Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-05-26
WHAT OUR NE1GHBoRs SAY.
DANGEROUS DOCTRINE OF INTOL-
GRANGE.
(F'rom the Ludlow Tribune.)


came to IA realizing sense of the way
things are shaping in the State at large.
IL is the generally accepted belief that
anti-local option talk this year is out-of-
place and uncalcd for and yet the
Tribune last week directed attention to a
paragraph from it's ncighbor, the Bellows
Falls Times. which showed the old, intol-
Grant spirit was by no means dead, but
rather waiting an opportunity for "re.
dccming the state" as our temperance
friends put it,
Vow comes another esteemed ncighbor
of the Tribune, George J.. Fletcher of
Chester, who openly urges the voters not
to nominate and elect men for senators
and representatives who are known sup
portcrs of the present condemned license
law with all its six license drinking feat
urcs attached" Presenting that Mr..
Fletcher is an honest temperance man,
the Tribune desires to ask him what bet
ter measure he wants for promoting real
sobricty, or real prohibition, than the
present law-wth only one license town
in the whole of Windsor county?
The trouble is that Mr.. Fletcher, and n
great many others. don't stop to think
that the present law is just as good a pro-
hibitory law as any--if you vote it SO. 1t
isn't a license law at all-uness you vote
it so. It's simply local option, allowing
each town to try what it wants. then set
tie down to policy.
Mr.. Fletcher, as a lawyer must know
logic. isn't that argument logical and
isn't it better than that-Sood horse
sense?
Here's another one: correspondent
to the Island Pond Herald writes fer
wildly:
"'rhc Ludlow Tribune hints the lack of
wisdom in nominating prohibtionisa for
governor in presidential year. What
does the Tribune mean, anyway? Does 1t
favor the nomination of a saloon keeper,
or a man who declares against the prin-
cples of temperance? Does it wish to be
understood as advocating the desirability
of nominating a man who is known to be
opposed to sobricty and good morals?"
tor "a piece of bigoted. intoerant.
abusive ntcmpcrance, that paragraph
stands alone.
The answer is NO. The Tribune wants
a temperance MAN who will give tho pres
ont law a fair trial. not a prohbitonist
who wants it repealed and is willing to
plunge Vermont into A turmoil of agita-
ton in this presidential year to gain his
end.
Can't tho correspondent get it into his
thick head that plenty of local optionists
are honest, practical temperance men,
who want drinking stopped as much as he
does? To continue
'Ied s. Stanton is ms honest honorah bic
and loyal to Nermonts highest interests
| as any man who has been named or will
he is n pronounced advocate of tenn
peranCc and sobriety?
"A PARENT"
Certainly not; but Mr.. Stanton must he
liberal enough to pass over the repeal
proposition this year; he must not allow
his prohibitory lnanings to be the cause of
splitting the party a second time he must
remember that +. W. Clement is just ach-
ing for some one tn raise this repeal is
sue and give him grounds for ralllying the
| local optionists to >tho defence of their
measure.
Don't arm the people who split the party
| in 1902.
! Tho Tribune has profound regard for
| Mr.. stanton as an honorable and worthy
republican, but it has a rght--aS a re-
| publican nCwSpaper-to ask him which he
! holds most high-his personal opinions as
! to prohibition or the welfare of the party.
| Tho Republican party of Vermont asks
| Mr. Stanton to stand pat" or stand
aside.
And 1t has further right to demand
| that individual voters shall let this ques-
| ton of repeal go over two years without
! agitation.
National republcanism expects Yer
| mont to rise superior to local issues this
| year VIII she do it?
VERMONT DEMOCRATS FOR PARKER
(From the Brattlcboro Phoenix
The Montpelier Argus, spokesman for
| tho Democratic party of Vermont, thinks
the leading democrats of the state are
! favorable to the nomination of judge
/ Parker of New York, and that thorc
would be much greater Olnoy strength
! here if 1t were believed that the MasSa-
! chusottS man could be nominated. Tn"
Argus advises the NermonterS to Go to
! St Louis uninstructed, as instructions
| this year would be unwlsc because there
may be a great change of conditions be
| tween the date of the Vermont State
! convention and the national conVcntio. 10
| Evidently the Argus has drawn a lesson
from eight years ago, when Vermont s
unterrited declared for the gold standard
in the State convention and then lad to
swallow free silver.
IN VERMONT AN AGGRESSIVE CAM
PAlGN.
/ (From the Rutland News.)
| senator Proctor promises Vermont re-
lublicans some fine campaign speakers
this year. Among those coming from
Washington will probably be Secretary
Of Agriculture James Wilson OF Iowa,
and Senator John c. Spooner of Wiscon-
| ci of II, N huN rli,l, IL