The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1904-12-22
THE NEW LICENSE LAW.

On the first day of March next the |
new license law will go into effect. |
Numerous changes will be made as a |
result, which w IL effect this city more |
or less and which various officials will |
need to make note Of as we'll as the
licensees now doing business.
Under the provisions of the new
law certain changes will be necessary
in the method of conducting licensed
places in order to conform with the
law, should this city again vote
yes and new licenses be issued.
All liquor dealers holding first class
Licenses will be compelled to close at
ten o'clock instead Of eleven, rs they
do now Two saloons now have ia
bles and chairs near thoir bars for the
use Of their customers. All such fur
niture will be ruled out under the
new order of things. The man who
wants drink in saloon must stand
up to drink it. Moreover it appears
from the wording of Section 3S, that
a hotel keeper cannot sell in any room
not specified in his license. In other
words, if he desires to sell to guests
and deliver to them in the dining
room or in their rooms, those rooms
must be named in the license as we'll
as the one which contains the bar.
Under the present law horel keepers
have delivered to guests in their
TO tla hour fnr
closing the bar.
e The holders of second class Licenses
will find themselves under decidedly
different conditions. Their business
hours are shortened for each day,
they being bound to close at seven
O'Clock. But while they will have
shortened hours, the license fee will
be larger-not less than $3.50, nor
more than ST. 900, instead of $500
straight. The second class license
will not be quite so surely high road
to wealth as it is now in Montpelier
and other large Towns
The fifth class licensee will find
himself hedged about with provisions
which will render it decidedly dan
gerous to violate che law. There has
been but little criticism of the way
the druggists have conducted them
selves in this city under this law, bnt
in other towns, especially in some
that voted no" it has been very
different, Working together with
physicians who we're unworthy of
their profession, thriving business
has been done under the thin pretense
of making sales for medicinal pur-
poses on so-called prescriptions. One
or two of those physicians got the
punishment they deserved, but others
did not, because the law was deficient.
1t would seem that the provisions
which soon come into force and
which provide for prescriptions that
are such in fact as well as name. as
we'll as stiff penalties for violations
should work better
All licensees will be obliged TO keep
their eyes Oh the men they sell to in
order that they may not suddenly re
revoked or that they appear before
the commissioners to show cause why
they should not be revoked The dis
closure law realizing to minors, habit
ual drunkar1s, and other persons to
whom they are forbidden to sell is
liable TO make trouble for them if
they do not honestly try to sell only
to proper persons. They will be fur
nished by the proper officials with the
names of evory person convicted OF in
toxication, etc but it will depend
upon themselves alone TO keep on the
right side OF the law.
The new law puts its enforcement
more directly in the hands of the
States attorneys and grand jurors,
and gives them the necessary author
ity to go ahead on their own initia-
tive, while it leaves opportunity for
private citizens to take q hand as we'll
as the license mmissioners. Police
officers sheriffs, and constables will
have powers for search and seizure
which should make illegal selling
dangerous, no warrant being required
in certain cases.
This license law should work better
than the one now in force. 1t is a
more thorough and unified temperance
act 1t has its faults even as any law
must have, but, for license law, it
10 better for Vermont and Montpe-
lier.
Secretary Taft has been to Panama,