St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1901-05-08
The Temperance Issue,

Sunday evening, April, 7, Rev. J. H.
Reid OF Bellows Falls gave an address in
his church revie wing the position taken
by Bishop Hall on the question of pro-
| hibition.
Mr.. Reid placed himself on unassail-
able ground at the start by saying that
the action of Bishop Hall is caution to
radical temperance men against the evil
OF calling their opponents by hard names
or OF making up black list of men who
do not agree with them. The repeal of
our present law, which the Bishop would
like to see, is what the liquor men are
also working for, but the motives of the
two are as far apart as the poles. "All
we ask tor is an open and fair contest in
which the appeal shall be made to the
reason, and if a majority wish the repeal
OF the law, it should be taken off our
statute book | am more a believer in
the right of the majority to rule than
am in prohibition" Taking up the
recent declaration that prohibition
does not prohibit" Mr.. Reid said: IF
ne means that prohibition does not
absolutely prohibit, his argument is
weak for it proves too much. Society is
afflicted with other evils besides drunk.
enness. In spite of our rigid laws,
thieves break through and steal, fallen
women walk up and down Our streets,
and gamblers ply their arts. 1t the
Bishop means that prohibition does not
lessen drunkenness, | take issue with
him. There are two sources of intemper-
ance; greed behind the bar pushing its
wares, and appetite in front of the bar.
Appetite will be grati6ed even fit has to
resort to kitchen bar rooms. But much
that is drunk at the bar is of social
nature, and among social drinkers the
licensed saloon has every advantage in
increasing its business. Appetite plays
but small part IN making drunkards. No
man ever started out to be a drunkard.
lie is simply good fellow who enjoys
having good time with other good TEL
lows, and finds that drink helps on the
good fellowship. And the saloon is the
main agency in helping along this sort
OF thing. Underground saloons can sell
to the man with an appetite, but every
advantage is with the open, licensed
saloon which pushes its wares to the
public attention.
The Bishop says that prohibition
drives the mischief underground. thank
God for that, for it is just the place for
it. | feel safer for my boy if it is under
ground than when upon some prominent
street corner, throwing its glare and
glmmer. If the Bishop thinks that
license closes up any of the underground
kitchens, his innocence of the working of
high license is great, and what Boston is
experiencing now in trying to close these
places ought to open his eyes. There is
no greater fallacy than the idea that the
saloon keeper acts as watchdog on the
unlicensed places.
Again the Bishop says: prohibition
unenforced tends to break down the
sense Of obligation in the case of all law,
human or divine" To this Mr.. Reid
made answer that some laws are not en-
forced because they cannot be, others
because no effort is made to enforce them.
There is no doubt that prohibition can
be reasonably enforced in Vermont. If
the Bishop had thrown himself into the
fight for the enforcement OF the law, he
alone could have changed conditions in
Burlington, where he complains that
there is much violation of the law.
Mr. Reid's most effective answer was
made to the Bishops final argument
that prohibition is foolish and mis-
chievous because it is largely an attempt |
on the part of one set of folk to legislate
Tor another set OF people; namely, our
country folk for our larger villages and
cities" my reply" said Mr.. Reid, lis
that society is an organism; and towns
and cities are bound up together. If one
suffers, all suffer; if one rejoices, all re-
;oice together. You cannot fatten your
thumb without putting flesh on your
whole body, and felon on the thumb
cripples the whole body. The saloon is a
sore, fostering crime and poverty. Thus
a saloon in Burlington touches every
taxpayer in the state. We all know
what came of the plea once made by the
South Tor special immunities for itself
and OF its protest against the right of
one set of people to legislate for another
set of people. Poverty and crime are
and if the whole people of the
state have to pay the cost of crime,
hey ought to have right to say
an institution which is the
source of nine. tenths of the crime should
)e nermitted to exist in the state