Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1904-10-07
THE LICENSE LAW. .
Commissioner Putnan's Opinion on
lts Workings.

The st. Adams Messenger Ia print
Ing series of articles from license
commissioners In the various towns or
the state and the following letter
from Fred w. Putnam OF Brattleboro
is of local interest:
"First-I would recommend an
| amendment relating to uniformity In
the expiration of licenses granted,
giving the commissioners power to
issue licenses for less than year AT
pro rata of full charge. The present
| law is as follows, see Section 20: Ev-
cry license shall be numbered and
bear upon its face the conditions
specified in Section "a. II shall
bear the date Of its issue and shall
continue in force one year unless
sooner forfeited or rendered void
Under the above. suppose board or
license commissioners, In a town
large enough for five licenses, grant
the issue of only four of them in Aprh
and withhold the fifth until February
Of the following year when they would
grant that and in March the town
votes for no license with the fifth IL
cense granted as above in February,
which shall continue In force one
year unless sooner forfeited or rem
dered void II the licensee conducts
his place of business strictly accord
ing to the law he cannot be interfered
with: he therefore has the privilege OF
selling for eleven months in a town
that has voted No. and not only
that, he has all the business of town
large enough to be entitled to five IL
censes. Again, in the same town sup
posing in March the town votes for
license and the commissioners re-
ceive five applications for all hve IL
fl,nt t,tf0 #
plicants are not capable persons TO
hold licenses, and therefore grant but
three of Them more applications fol-
low later for the two licenses granted
and at a hearing only one of the re-
naming two Is granted: applications
follow some time later for the last
one. which is finally granted. but not
until several months after the first
three Now, If all five licenses shall
continue in force one year unless
sooner forfeited or rendered VOID we
have the situation set forth above.
namely: That If the town votes No
the following March it still has license
for some months. and the last man
securing a license also secures a mo-
nopoly of the business for such length
of time as elapses between the eXpira-
ton of his license and the last one
preceding his. Therefore the law
should be amended and either give the
commissioners power to fix a date on
which all licenses shall expire unless
sooner forfeited or rendered void,
with right to charge pro rata fees. or
it should state a definite date. say
April /, on which all licenses shall ex-
pire, and if granted subsequent to that
date they should be issued at pro rata
rates.
"Second--I would eliminate Sec
ton 90 of the present law In my
opinion the spirit of this portion OF
the law can never be enforced. man
may comply with the letter of this
section by handing his companion
whom he has asked to have drink
with him a dime to pay for the
drink (Which l have seen done re-
peatedly since the law took effect.)
This is simply an evasion which al
most any man will make. since treat
ing is a universal custom ana no Ver-
mont law will stop it. Since II can
not be enforced it Is useless ana
damage to the law as whole fof
that reason.
"Third-I would prohibit the sale
of linuor on legal holidays as well as
on Sundays and election days.
with amendments covering these
points | think the present law, win
proper commissioners to enforce 1t,
will prove very satisfactory and the
longer it is in existence the more ad-
herence it will obtain from people VINO
were opposed to it at first. The con-
ditions in this town are certainly very
satisfactory, and our board mas re-
ceived but one complaint since last
March, and upon investigating that
we found that the complaint was UNI
warranted"