Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1904-02-05
License in Rutla nd.
Joseph G. Jones, Clements Chief Lieuten-
ant Speaks for No License.


ant Speaks for No License.
The question of "License or No
License" Is the one all important issue
in Rutland. Last week j. G.. Jones, Esq,
spoke to large audience in that city on
this issue and asked all to vote NO at
the March meeting. The Rutland Herald
contains the following report of the
meeting:
Mr.. Jones spoke for about an hour on
the conditions that have existed in this
city since the license law went into effect
last March. He was very bitter in his
denunciation of the workings of license
in this city, claiming that the conditions
have been far worse than under the pro-
hibitory law.
He stated at the beginning that he
would endeavor to show why the saloons
were not success in this city. He said
that he believed as long as there was
demand for liquor it would be sold
and the question was as to the best way
to control the traffic. The local option
law. declared the speaker, is still young
and if after fair trial it is proven to be
the best thing for the state it should live,
while if it is proven to be greater fail
ure than the prohibitory law it should
be..knocked in the head.
II know" said Mr.. Jones, "that in
Rutland it is failure and | would like
to see how no license would work" He
claimed that Notwithstanding the report
of the chief of police and statements
made in recent editorial in THE RUT
LAND HERALD, the files of the City court
showed that during the last nine months
there had been 229 arrests of residents of
this city for intoxication, as against "a
for the year 1902, % of the latter being
nop-residents.
In speaking of the financial benefit to
be gained by the city and state from Ii
cense fees, the speaker declared that
there would not be much money left
after the costs of administration had
been paid.
Mr.. Jones declared that since the IL
cense law went into effect there have
been many times the number of intoxica.
ted persons on the streets that there were
under the old law and that it was not
safe for a woman to cross a street after
dark without an escort.
He said he had seen six boys, all of
whom were under II years of age. going
along the street together in an intoXi-
Gated condition.
He also said that he had recently seen
young man carried out of saloon by
four companions and placed in a hack.
He told of instances where men had
gone into saloon and stood in front of
the bar drinking until they were SO in
toxicated that they had to be carried out.
| hn loi oh hot hn lax
was not lived up to- and that man could
buy liquor as long as he had money to
pay for it, no matter how drunk he was.
Mr.. Jones also spoke of the evils of
social drinking and said it was running
the lives of many of the high school stu
dents. He said it is the occasional
drinker of to-day who make the excessive
drinker of tomorrow.
The speaker declared that the local
opinionists had promised that if the
people would vote for the measure that
they would see it enforced, but that they
had not done so. Mr.. Jones said that he
would never vote for license again in this
city so long as the present conditions ex-
ist If this city should vote no license
he said that it would still be the duty of
the local optionists to enforce the law
and with the aid of the prohibitionists he
thought that the conditions would De
much better than at present.
In speaking of the disregard for the
law by the saloon keepers Mr.. Jones said
he should think they felt that license in
this city would last one year and no long
er and that they were making the most of
it. The existing conditions he claimed
to be far worst than those which existed
under the prohibitory law.
| The law is Young said the sneaker and
should have fair trial. at is baby in
waddling clothes that has survived so far
on the BOTTLE" said Mr.. Jones, "and now
it is time to take the bottle away and
feed it on force. We have had year
of the jim jams, now let us have year
of Sunny JIM" In conclusion Mr..
Jones stated that he hoped that the vot-
ers would see to it that Rutland went nc
license in March, as he believed that the
commercial and moral welfare of the
city would be advanced by such a vote.