News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1900-10-17
A WORKING MANS VIEWS
On the Prohibition Question.
Editor News and Citizen =

months articles at different times re-
lating to the important question
of whether prohibition or high
license is best for the people OF
Vermont. am not much OF q writer
of articles for newspapers but with
out stating my views in either way
on the subject, will for the benefit of
your readers, state in few words
what | have seen and the experience
l have had 10 doing work aud having
charge of men both in license and
prohibition towns.
For two years previous to the pres
ent year | had charge Ct work which
required a number of men in the
States of Maine, Massachusetts and
Connecticut. The first state named
is like Vermont, prohibition, and also
like Vermont has many towns where
no notice is taken Of the number of
saloons within and it has also towns
where the law is enforced to the let
ter. Ia all cases they seemed to be
governed by the sentiment of the ma
jority of people or by the amount of
"hush" money which the saloon keep
ers we're d BILE to put into the pockets
of the principal Officials, much the
same as is done in some cases in Yer
mont. My work being mostly out
side was more or less delayed by
stormy weather, and it was always
my aim to procure men as far as DOS
sible who would not get intoxicated,
but in gang of men there are always
some who will hang around the sa-
looms if there were any to hang
around, and nine cases out OF ten
would get drunk and of course no use
for work until such a time as the
weather was fair at O'Clock in the
morning. In few instances | have
had to go personally and get men
and keep them quiet, men whom |
know would not be in that condition
were they obliged to be on the street
or in their rooms not having saloon
to stay in until they got drunk. In
one case l paid the fines of two men
to keep them from going to Jail good
workmen and hated to spare them J
men whom am positive would not
have been in that condition had there
been no saloons for them to stay in
during the day. know of no reason
why the same thing would not hap
pen in Vermont were there saloons.
don't mean to convey the idea that
no one gets that way now in Yer
mont, but actually know that where
one case exists in Vermont there are
ten in towns Of other States where
there are saloons. | refer to ordina-
ry sized towns not the large cities
particularly, but comparing the po-
lice records of cities as | have done
find the same ratio exists, only not
so noticeable. have never had the
trouble in carry ing on work in places
where there were no saloons as where
there were.
OF course those men who wanted to
drink would do so as they would
manage to find the liquor whether
there we're saloons in town ornot but
they would not 60 into hotel, bar.
Der shop, grocery store or any other
place in an ordinary country town
and stand in one place and drink all
they could hold.
For the past nine months have
been in many towns 10 western Penn.
sylvania, northern Indiana, some in
Virginia and at the present am in
northern Michigan in the copper re.
gioD. have taken special pains this
summer just for curiosity and to sat.
isfy myself, to study and learn the
conditions in different places some Of
which have been license and some pro.
hibition. | will say right here that
any good citizen has only to travel
through Vermont and then through
the mining towns of Pennsylvauia
and even into the. city of Pittsburg
where large number of laboring
people gather every night, travel uI
and down the streets mostly back
streets any time late in The evening
and see from twenty-five to a hun
dred drunken men and women, to be
convinced which is the best condition
of the two places. | am not exagger
ating theIconditiOns particle.
Before leaving Vermont some time
ago | was of the opinion that the
state OF affairs which existed under
the prohibition law was not what il
ought to be and still think so and as
long as the sun shines and grain
grows liquor will be made and sold
but | hardly think that if any good
sound minded citizen WHO'S an advo
cate of high license in the State o.
Vermont could see the desolation
misery, drunkenness and everything
else that goes with it and comes un.
der those heads which | have person.
ally seen, not heard Of, he could truth.
fully say that high license would bet
ter the conditions of the State.
In western Pennsylvania, the towns
which ! had occasion to visit all had
from one to twenty-five or more ga
looms and it was an exceedingly small
town that did not have at least one
mostly in the mining districts. had
occasion to visit some of the officials
of a coal company and upon inquir,
ing was told that four hundred men
were on the pay roll but not more
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