Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1903-12-04
BRATTLEBORO LOCAL NEWS.
LICENSE FOR MELRosE HOUSE.
Some Of the Objections Presented at the
Meeting Before Commissioners satur-
day Evening.

Some Of the Objections Presented at the
Meeting Before Commissioners satur-
day Evening.
The board of license commissioners
voted Monday morning to issue license
of the first class to Harry b. Haus to
sell liquor at the Melrose House in West
Brattleboro. Mr.. Haus began business
Tuesday, that being the date of the be-
ginning of his lease of the hotel from
Levi j. Strong, whose license was re-
Voked by the commissioners last Septem-
Der The license will expire June g. the
date on which Mr.. Strong's license would
have expired. Mr. Haus has paid for 1t
at the rate of $1,000 year. The granting
of license to Mr.. Haus means that
George Danyew, whose application for
license TO sell liquor at the Brattleboro
House was held up pending the outcome
of Mr. Haus's application, will not get
license. The commissioners had but one
license to grant, and they felt that as be-
tween the Brattleboro House and the Mel
rose House the latter was entitled to it,
being convinced that Mr.. Danyew was not
the principal person interested in the
Brattleboro House application
a public hearing on Mr.. Hauss appli-
cation was held at s o'clock Saturday
night in the selectmen's room. There
was a good attendance, although smaller
than at previous hearings. Rev. l.. Nj.
Keneston presented a petition of remon-
STRANGE signed by nearly all of the prop
erty owners within 400 feet of the Mel
rose House in all directions. The objec-
lions stated in the petition were: Dam
age to property injury to schools, and
menace to the welfare of the community.
Then Mr.. Keneston explained that the
petition was not grounded on the senti-
ment of the signers as 'prohibitionists."
I'VE have not sought to influence the
granting of licenses outside of our own
precinct he said, but we have rec
ognized a right under the law to keep the
sale of liquor away from our place if we
can. We have no objection to the indi-
vidual who has applied for a license. but
we have suffered many things there, we
have seen the effect of the businss there,
and we know that it is damaging in every
respect 1t has done all we predicted, and
more. and we do not want the history of
the hotel repeated"
Mr. Keneston said that Mr.. Sargents
management of the hotel was rotten,
that the selling of liquor was not the
worst thing done there. Mr.. Strong had
done much better, he said, but what Mr..
Strong had done was well known to the
commissioners. He emphasized the point
that there was no call for a license at
West Brattleboro. He said he was not
aware that the hotel was doing any bust
ness as a hotel, and he could not call it a
hotel. lie thought the only ODJecl IN
keeping it open was to make money by
selling liquor, and he thought that in so
small a place it would be impossible to
make money in legitimate sales in adj
dition to paving the rent He said that
TO open the hotel for the sale of liquor
would mean increased drunkenness and
the ruin of characters of men whe were
trying TO throw off the drink habit. The
bootleg business, he said, was twice as
extensive while the license was operative
in the hotel as before the license law
went into effect, because the sellers knew
they could shift responsibility for drunk
enness on the hotel. The hotel is sur
rounded by men and women who have
said to you over and over again that they
do not want liquor sold there. The men
who pay most all of the taxes are
against it,
Mr.. Haus spoke for a few minutes in
his own behalf, saying that he applied for
a first class license because he thought it
would be easier to get along without
breaking the law than under a license
which allowed people to carry away liquor
in bottles. Mr.. Putnam, OF the board of
commissioners, said that there was no
question but that the abuse of liquor was
a curse and asked if 1t was not safer to
have the business in the hands of an
upright man. Mr.. Eclles said in regard &c
the bootleg business, that the license
commissioners wanted the cooperation OF
the people of West Brattleboro in stopping
it, Rev. n. A. Wood emphasized what
Mr. Keneston had said about there being
no need or call for license in West
Brattleboro.