Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1904-09-01
SOLID DEMOCRATIC TRUTH
Space Controlled by Democratic
State Committee
THE REPUBLICAN BAD FAITH

Vote of Two or Three TO One, at Different
Stages. Sought to Kill It-Democrats
and Clement Men Saved It-Reward Of
the Latter
The Republican platform Of 1902 with
reference TO the all-absoTbing issue Of
that campaign, said:
And We request the state Legislature at its
next session % make provision for ascertaining
the willsof the people by direct vote on the
acceptance or rejection of icence and local
option law regulating the sale Of intoxicating
liquors and further provision that upon popular
vote In favor Of such law duly ascertained the
same shall become statute Of the state IN
fierce
This was the promise to the people
on which the Republican party won
that election. Without il defeat would
have been inevitable. How did it fulfil
that PROMISE
In the first place the promise itself
contained a trick. The Prohibition
Republiean-politican who drew that
platform knew-and they discussed the
fact before presenting the plank to
the coRvention-that the Supreme
Court had said, in case Just
after prohibition was adopted, that such
a direct referendum would be uncon-
Etitutional. Yet knowing this, they re-
fused to propose form Of referendum
like that by which prohibition was
originally adopted, which indirectly as
certained the peoples will by making it
a question Of dates. They planned to
lead the people into a procedure that
the Court would annul. But for the
Democratic exposure OF it, the trick
would have slipped through without a
jar.
And yet when the legislature met, in.
the face Of this exposure, in the face OF
warning from the president of the Bar
Association, and of overwhelming legal
authority that this procedure at the
very least involved needless risk, the
great bulk Of the Republicans stood
doggedly to IT, Can there be a shadow
Of doubt of their purpose to cheat the
people, when every man of them knew
that a referendum in the form Of that
Of 1853 would Just as well answer the
purpose of ascertaining the peoples
willy
Then in the face of their promise to
the people 20 present license and
local option law the Republican party
instead attempted TO foist upon us the
Battel state store, enlarged and loos-
ened town agency scheme. Defeated in
both these projects, by the union Of
Democrats. Clement men and a few
genuine local option Republicans, they
bent every energy 10 spelling the local
option measure with amendments, and |
succeeded in a large measure.
Does not the record warrant every |
one Of these chargesY Let us see. The |
total membership Of the last legislature |
was 273 go senator's and 243 represen |
tatives besides vacanciesl. OF these |
a. were Democrats, SO Clemelt men and |
] labor, Lawrence of Rutland. The |
vote for governor was a for Meet |
trick, 80 for Clement and l64 for |
Mccullough with 8 absentees Several |
of the 1874 were elected as fusionists, but |
20 leave no chance for dispute we will |
count them all straight Republicans.
On the question Of substituting the
bogus referendum the vote in the House |
was Ill "yea" 20 l27 may"
OF the "nay" votes the Democrats were a
OF the nay" votes the Clement men
OF nav votes the labor vote was. Ill
OF the may" votes the straight Re.
publican were .'''.'s'''''''''''..,'.'s.'' ~
~
So if il had been left to Republican
alone. the people would have been |
tricked out Of the law by a vote OF |
nearly three to one.
In the Senate and House together the |
vote for this bogus referendum was Ill |
TO l47.
OF the l47 that saved the state from
this cheat, AS were Democrats, so |
Clement men, ! labor and As Republi. |
cans. OF the Ill all but three were |
straight Republicans, so of all the Re.
publicans in the legislature, over two
thirds (l0s TO 4s), voted for a known
cheat
If the legislature had contained its |
usual Republican majority, or that of
1900, the same percentage would have
made the vote 1874 Republican in favor
of the cheat to 65 Republicans and 46
Democrats against 1t, or a majority of
% for it.
The question Of substituting the |
Battell bill for the license and local
option law promised did not reach a
vote in the Senate but in the House il |
was "a yea" tsll but straight Re.
publicans) TO las may"
OF the las the Democrats wsre........... As /
OF the las the Clement men were........ a. |
OF the ~ the Labor vote ~as............ !
las |
So of the straight Republicans the |
vote was 80 to SIS for a fat repudia- |
ton of their platform promise, and
If it had been left to them, the state |
store system, that has wrought such !
decentralization in South Carolina and |
built up an impregnabe political ma
chine for Tillman there, would have |
been inflicted on this state. And if the |
Republican party has its expected ma.
lority this year, relieved from the |
Clement scare, this is just what we may
expect Of It.
Every amendment calculated 10 |
weaken the law or make il odious, had |
an even larger Republican support |
One OF the worst OF these was that |
which would have practically fined every |
town that attempted an honest enforce !
ment of the law by making il pay the |
rosts Of prosecution OF law-breakers |
and sending the fines realized to the |
state treasury. Senator Sutton, Demo |