Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1903-06-08
PUBLIC SENTIMENT RESPONSIBLE.



law wac at fault for not having been
enforced in towns which voted in
favor OF IL on February 3, the license
law should not receive the full blame
for lack OF enforcement In town and
city in the staten
IL must be that the Monitor over
looks the radical difference between
state prohibition and prohibition un-
der local option. We can all agree at
the very outset that any kind of law
that is not backed up by public senti-
ment is dead, that il is worse than no
law at all because its very abuse under
neglect and non reinforcement ia an
offense to our ideals of order and re-
spect for government and breeder
OF contempt for all law. Now, state
prohibition ordained that there should
be but one liquor law in every town
and city in the state, regardless of the
public sentiment there, and 30 the law
that Barton wanted was forced upon
st. Adams that did not want it. Pub
lie sentiment for the past quarter
century at least never for one moment
stood behind the prohibitory law in
st. Adams. Hence, 80 far as st. Al
bans was concer ned, prohibition was
might be in Barton where the people
very likely we're in great majority
in it's support. II we admit, as we
must, the truth of the principle of
civi1s that the law is to be what the
majority of the people demand, then
st. Adams Justly blamed prohibition
as failure because 1t did not repre-
sent the views of more than one in
- Anwa ~ kn In 60
blame in st. Adams because it did not
even attempt to embody the intent of
her people, but even directly opposed
1t. IL we admit that public sentiment
should be expressed in law, then ST.
Adams had a right to ask that the
law that did not represent her people
be changed for one that did. Uoder
state prohibition or under absolute
state license, it is plain, this idea of
adapting law to local public sentiment
could never have been attained. But,
now, under local option, Saving al
ways that hope of remedying imper-
fections in any statute or maybe some
day applying a new principle alto
gether better, it must always be pub
lie sentiment and not law that is to
blame IL the law is not enforced.
town can have the law they want each
year, prohibition or license, and if
public sentiment votes prohibition and
then does not enforce it, then public
sentiment is false to its own declared
purpose and the fault is not with the
law.
The Messenger has shown that public
sentiment is to blame for the nom
enforcement of the license law but it
has not shown that it was not respon-
sible for the failure to enforce the
prohibitory law. 1t is true that law
which is not backed by public senti-
ment is practically dead but no law
ever has been or can be maintained on
the statutes for fifty years in the face
of as strong opposition as was the
prohibitory law uDless the sentiment
which upholds it is equally as strong as
that which opposes it. The prohib-
itory law was voted down by a very
small majority showing that the pso
pie we're about equally divided be-
tween prohibition and local option
A certain number of these votes were
cast by men who will not help to
enforce any temperance meas ure fo1
the reason that they are in favor Of
the law which will make it easier fol
them to obtain liquor. While this
class may not have voted solid il
favor of license we believe that the
Messenger will admit that very large
per cent. favored license Throughout
the campaign and voted in favor of it
Omi:ting this class which will no
help to enforce any restrictive meas
ure, and considering only those VIII,
voted with the idea of securing tn,
law which would best regulate tn
liquor traffic, and the prohibition ele
ment would easily overwhelm tn
license advocates. From the figure
given either February Sd or March 8
the Messenger will be unable to sho,
that the prohibitory law was dead TO
lack of public sentiment favoring it.
The Messenger takes the city of 81
Adams as an illustration and show
that the prohibitory law was not i
favor there and therefore was no
enforced. We would like to ask tn
Messenger IL it was not the duty Q
the law abiding citizens of st. Albar
to take hold and help to enforce tn
prohibitory law as long as it RENAME
on our statutes, while they at th
same time exercised their right to d
all in their power to cause the repe;
of the law?
Let us take st. Johnsbury for a
illustration. Under prohibition it
claimed that the law was not we'll er
forced. However St. Johnsbury vote
in favor Of prohibition both Februar
Sd and March 81. Ita majority of tn
people were in favor of prohibition