The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1902-08-13

sending Representatives to the Legis- |
lature whom we know will never con-
sent to the repeal of prohibition law
and men who are able to stand up and
combat this monstrous doctrine that
is now being spread over our State,
High License and Local Option.
Some amendments that have been
made to the original prohibition law
of 1862 that / do not like, and some I
that ought to be repealed. But re-
peal all the amendments that have |
been made to this original law of 1862,
| and leave it as it was and we will
then have a good prohibition law, one
that will keep every saloon and every
rumseller out of our State, if it is
| enforced in the same way and manner
as our other criminal laws are.
But many say the prohibition law
should be repealed because the law
does not prohibit. This is another
delusion and subterfuge. Do not |
be led astray by this suggestion. We |
have law against murder, assaults, |
arson, larceny and all other crimes, |
yet these crimes are committed and |
to an alarming extent Would you be |
in favor of repeating the law against |
murder because murders are COM
mitted? You might as well say, re-
peal the law against murder because
some murders are committed, as to say
repeal the law against the traffic in
liquor because some liquor is sold
Criminal laws do not prevent, abso-
lutely, all crimes but are check upon
it. We cannot, as a State, afford to repeal
any of the criminal laws of the State.
1t would be far better for the State-if
they were more stringent. If we re-
peal the Prohibition law, and enact
; liense law we shall have more lola
| tions of the other laws than we now
have, especially the law against
; murders, assaults, riots and the dis
turbances of the public peace.
The advocates of the" High License
and Local Option law" say they want
, to submit to a vote of the people
whether the prohibition law shall be
: repealed or not and high license and
local option law passed as a substi-
tute they say the PEOPLE voted upon
1 this question in 1852, and by their
vote adopted prohibition law, and now
E they want the people to vote upon it
; again to determine if they want
= change. The question, in the form
+ they have it, cannot be submitted to
/ the freemen to vote upon, whether
. the prohibition law shall be repealed
S or not. 1t is a mistake when they say
o the people voted upon the question
5 fifty years ago. The question was
j. not submitted to the people, it could
o not be, under the Constitution. The
l. only question submitted TO the vot-
d ers was whether the law as passed by
the Legislature should take effect on
Is the second Tuesday of March after its
e passage by the Legislature or on the
e first Monday of December, 1853.
e The Legislature passed the law of
1852 1t was never submitted to the
if voters whether it should become a law
e or not. This is the language of the
e act: The provisions of this act
h shall take effect on the I'd Tuesday of
e March next, provided, that if a ma.
,e jority of the ballots to be cast as here
is matter provided shall be "no", then
l. this act shall take effect on the first
e Monday of Dec, 1853 -
!, 1t was provided further in the act
he that meetings of the freemen of the
is State should be held on the 2nd
2 Tuesday Of February to vote, and if a
ID majority of the votes shall be mo
r then the act shall take effect on the
ee first Monday of December, 1858 The
y vote was yes and the act took
e effect on the second Tuesday OF
ID March, 1858. The voters would not
If delay any longer, they wanted the
n law to take effect in the shortest time
Vt possible. The Legislature had beer
S, "dickering" with license law from
10 1914 to 1852, and the people had be,
)e come sick of any license law, or
Sc anything that would legalize the
j. traffic in Intoxicating liquor, and they
is took bold stand for prohibition.
ID We need now, very much more the
x prohibition law, than we did in 1852.
lie We needed it then, we do now, and
always shall and let us all stand by
RS the law that is so great a prevent.
to ative of crime.
u The first case tried under the law of
b. 1852 was State v. Parker and will be
b. found in the Goth of Vermont Re.
a. ports. One branch of the defense
y made in the case was that the Legis.
q lature submitted the question to the
ly people whether the act of prohibition
is should become law or not and there.
fore it was void. If the advocates OF
rs high license and local option law will
tie read the case above referred to, they
id will find that the question they want
I'd to refer to the people cannot be refer
3, red to them in that.form, for it would
VS. not be constitutional. l am not say
ID ing but that some questions may be
Y, referred to the people by the Legisla-
,e ture, but not the one contemplated.
If But if the question is ever to be sub
Of mitted to the people, to say, whether
20 the prohibition law shall be repealed
is or not, l hope the time will be de-
" layed until the women of Vermont
III have a right to vote on this question
ID believe, as does Judge Ross, that
5. grand nobleman who has ever had the
lie best interests of Vermont at heart,
W that the women shall be allowed to
fe vote on this question You let the
a mothers and the sisters in Vermont
y have right to vote and there never
'e would be a saloon or rum hole in the
ID State, nor license law of any kind.
II They are the ones that will suffer the
W most if we have license law No
IT man who has the best interests of the
State at heart can advocate "high
W license and local option law.
1t The best, the quickest, and the most
al certain way to settle this question,
al is for the people to fill our next Legis-