Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1903-01-30
AGAINST LICENSE LAW.
A Plea for No.


mont ough not to admit the open saloon
to her borders. Mr.. Patton speaks of
his coming to Brattleboro in 1901. preju-
diced against prohibition, but says he
quickly noticed the lack of extreme
poverty among our people and of the
misery and squalOr begotten by the sa-
loon. our people, by their faces and
bearing, and by the absence of rows and
disordcrly conduct showed their free
dom from this curse. lie was especially
struck by the appearance of the children
on the streets ana in the public schools,
as compared with what he had seen i'm
New York and in most of the other states
this side of the Rocky Mountains which
have the saloons. The people showed
prosperity in many ways, despite the
fact that the neghboring farming
country was less fertile and that there
were fewer advantages in the way of
manufactures and other means of earn
ing money lie recalls the marked diff
ference which he observed at the time
of the Christmas trade in the appearance
of the farmers who drive in with their
families, dividing with wife and children
the money to be spent, and going home
with Slcighs loaded with all sorts of par
GELS. This he compares with what he
saw ia Western cities on the days when
the farmers brought their crops into
town To sell and to buy their winter sup
plies There the husband had often
Slipped away from the wife after re
ccivns his money. and when found he
was drunk and his money all lost or
sanIbIcd away.
MANY a time in the place of business
where / was manager. did | have to in
struct the sacsmam to get all the money
| he could from half-drInk farmer who
! mad come in to purchase while his wife
| was looking for him through all the
| stores where they were accustomed to
! trade. but to cut off no goods and when
| the wife appeared to hand her the money
| to buy what she pleased. y smart sales
man often got the whole amount the
| man had except "A dollar or two. and the
| gratitude OF the woman when she was
| handed the money is not easily forgotten.
! To her in that country, ii meant fuel.
| shoes. warm winter clothing, and gro
| ccriCs for herself and children. The man
was not bad The local option licensed
saloon was there with the friends to
| treat and be treated" lie was
weak and because he had more money
| than he would handle again I'm year.
he yielded to temptation. This is the
! difference between the saloon and no sa-
loon in a farming country"
This is Mr.. Paton's effective summing
| up ami conclusion of the whole matter:
Despite ali the beauty of Brattleboro.
its greatest charm Is the absence of the
| 1umhole which, ever since | could think
on social problems. ! have fought in bus
mess, homes and factories Citizens.
am fully assured that prohibition is not
a failure. even in places where the law is
not as fully enforced as here Bishop
| Potter may tell you that it is a humbug,
and that soft drinks sold in the pro-
| hibition states are more harmful than
liquor to the drinkers. and physicians OF
your OWL state may declare that pro-
| hibition encourages the opium habit and
others of kindred kind-these charges
| have not proved, but doubt them. Drs
Raiusford and Parkhurst Of New York
will put in their plea for the saloon as
the poor mans club Gruly ii will make
a poor man of him If he attends often
cnough, and they plead for an open sa-
loon on the Sabbath that the working
man may spend the little wages that ht
has not left at the club" after pay day
saturday. DO YOU find such men as The
late Phillips Brooks. with his wild,
knowledge of men and those things
which benefit mankind, or Dr. Judson OF
New York. who left one Of the most
wealthy and influential Baptist churches
i'm New Jersey where he could have com
mandcd his own salary, to 20 to serve
the poor, vicious and degraded i'm New
York, advocating the saloon from IN,
pulpit and forum. as means of elevat.
ing or necessary for the men, As YOU
come down Fifth Avenue and look acros,
Washington square, you Will see on TOT
of the Judson Memorial church a larg,
cross always lighted at night, and i
seems to say, like the motto of Constan
tine I'm hoe signO Vnccsl. by this sgr
thou shalt conquer"
In our large cities. populated by =,
many foreigners accustomed To use liz
uors in the countries from which they
come, a habit largely engendered by in
sufficient and unhealthy water supply.
believe it necessary that the saloon b,
allowed, providing its numbers, hours o
sale and kinds and qualities of liQuo
, sold be restricted. | believe in the can
teen for the army and navy posts, think
ing it better that men Who will Obtain
liquor should have it under proper re
strictions and not obtain it from th
dives which always surround these posts
But citizens, | do not believe in tn
saloon in any place where it is not nov
established You have hitherto decide
l that it shall be prohibited, and are 70,
now going to allow it to come amon
YOU? As one who for 80 years ha
worked as a Sabbath school teache
i'm the mission schools of New Yorl
and its suburbs. six years of whc
time We're among the hat factory OPP
eratives. recognized as the hardes
drinkers in the country. except the pud
dlers, permit me to place before you som
of the advantages which the saloon Wi
afford-facts which, if you will investi
gate, you will. ! believe, find correct
: Increased taxation, increased pauperisn
Increased crime, increased gambling, al
minished wages of workmen, diminishe
real estate values, diminished bank de
posts; diminished public safety dimin
. ished social virtue, diminished home com
e forts, diminished profits in business"
n Citizens your state, by its statistics
e shows large increase of prosperity i
= late years, an increase which, l believe
$ can be traced largely to the non-eXist
. ence of the saloon. Your farmers. fror
q whom comes the greatest and most Ell
d | during source of wealth and virtue haV
h | to wiring their living from a stubborn so
- by hard labor; they cannot afford to hel
p support the saloon with dime from thei
e labor or n dollar for taxes. Are you &c
[ ing To compel them to do so? VIII you
@ who may not hold that the saloon is "A
:, unmtigated evil, who think that thos
d who can use liquor i'm moderation shoul
t be allowed to obtain ii under restrictions
e not rclinquish the right of the strOn
e for the benefit of the weak? 1t is manly
o 1t is Just This is a time when men ar
s studying as never before the benefit c
d their fellows Led on by Him who cam
= to deliver all men from sin and wretched
q ness will YOU not Join with them an