The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1903-11-26
SIX MONTHS or LICENSE.


any church Sunday evening, the pas
tor, Rev. Lucius f. Reed, speaking on
the subject of license, IN the light of
six months experience under the new
law regulating the sale of liquors.
Subioined is a synopsis of Mr. Reeds
remarks:
MIR. Reed said that since license is
but an experiment in the community
il behooves us to carefully observe
every fact for or against We need
beware lest, becoming used to condi-
tions, we become oblivlous to their
significance. He said his talk was not
to disclose new facts but rather to call
TO mind such things as have been OBJ
served commonly. Attention was
/ called to the enforcement of the pres-
ent law which. on the whole, has been
| good. Since the law became operative
! two PAGES with bad regulations have
! been closed.
Speaking of these favorable things,
the speaker took up consideration
| of six Months of License" more in de-
tail--fiIst on the financial side He said
in substance that the city treasurer's
books show that in intoxication cases
tried in the city court 1878 above the
receipts for fines has been paid out.
If the present rate of drunkenness
continues, the city will be short near
| ly 81, 600 at the eud of the year of Ii
cense. To balance This there are the
license fees, 50, 3l5. This will not bal
ance the account, for according to the
overseer of the poor, there will be
spent in care for families coming on
the town through drink about as much
as is received for the licenses. Ac-
cordingly there will be a loss to the
city in the license experiment.
In regard to the effect upon bust
ness, Mr. Reed said that almost with
out exception those whom he consulted
reported loss in sales and poorer col
lections, which can be traced directly
to the increased drinking. Many cases
we're cited, by way of illustration, of
families who had been fairly good
customers who now buy much less and
pay more slowly. The financial loss,
however, has not been heaviest upon
the merchants. The families, which
have been compelled to get on with
less have to bear the heaviest burden.
Their loss is often the means to buy
the necessaries of life. Ac ,ording to
conservative estimates from $500 to
$500 is being spent daily for liquor,
or nearly twice as much as formerly.
The moral results can not be tabu-
lated or measured, but there are many
indications. The most evident is the
record of the city court. The same
months in three years show the follow
ing number of arrests for drunken
ness; 1901, 80; 1909, 40; 1908, 217.
Thse figures do not mean simply that
the police have been more vigilant,
for common observation shows quite
the contrary. The policy of the po-
lice is not to arrest man who is in a
fair way to get out of the way, pro-
vided he is not creating disturbance.
1t is almost the universal testimony that
there are more tipsy and drunken men
on the streets. 1t is considered by
many unsafe for women to walk on
the streets at night. Notwithstanding
the oath of the police officers, we are
forced to believe, from testimony gath
cred from many sources, that condi.
tions are much worse. Some one
should explain, to satisfy public curios-
ity, just what the police meant by the
oath they took.
The moral results among drinkers
is sad, but not so sad as the results
in families and upon the boys of the
city. Families have been forced
against their wishes to look to charity
for aid. Children have been contamin-
ated by disgusting spectacles. not SO
often seen before Crime has in
creased, and some results are too sad
to talk over so publicly. The restric-
tions against selling to drunkards and
boys are made useless by the places
holding second class lcens $. These
places unite every knot that was made
to prohibit the sale to certain persons.
In closing the speaker again urged a
careful observation Of facts for or
against the saloons, SO that when we
vote in March we may vote intelli-
gently, having the facts before us.
He called attention to the organiza-
ton of liquor men to promote business
and work to retain the license law.
Such an organization means that those
who decide against continuing the
saloon must be equally Jealous III