Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1904-06-03
THE REMARKABLE RESULTS
CLOSE OF FIRST YEAR OF LOCAL
OPTION IN VERMONT.
Statistical Sy~Gy Of the Working Of
the New Law - Liquor Selling
Towns and Liquor Sellers Reduced
Nearly Half
BY c. III. Davenport.

,ha ioo,l ontion ,ioanSa I,y, shows.
!, Inc area Vi ,he rum tra'hc ue'
+" creaseu ~ pef cent
: Number OF liquor sellers de-
I creased by IS per cent.
q Sales for medicinal use decreased
:, by Observation-Disclosures, and demon
stration made clear what a commun-
ity-corrupting and soul-rotting farce
$ the town agency system was.
I Close approach to determination OF
that part or the traffic which all ad-
NIT ought to be prohibited-sales TO
confirmed drunkards, to minors, on
! Sundays, etc.-the very class OF sales
, that tiourished most under prohibi-
, ton.
closer approach than was ever
made before, by any law anywhere In
the first year of its operation, to ex-
termination of the dive. the hole
in the wall ana the pocket peddler
that were all the peculiar ana faVorlte
fruitage or prohibition.
Liquor cases In our county courts
decreased by three-fourths.
And revenue more than trebled TO
the public treasury. where now goes
the tribute that used to I'LL the pock-
cts of politicians and plunderers
1t is from the Official records that
every one of these credits to the new
law is posted. on the other side 1t is
found. of course, that 1t has not
brought perfection, which does not
come anywhere In human AFFAIRS; II
has worked very badly in spots, ike
Rutland, where II mas been grossly
maladministered and brought the ac-
! ton, at the March meetings, that is
the great merit OF the iocal option
system; and at first, before the ma
chinery OF the law could get well ana
vigorously into motion, there was,
apparently, large and discouraging
increase of drunkenness, though more
seeming than real; but as the year
closes, II shows marked progress IN
the right direction and figures now /
reached that are better than under
prohibition.
On the whole the balance from the
new law is enormously and unmistak-
ably on the side of sobriety good or
der and clean government And for
the simple reason that IT is based on
right principles, which always bring
right results In that 1t stops with
prohibiting what ought to be prohib-
tied, draws the line, more clearly ana
effectively than II was ever drawn by
law before, between that part OF the
traffic which society has right 10
stop and that which society has no
right to NEEDLE with rests It's func-
tons in Home Rule and Home Re
sponslbility, wherein, accordlhg 10 .
the American theory of government I
are ever the largest potencies OF !
vigor and virtue, and In It's methods OF
minimizes the chances :
IF lodging duty by following the I
great philosophic Madisons recipe
or law making-to prescribe with "
precision the things TO b" done and r
Uniting the discretion that IS liable
o be abused. a
So now where 1t is prohibition II u
$ the genuine article, not the cor a
upt farce that used TO De the rule
his may, likely VIII, as the years r.
Ass, result In an increased NUMBER "
( license towns. But 1t is no small d.
moral gain to 50 effectually elimi- 81
ate what District Attorney Jerome ~
t New York well calls the admin b,
;trative lie" ju
Where license prevails it brings the W
raffic into the open daylight where m
can be watched, controlled and m
Ired, so far as il is disease, instead in
{ burrowing below the surface and ri
oreadlng poison through the body TO
olitic, beyond sight and beyond the tn
zach of intelligent treatment, ha
The internal revenue records at of
ortsmouth show that the United bu
tates special tax for liquor or beer re
fling was paid the past year in rs TO
WINS, where in the last year OF pro- tn
bition it was so paid In IA towns, DO
I'd paid last year by S06 sellers, as BIO
yainst SIS sellers in the last year te,
prohibition, and in the next to the tn
st year 53s OF the SO6 sellers 233 III.
Guiding the fifth class or druggists
'enses, paid the state license also. CHI
the remaining 70, apparently ille- III,
4 sellers under state law, the bulk fro
ere in no-license towns like st. of
hnsbury which had eight of them. IN,
rnder prohibition she had I'D
nong license town. Barre alone has fro
v considerable number of unli- kit
nsed sellers, the internal revenue
cords showing eight of them there. IN
e doubtless to the extensive use of Xxi
can wines among the Italian quar- die
mon In the other large towns, hes
q bennington Rrattleboro. Mont 90,
liar Rutland and Burlington the fon
.arpal revenue record agrees al co.
,st exactly with those of town and I'M
= 49, ,t.,,,,,, ~
We III 'he huiIiper VI seiieis ~ MO
is disposes effectually of the stan noe