Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1900-11-26
w. @, T. u. COLUMN.
WHAT REFERENDUM ME4N Ms.

". u. L., TO the Grand Lodge OF YER
mont, L. O. G. T., at LyndonviIle.
The referendum proposed by the
oppon ents of prohibition is far from
b eing temperance measure, though
often thus styled. The friends of ref
erendum urge that it is fair to submit
a much discussed question to the peo-
pie, for their approval or disapproval.
The fairness is shallow indeed, as the
question instead of being re ferred to
the people will be submitted to the
legal voters-less than one-fifth of
the people. If the promoters of the
scheme really and truly desire to
know the popular sentiment could
this not be obtained much more accu-
rately by petitions or memorials cir
culated through our state for the
signatures of both men and women,
taking into proper consideration the
children and families represented?
Or if the question is to be decide d by
e-fifth of our population, why not
| let the mothers the wives and the
sisters speak for our people, instead
of the men, as they suffer vastly more
than the men from intemperance,
and are the special guardians of home
! interests. Where is the fairness of
submitting question of special mo-
menJ to every person within our state,
to portion of it's population; and
that portion least favorable to prohi-
bition-and then claiming that the
verdict is popular sentiment" We
think a referendum would be particu-
larly unfair in another respect, in
that it would bring on an unequal
contest, since temperance societies
have almost no funds to carry on a
canvass, while the opposition have
the enormous profits of the liquor
traffic with which to secure legal SER
vices, subsididize newspapers and
conduct vigorous canvass. What
would temperance people gain by
a referendum even were they
victorious? Absolutely nothing-a
tremendous struggle and no real ad-
vancement in the suppression of this
unholy traffic. Even while this dis
cussion was occupying the attention
of the people the law breakers would
be unusually active, which is always
the case when people turn from the
enforcement of law to the discussion
of it's merits.
There is a referendum however,
which temperance people will hail
with delight and work for with all
their might; and that is to make our
present prohibitory law an amend
ment to the state constitution. This |
is just the year-19OO-wh the legis- i
lature can enact law submitting the |
question of the prohibitory law to the
people, for an amendment to the con-
stitution. The thought of having
this law a part of the constitution,
thus placing it beyond the realm of
discussion and ridicule, would be a
victory worth working for. We chal-
lenge the friends of referendum to
meet the temperance people upon
this ground. If an amendment fails
it would be no less favorable to the
license advocate than a negative vote
on the continuance of the prohibitory
law. Local option is a half hearted
license proposition. 1t means vote
once year whether a town will grant
licenses or not; no permanent dispos-
ition of the question possible. Prob
ably the larger towns would vote for
license, and many smaller towns
would vote no license at first, but lat
er on our state would be practically
license-iU is hoped by the proposers.
We believe local option an attempted
compromise measure between right
principle and a wrong principle. We
see no good reason for it's being right
to sell liquor in the city and wrong in
a country town; nor why it is wrong
for country boy to drink at home,
but manly TO go to the city for like !
purposes. Can license towns settle !
the bills in license towns caused
directly by liquors the former sell the
latter? Has one community the right :
to corrupt the youth of an adjoining G
town contrary to the sentiment of the q
people as expressed by no license
vote? The pretence of allowing the
people," legal voters only, to vote {
yes or no, and the expediency of this t
compromise are about all that can be
said in favor of local option. AS a s
temperance measure we think local {
option Intentionally misleading, hav- q
ing neither the merit of being all S
wrong, nor yet of being much in the t
right. /
mr.