Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1901-03-29


taste for strong drink are not SO lost to
manIiness that ,hey prefer to sneak out
OIL SlSht INTO some cellar or dark closet to
get their upple. But II 40. = is a valid
argument against prohibition. it is "a valid
argument against AN restrictions ~.
must nave no sunday closing clause. or
closing OF saloous ON election days. or at
midnight OF other days. and no turhddia.,
ol sales to urunkards or minors because
these prohibitions provoke resistance and
stolen drinks are as sweet ON SUNDAYS
as ON week days.
' We shall not escape hyprocrisy under
a license law.
10. ne prohihitOrN law does not at
tempt To enforce total abstinence. II says
nothing about drinking or abstaiuing
from drink WHAT it IOrbids is the tral-
nc in intuNiCauts within this state or
rather II res ,rlcts ,hc lawful traffic i'm tins
state To single agency i'm each town. ALL
thorizlng to sell for specific purposes
me makers of the Jaw realized that am
appetite as powerful as that Tor alcoholic
drinks could not be eNtnRuishcd 10y any
statute; nor did they undertake to pro-
| vide what a mans private habits should
| hc, as long as they do not interfere with
| the peace and guuu order of society oar
| law makes INVESTIGATION am uUouSc. s.
! do the laws OF many states which have
! no prohbitory law. Total abstinence
must from the nature of the case as 81
|
| moral suasiun, a law may assist towards
this end by removing temptation from the
! drlnker. This the law attempts to do amt
| with fair success.
| When Bishop Han says that the ON
! listing law is not enforced. he means OF
| course not that there is no enforcement;
| but that it is not perfectly enforced Are
| the laws designed to promote the ObscrV
| ancc of the 9TH and Sun commandments
| perfectly enforced; If not should tn ~
| he wiped off the statute book The law
| is 50 far enforced that no open bars are
| To he found in the state of Vermont. 50
| sign of intoxicating drinks for sale or Vi
| uuor shop window filled with rows of
| whskeN bottles tempts the passcr br.
| The traffic IS put under the ban of law
| lesSness. and there is no question but that
| ii operates as an important aud beneficial
| restriction of the traffic. The hqu-r
dealers and .Ae saloon Keepers fight .
| prohbitory law because they recognize
| no moral obligation to obey it, Ihry
| also fight restrictions, where rcstrict\ e.
| laws tNist You cannot persuade them
| or their customers, that for instance. II
is right to sell liquor up to twelve o'clock
| ON Saturday night and "a sin To sell it tN"
| minutes later. As we have said. the re-
| strictiuns of every stringent license law
! are constantly violated, and as We be-
! Heve are as generally violated as are tho
| provisions OF Il pruhibtOry law. Shall
| there. therefore, bee mo- restricting of th,
| traulc?
| y. Bishop Han is mistaken. our law
| was mo- attempt of the country folk to-
| logislate for the larger towns. W men II
| was enacted many of the larger towns
| were calling for the change. as much rs
the smaller villages. The representative
| from burlington Wh"n lhr law was enact
ed the late Henry T.. Ihckok, was a
| s;aunch advocate and supporter of the
prohibitorN law. The majority of the SEN
ators and representatives, from BuriinG'
| ton have sustained the law against the
successive attempts to repeal it; and the
same has been true OF "A majority oI the
representatives, from the larger towns
during the period of the existing law.
The Indications are that a majority of