St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1904-07-20

sellers and their works than to deal with
57S operating in semi criminal way
and under the surface in large degree,
under the old law.
tic figuring is done against the 500, 900
net revenue whidh the public realized
last year from the new law as compared
with net deficit that used to prevail, pro-
badly I fear if / had INDUCED in such
computations, he would have found in
them fresh proof ad personam of the
need of prohibition. A sample is where
abiding to Auditor Hale's investigation
showing a nominal average of $23 900
realized annually from liquor cases in
court, and Col. Hale's admission that this
amount was more than Offset by the
increased expenses of county courts. Mr..
Morrow says this argues just as
strongly against" the present law. 1t
simply does not because the present law
has cleanSed county courts OF this kind
of business by three fourths. This much
already, with strong reason to believe
that the change for the better will be
much greater as the law grows older.
He grows eloquent without naming
names or places, over the perjury OF
police officials" that renders the law inef-
fective. Well. if true, how could prohibit
ton be effective under such conditions?
But don't think so badly of human
nature as he processes to. The great
majority, of men and officials aim to do
about right; few will deliberately perjure
themselves when it is a direct issue
between telling the truth and lying. and
certainly not in matters where they have
no personal interests. The men who,
under prohibition, simply could ignore
violations of law which they felt to go
further than law had right to go, are
~ ,ID
themselves to screen offenders against
restrictions which every man of moral
sense recognizes to be grounded in right
and Justice. The most original and Wig
orous feature of our law is this which
requires quarterly reports, under oath,
from ''every police officer, sheriff and
constable whether they have received
any information or observed any indica-
tions" Of violation. It is also made very
dangerous for any of them to lie about
it, for they are at the mercy, for heavy
fine and Imprisonment, OF any citizen
who has given them information. This
feature is having the results expected of
it; and it only needs sterner compelling
OF the reports, which the coming legisla-
ture should provide, to render lawless
traffic practically impossible in any COM
munity where any sort of liquor law can
be enforced.
Discriminating prohibitionists should
be pleased with the present law because
it brings more prohibition than the state
ever had before-more in area and more
in effectiveness because it rests its action
close to the people, with an annually
aroused interest. instead of depending on
a perfunctory of6cialdom. Where license
prevails, generally speaking, is where
prohibition could not be enforced. 1t is
also a constant education in temperance
| by means of the thought and discussion
it compels. If these things are not so,
then the whole theory of government by
the people is a fallacy.
1t ought also to satisfy those of us
who believe in the utmost practicable
| limitation of governmental powers and
| object to sumptuary legislation, because
it's fundamental idea is to prohibit only
what the rights of all require to be pro-
hibited and in its mo" has the reserve
power, if abuse of the traffic is persisted
| in to the manifest impairment of these
primary rights, to suppress the traffic
entirely. It enables each community to
act according to the circumstances that
confront it and which it can best know
and understand. It heeds the warning
of the great philosophic statesman, Ed
mund Burke, that "any law which at
| tempts to do more than it ought to do
| always ends by doing less than it ought. -
1t is the best combination of right prin-
ciple and practicability that human wis
| dom has yet reached.
The only total prohibition that can
| ever have any any chance or right Of
success is that Of Buddhism and Mo-
| hammedanism, "Thou shalt not buy
or sell, give or receive any Intoxicating
drink says the fifth commandment of
the Buddhist Decalogue. It is in the
eternal right of things that no such mis-
cradle subterfuge ofcowardice and unfair
dealing between man and man as that
[ prescribed by our old law which made it
| a crime for one to sell what it recognized
the perfect right of another to buy, can
ever work well among a right-minded
people.
| Respectfully,
| c. H. DAVENPORT.
Brattleboro, VT, July Is, 1904.
q. A. r. Encampment In Boston, Au-