News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1903-09-02
Temperance Situation In Vermont Just
Now as Seen From the Standpoint
OF Our Work.
Communicated

mere was Rf6dU u6llF6bbiOu vi
spirit occasioned by the defeat in Feb
ruary, but the people are rallying and
L am sure are determined to make a
stronger fight that the traffic may be
driven into closer quarters and most
of our outlying towns be redeemed
from the curse of the open bar. /
believe we would have won in Febru-
airy if we had had little longer time
for the campaign. But that is of the
past. We are not discouraged in the
work but are pressing on to higher
and more determined effort. God has
no place In his economy for dis
couraged man or woman.
We have been using some strong
men in our work in the past few weeks
and months, among them Rev. W. X.
Davenport, Principal of Montpelier
Seminary; Deacon C. W. Osgood, the
great Bible teacher of Bellows Falls (;
Rev. R. +. Lowe and Rev. W. S.
Smithers, pastors of the two largest
Methodist churches in the state; e. j.
Ferguson, Esq, who is the Attorney
for the League, together with Dr.. j..
M. Barker of Boston University and
Hon. M. J. Tanning, Supt. of Mass.
League.
We have held two campaigns re-
Gently that have been especially ef-
fective, we think. One at Bellows
Falls May 10th, where there were
four men in the field and at which
time we spoke at Bellows Falls, Sax.
tons River, Gageville, Cambridgeport,
Athens and Putney, and some twelve
hundred people listened that day to
our speakers. Last Sunday was an
other special campaign with three
men in the field at Brandon, Goshen,
Leicester, West Leicester, Salisbury
and Forestdale, eleven meetings be-
ing held including three week-night
meetings that followed.
We were told by the license advo-
Gates when we were in the campaign
In the winter that there would be less
drinking and drunkenness In Vermont
under license than under prohibition.
We have been gathering statistics
and some that we are emphasizing in
our meetings over the state are as
follows:
The City Judge of Burlington is our
authority for the statement that in
May last year under prohibition there
were seven intoxication cases before
him as City Judge. This year in May
under license there were Sc. Judge
Bump is the authority for the state
ment that in Rutland last year in
May there were only four intoxica-
tion cases. This year there were 6S
Montpelier In April last year had
only six. This year in the two weeks
in April while the bars we're open there
were 81. We are insisting that these
statistics are quite conclusive that
the prophecy of less drunkenness was
false.
AS to the "immense revenue" we
were told the people of the towns and
state would get from the license sys
TEN, we have these definite figures
that we are emphasizing, that to our
minds explode the theory that the
license system is a business PROPOSE
tion that cOmmends itself to the tax
payers of the state. You will note by
the following that we have followed
out only one line, that of police pro-
lection: Middlebury with her three
licensed bars at $500 each and her
two licensed drug stores as $40 each,
receives as her half of the license fees
$1210; but she engaged policeman
from our city of Burlington whom
she pays $l4 per week, or at rate of
$72S a year, leaving Middlebury only
1882 revenue after having paid for
police protection. Fair Haven has
licensed three bars at 5000 each,
making $2700, one halfof which goes
to the state, leaving Fair-Haven
$3.50 revenue. She is paying out
for extra police protection $1,000
Vergennes is worse yet. She receives
only $710 as her half of the license
fees and is paying out at the rate of
1916 per year for police. She thus
will have to call on her Taxpayers
tor $166 to pay this bill for police
protection, occasioned by the licensed
bars.
Another item we are emphasizing is
the cost to the state for the trials and
afterward for the board at the Jail of
the men who take their alternative
sentence of ten days in jail. This will
cost for Burlington, so the city Judge
tells US, for the month-of May $642.-
80, as there were A men who took
their alternative sentence of ten days
In jail that month. These are some
of the things we are emphasizing and
are eye-openers to the people as they
come to face these concrete facts.
Another thing we are pushing now
as we have opportunity is the total
abstinence pledge signing. We believe
this must be done over our state
more generally than 1t has been be-
fore. In our campaign in and about
st. Adams and Bristol June the 7th,
some two hundred total abstinence
pledge cards were signed. In an audi
ence of sixty people where the super
intendent spoke at Worcester some
time ago, thirty-four signed the
pledge. Later when he spoke at
Forestdale in the town of Brandon,
using the stereoptlcan, two hundred
people came in to see the pictures and
hoo ho I1or n M ~ coro,. -