Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1903-01-16
LIVE STATE TOPICS.
Political Points Of Interest Gathered From
the Local Field.

We hear of some town CLERKS WY
keep the copies of the referendum Din
sent them by the secretary or state out
of sight. Are the prohibs AFRAID 10
circulate the bill for fear that IT. VIII
make local option converts! IL looks
that way. Rutland Herald.
Now that the high license local-op;;
ton act has been printed FOR genera
distribution would it not be well to
have the present prohibitory law treat
ed likewise, for the latter is practically
an unknown quantity to the majority
of Vermont voters? Let us have falr
competition. Montpelier Journal.
The sight of George Washington Nor,
row and followers, Joseph Battell ana
followers, and the rumsellers ana diVe-
keepers of Vermont standing shoulder
to shoulder to fight the local option
bill is funny combination. Some
other things besides politics make
queer bed fellows. Manchester Ad-
vance.
The people of the Green Mountain
state, who are not so green as TO make
the supposed dryness Of the state a
dry Joke, will consult their own repu-
tation and prosperity if they will avoid
the extremes of prohibition on paper
and free rum in fact, which are the eX-
tremes that have met in Vermont, and
adopt moderate, sensible and suffi-
GENTLY severe restriction of the liquor
traffic, as has been proposed by the leg
islature of their state. Troy n. Y. J
Times.
The Swanton Courier says: 1.-The
omen saloon of the new law is not a
comparison to the open saloon OF the
prohibitory law in amount and quality
of LIQUOR sold, or in the demoralizing
effect it has on the community where
it is located. The open saloon such as
exists today and has existed in the
larger places of the state for the past
so years is more open than any saloon
under the Lew law can possibly be. 1t
is open all day and all night, Sundays,
holidays, 365 days in the year, 1t is no
worse now for the saloon keeper to sell
Sundays than it is to sell on Monday
no worse for him to sell after IL O'Clock
at night than it is to sell before that
time; no worse to sell to minors or
habitual drunkards that to sell to those
who will not make bad use OF what
they buy: in short he is bound to OBJ
serve none of the safeguards the new
law throws around the saloon.
1t is the apparent purpose of the Re
publican party to defeat the local OPP
! ton law on the referendum. This is
not because the party believes in pro
/ hibition. 1t does not. The record OF
rum selling in Vermont for % years,
with Republican officials in control IN
every county, shows that it does not
believe in stopping the sale of liquor.
/ The party wants the law retained be
( cause it is part of the Republican ma
chine, furnishing votes where they are
required and providing choice pick
| ings for the men it elects to office.
While it is admitted that there are de-
fects in the local option law, it is the
part of wisdom and good policy for the
| Democrats of the state to lend theil
aid in securing its approval. as the
Democrats in the legislature worked
for its preparation and passage. 1t i
not the best law that could be devised
perhaps, hut it is a good law. 1t:
adoption means much for the state anc
much for the Democratic party. fol
the overthrow of prohibition will de
stroy one of the strong props OF Repub
lican rule. There. is an opportunit,
for display OF patriotism and parti
sanship at the same time. -Montpelie
Argus.