not lessen
the liquor sold and drank. leading
brewery msgnate states that license in
Nebraska is better for his business than
no law at all. II license we're detrimental
to the traffic the dealers would find it oui
and instead of favoring ii condemn 1t.
Shall rum throttle this republic? Yes, il
we license it. Shall the republic throttle
rum? Yes. il we prohibit 1t.
j. ID. Denison, second negat!v,-The
idea OF all law is to enforce right and pre-
vent wrong. 1t goes without saying that
the unrestricted sale OF liquor is an evil,
so that the question is what is the best
way to restrain it, it being conceded that
so long as the appetite and desire for a
stimulant exist the traffic in liquor will
continue and cannot be prevented abso-
lutely. For 80 years prohibition has been
tried and has not succeeded. Our coun-
ty court dockets are loaded every term
tions secured, fines imposed and still the
business goes on with apparently no dim
mutton. Under prohibition rum Is sold
in dives and dens and to get 1t persons go
secretly, without fear that the knowledge
that they drink will become general. Boys
and young men are thus led to places and
drink where they never would go II every
thing were done openly and in plain sight
OF the people. Under license every holder |
OF a license is a ready made detective on |
the lookout that nobody else shall sell as
1t is for his pecuniary interest to guard
his exclusive right. In this way the
mum Der OF saloons is lessened. The sell
ling place would have to be on main
street, with no screens or anything to
prevent people from knowing who passes |
In and out and there would be hesitancy |
on the part of many to entering such a I
place who now are served in some dive. |
Dealers would not dare to sell to minors
or drunkards and, having the law back
OF them, would dare refuse men liquor
who would abuse 1t.
H. w. Tewksbury, third negative-I
have lived long enough to see prohibition
a failure; why should support it? / have
lived long enough to see license success
In other states; why should i not support
it? The hypocricy and moral cowardice
that exists under the Vermont law and
because OF it is alone sufficient to con-
but few actual ones, re-
me OF the stutterer who went to
the doctor to be cured. The latter asked
him il he suffered all the time. "N-n.
no, only w-w-when l t-t-t-talk," he re-
piled. Maine, New Hampshire and Yer
mont are prohibition states. In Maine in
1897 there were 1851 government license
lees paid OF SIS each; in New Hampshire
about the same number and in Vermont
727, of which about 100 were for town
agencies. There were 20 in Burlington,
10 of which were for open saloons, OF
" hich latter there we're also 20 in Rutland,
"a in st. Adams and 10 in Middlebury.
Vermont liquor dealers paid SIS 75 last
year for internal revenue licenses, or for
from Uncle Sam while they
carried on the liquor business. Does this
ook as il prohibition was a success? The
licenses are not a proper in
iicator either of the volume of the bust
ness for not half OF the dealers take out
me. A saloon keeper in Burlington,
Y hose place was closed by the county
,ourt under the nuisance act tore down