St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1903-01-21
AN IMPERFECT LAW.
Rev. j ohm l.. vi. rriII ON the Proposed
Open saloon Law.

The friends OF the proposed high
license law make their best argument Tor
a YES vote claiming our proposed law IS
O. K. because it is patterned from the
Massachusetts law which is perfection
and that the laws inherent qualities
make it a sort OF perpetual motion
machine for seli-enorcement. All the evi-
dence thus far is contrary in theory and
practice. Rev !. L. Merrill for ten years
pastor of the Congregational church at
Newbury, a brother Of Rev. c. H. Merrill
OF St. Johnsbury, and well-known and
much loved ana respected in all this
region, sends a word OF warning TO his
many friends in the following letter
Dear friends The eye of experience is
in the back of the head" as the old adage
has it. Ia those matters whore we are
devoid of personal experience, it is well
to profit by the expt rlence OF Others. AS
Vermonters have no experience OF the
licensed saloon, perhaps they would like
to know what those have to say that
have seen its ef,cr upon communities.
Having lived many years in Vermont
the writer almost two years ago moved
into a Massachusetts city which has gen
orally voted "No license" but last year
the friends of free rum stole march
upon the temperance people and carried
the city for license, and we have had
open saloons since the first of last May.
SO disguised have the people become at
the effect CT open saloons that they have
voted to close them, and are longing tor
the first OF May to come around again to
see the open saloon banished from our
midst once more.
Because the mo license" ordinance was
violated and it seemed impossible to en-
force It some were ready to set it aside.
But we have stem a greater violation OF
law than under no license. The saloon
keepers have shamelessly sold to minors
and to common drunkards. Some
thought that thousand dollar license
fee would secure men as saloonkeepers
who would be interested to close all
other places, but these men have not been
OF the least assistance in enforcing the
law. Their own shameless violations OF
it has effectually stopped Them ii, indeed,
they had any desire to do so. The effect
OF big license lee has only been to make
them eager to sell all they could to make
the business pay and so they have mace
their saloons as attractive as possible
that the weak and unwary might be
allured into them. And so for a paltry
fee we have alo owed schools to be opened
equal in number to our public schools,
dong Just the opposite work; training
our young men in idIeuess and disslpa-
ton.
The most competent observers of the
situation affirm that ten times as much
liquor has been sold as under mo license,
though we were so dissatisfied with the
way the law WAS enforced. 1t has proved
more difficult to make the saloon keepers
abide BY the conditions OF their license
than to keep closed the Kitchen bar
rooms" of the no license regime.
The savings banks and the stores all
feel sensibly the change from mo license"
to license. The employers OF labor also
fee it but most sensibly do the wives and
children of those men who have been
lured to spend their evenings in the
saloons, feel 1t.
Men and boys who would not have
sneaked into one of those illegal rumholes
have spent their earnings and their saw
ings, too, in these guided dens, made
respectable by license granted by vote
of the city. Another lesson has been
learned by this annual struggle of the
temper ance forces of the city against the
money put up freely by the liquor dealers
to carry the election.
1t is not tor the interest of good gov
eminent to have this one matter the one
absorbing question in every annual cleo
ton. Other important interests are woe
fully neglected. SO strongly has this been
forced upon the consideration of good
citizens that an effort is to be made to
have this question settled, at least for a
term OF years, say three or five, so that
there may be some off years when other
important questions can be considered.
How much better to have prohibition
upon the statue books, as i'll Vermont
II the people of Vermont could have the
experience OF a single year of open saloor
it would be evident to them that prohibi
ton with all its imperfections was inf
nitely better, And few years expert
ence of an annual campaign on the line:
OF local option would lead them to say
that it is better to have it decided, ono,
t for all, provided it is decided SO that con
S sciences OF good citizens are satisfied
e But why submit to the decentralization
c OF even a few years OF local option il
e order to learn by personal experienc
{ what you can as well learn from tn
: testimony of those that have had tn
}. experience. 1t becomes everyone in Vel
S mont who has the best good of the stat
n at heart to turn out, at whatever pc
/ sonal inconvenience, and vote mo" on tt
s Sd of February, 1908.
n ]. L. MERRILL.
r Fltchburg, Mass, Jan. 16, 03.
| No More Swords.