The Press. (Stafford Springs, Conn.) 1883-1935, 1898-09-29

Miss Florence B. Washburn has re-
turned from visit with friends In Cherry
Valley.
An oyster supper will be served by Lin
coin Athletic Club each evening OF the
fair In Rockwell building, adjoining the
clubs rooms.
There Is possibility that suit will be
brought against the borough because OF
the deaths of John Marsh and Ernest
Banford. John l.. Hunter of Wlllimantic
has been retained to prosecute the cases.
The green committee of the Country
Club have arranged the following events
for members: Oct. /, gentlemen's driv-
ing contest, ladies' putting contest; Oct.
8, ladies' handicap Oct. 10, gentlemen's
putting contest, ladies' driving contest !;
Oct. %, ladies' boyle match for cham
ship of the club; Oct. 30, gentlemen's
boyle match for championship of the club.
The adjourned annual meeting of the
Stafford Library Association, held We'd
nesday evening, elected the following
directors: w. II. Smith, T. F. Patten,
@. Allen, Chas. Warren, j. "a. Reed,
Miss Celia Holt, Mrs. E. G. Dennis, F.
II. Baker, Alvarado Howard. The di-
rectors will hold meeting soon and elect
the other officers. 1t was voted to con-
tinue the library free to the people the
coming year. Owing to the death of w.
K. Baker, one of the trustees of the Arba
Hyde fund, held for the ultimate benefit
Of the library the association voted to
ask the probate court at Boston to ap-
point E. G. Pinney to the place made va
cant by Mr.. Bakers death. The receipts
Of the association for the past year, in
Guiding $500 from the town of Stafford,
we're $4,000, and the payments were
$965.83. AS the association had $211.3 3
on hand at the beginning of the year, the
deficit for the year will be a trifle under
fifty dollars. During the year 524 vol
umes and pamphlets have been added to
the shelves-244 volumes by purchase,
SO volumes by gifts, and 218 volumes and
pamphlets from the United States gov
eminent. The whole number of books Is
now arse, and 618 pamphlets; $455.64
was expended in placing a new heater In
the building, and $6235 in additions to
the shelving. Books purchased. and the
care of the library cost nearly $3.50.
LICENSE OR No-LIoENsE.
EDITOR OF PRESS: Stafford had three
years of license, followed by three years
of no-license, then return to the license
policy. The convictions by the courts of
the borough for drunkenness for the IL
cense year ending October 81, 1899, were
AZ; convictions for the license year end
ing October 81, 1893, 65; for the license
year ending October 81, 1894, 25; for the
no-license year ending October 81, 1896,
16; for the no-license year ending Octo-
Der 81, 1896, 10; for the no-license year
ending October 81, 1897, 10; for the first
ten and five-sixths months Of this license
year, 45. Average for the license years
about 45 average for the no-license years
IL. The past year has been about an av-
erage year in this respect. No one ex-
poets law against an evil to eradicate
the evil. The laws against murder and
theft do not stop all killing or stealing.
The purpose of such a law Is to reduce
the evil to minimum. The law which
makes the greatest reduction is the great
est success. Judged by the court records,
no-license reduces the drink evil to about
one-Quarter what 1t is under license. The
court records also show that various Of
fenses have been committed ths past
year for which liquor drinking was large
ly responsible, although drunkenness was
not charged In the complaint. One of
these was dastsrdly attempt at rape by
an intoxicated man, who Is now serving
out term of six years In state prison.
But the court records do not show
Everything. Men who had been sober for
three years have been on the streets
drunk. Some of them have been fire.
quently intoxicated. Young men and
boys have been under constant tempta-
tlOn, and many of them have yielded
money which should have been used for
the support of families has gone to the
rum sellers, while again and again the
selectmen have been called upon to help
such families; drunken men have been
common on our streets one man in drink
fell from window and was killed; anoth-
er man died In drink by the roadside, be-
tween the borough and Stafford Hollow
another man, who had been drinking, was
run over and killed while lying on the
railroad track; two men in the lookup
for intoxication were killed by fire. Sew
eral other deaths have occurred under
circumstances which left little or no doubt
In the public mind that they were due to
the same cause.
| Voters, isn't it about time that this
thing should stop? do not charge that
in the production of pauperism, suffering,
crime and death, the legalized liquor
traffic always makes as bad record as II
has done in our town the past year.
Everybody knows, however, that its ten
dency Is to produce such results. The
saloon has borne Its natural fruit in Stat
ford the past year: Its results are always
the same in kind, If not in amount. He
who votes for license invites these resulte
HE who fails to vote at all consents tc
these results. Only the voter, who casts
a ballot against license, is freed from re-
sponsibility for whatever evil the saloor
entails. Xxx
Doubtless some men have voted for IL
cense without realizing either the mora
guilt involved in giving their sanction to
the saloon, or the practical evil which
flows from license. The results of tht
past year ought to, and no doubt will
lead many such men to vote against II
eense at the coming election. 1t would
seem that there ought to be no doub