News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1902-07-30
What Mr.. Clement Wants.
(From the Brattleboro Phoenix }

IL Onl Nulldllu III luS last ISSlSfdlulS'
He introduced into the Senate during
the last session a bill known as the
Senate No. sc, can act to regulate
the sale of Intoxicating liquors. He
declared it a high license, local option
bill.
That bill was debated at length in
the Senate, Senator Clement taking
leading part in the discussion. He
did not offer or make a suggestion
of amendment; he pushed the bill to
final vote in just the form he intro
duced it. In all the criticism that
was made on it, he stood By it, and
it is fair to assume now that that
bill contains the sum and substance
of Mr.. Clements idea of high license
and local option. 1t is interesting
to know just what he does under
stand by the terms high license and
local option; just what kind OF
measure he would recommend if he
were Governor; just the nature of
law we shall have upon our statute
books if Mr.. Clement succeeds in his
ambition.
1t has always been assumed in dis
cussion of this question, that Massa-
chusetts has about as good a high
license local option law as can be
found. Senator Clement undertook
to copy some features from the Mas
sachusetts statute. 1t is interesting
to compare his measure with the
Massachusetts, law.
The first section of Mr. Clements
bill provides that when a town has
once gotten license, license shall con-
tinue until an effort be made to get
rid of it. 1t is not, as in Massachu-
sets, to be voted upon every year,
the burden always coming as it
should on the supporters of Ii
cense. No, Mr. Clement would have
license forever, after it was once es-
tablished, until the no license element
in a community could rally strong
enough to force the issue again and
carry town meeting against it. The
second section of this bill provides
that the board of commissioners on
excise shall be the assistant Judges
of the county court and the county
clerk. Not over three towns in any
county could be represented on the
board. In Windham county today,
Westminster, Newfane, and Halifax
would furnish the board of excise
commissioners therest of the county
would have nothing to say about it.
Rockingham and Brattleboro would
have no member on the board. In
Massachusetts, it is the board of ex-
else commissioners within and for
the city, or selectmen of the town
within and for the town that have
control of granting and revoking Ii
censes. Instead of giving to the
towns the control of the licenses,
Clement would take that control
away from them From this bill we
see just what Clement means by the
term local option.
The amount to epaid for a license
for all classes, except drug stores, is
to be fixed by this board of excise
commissioners-assistant judges and
county clerk, but the bill provides
what the minimum shall be. For a
first class license for an open full
hedged saloon, selling liquors of all
kinds and in all quantities, the mini
mum for towns of 5000 or more is
$500. In Massachusetts it is 81 900.
Under Clements BILL for towns of
less than $500 inhabitants, the mini
mum for such a license is 500. So
if Brattleboro voted no license and
Guilford voted license, asaloon could
be licensed at Algiers for 500.
Then, Clement would have saloons
known as the fifth class, which could
sell liquors of any kind, in any guam
titv, not to be drunk on the premises.
The minimum license is 500 for
towns the size of Brattleboro. That
WOulu mean that III PlOo q hSShoN
could be procured in Brattleboro to
sell whiskey by the bottle or in a pack
age, from one-half pint to a barrel.
There are no restrictions in the bill as
to what shall be termed the premises.
A man can rent the back part of a
store in which to sell bottled liquors
under the $1OOlicense; the front part
of the store could be a reading
room, and there man could take
the bottle Of whiskey he had bought
and drink it, That is high license
according to Clements notion.
Then he has the drug store license.
For SIS he would license any drug
store, without limit as to number, to
sell liquor of any kind for medicinal,
mechanical and chemical purposes,
to such persons who may certify in
writing for what purpose they want
it. That reads very well, but the
trouble is, there is no penalty inflicted
upon a person who should lie about
- IN atinU what he yvantc II for