Semi-weekly Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1897-1901, 1901-09-06
4 Light Toon Liquor AgencylMethods'

A Light Upon Liquor AgencySMe'"y :,
st Albans liquor agency imbrogl'o'
80 ubich an account was given IN
our telegraphic nexs Tuesday, ends IN
the discharge of the agent, A a
Curtis. and an order for the return OF
the liquor seized TO the agency.
This means that there is no suIclen'
mcof that the agency has been run
an saloon basis. But there Is al
lesst an illustration OF the corruption
that undoubtedly underlies good
share If this business in the VISIT OF
Alderman Beeman to Boston to BUY
liquors for the city agency, ana atter
getting the lowest prices he couiu oy
calling OF the different stores, ana
asking the one that made the ioWes'
offer "What there was in it Tor
Beemapn and getting the usual
commission for $3.50. He acted Us
detective in the operation and has
turned the money over to the city.
A LIQUOR drummer has been quoted
as declaring that three fourths OF the
LIQUOR sold to Vermont agencies Is
bought in the same way with what Is
practically bride to the man VINO
does the purchasing. Even men who
are ordinarily pretty honest. satisfy
their corsciences by arguing that rs
they have got the lowest price they
could for the town, there is nothing
wrong, in then selves taking little
something" from the dealer who wants
their custom to "pay for their
trouble,n Of course the obvious
aLswer, besides the general principle,
is that if the liquor is really bought
on competitive basis, the whole
salers recoup themselves by taking 1t
out OF the quality.
How rear true this drummer
statemct is there is no way OF proving
hecause neither bribe-tAker nor Tribe
giver can be made to testify, and we
can never know anything about 1t
except by such occasional glimpses as
this st Adams affair affords. But We
do know that the town agency system
is one that naturally breeds just
such operations. While fully concedinR
the good motives of the real sincere
who favor it, We can
cot deny that the System itself from
its foundation up is one of hypocracy
and disregard of law, and one for
which the whole community is
RESPONSIBLE. -Four tifths of she sales
at least are unlawful ones. The
average citizen who thinks he believes
in the law and the agency system,
regularly buys liquor not for ''medi
cinal. mechanical or chemical pur-
poses. ~ If as is the practise, OF some
agencies, he is required to sign GER
tificsts stating that the purchase Is
for such purposes, he does it without
a oualm. =, Deliberate, unvarnisheu
lies by the thousands are every day
signed or told in this way, ana re-
csrded as sort of joke. And this is
the name and in the supposed further.
ance of q law that violates funda-
mental individual right for the sake
of preventing evil in some csses-that
is, in protesting to forbid Gales to
anybody of that kind society has
no business to medole with in order
to stop that small proportion that
ought to be stopped, or in ether
words undertaking to do by law
what is the proper work OF moral
suasior. When whole communities
thus ec5me permeated with hypoc
rasy and the spirit that makes
farce Of law, it is inevitable that the
fruits will be just what We see Illus
trated at st Albans