Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-07-20
WHAT OUR NEIGHBORS SAY
Prohibition no Longer A state 1ssue
but A Question for Each Town.

(From the st. Adams Messenger Liccnsc.)
The Mortified News practically sug-
rests that, II Fletcher ID. Proctor is to
u" candidate for the republican nomina =
ton for governor next spring. II will be
IN order for him soon to make a public
| declaration of his attitude toward the
! liquor law question as he did In 1872. IL
will be recalled that Mr.. Proctor then
| declared himself in favor Of the prohibi-
tory law. but not a. the News suggests,
because ut was considered good politics
by his supporters In that cam
| Imigr for MIR. Proctor to make IL public
| declaration Of his allegiance To the pro.
hibitory law" that is to say, not all his
supporters. rhc Messenger. FIR enc. did
rot consider IL good politics by any means
did not hesitate to say SO. and events
soon justified its position because II was
foind that many warm admirers OF Mr..
Proctor who sincerely wanted to see him
in the governors chair would not vote
for him on a prohibition platform. But,
| that is no matter row. The times have
| changed since 1902, marvcllous!y changed
IN regard to this liquor law question. and
the conditions that might have bscn
Thought to govern then govern no longer.
Mr. Proctor has not consulted the Mes.
sengcrs opinion as e. the suggestion OF
the Mortified News. hut this paper docs
not hesitate to say now while the sub
jcct is raised for the first time in ,nti-
cipation of the canvass OF 1906 that, in
the light Of present day conditions and
circumstances. there is no call for MIR.
Proctor or any other candidate to make
any specific declaration on the liquor
law question. because the liquor law
is no longer n State political issue in
Vermont The very thing a, con plishcd
by the passage Of the local option law
was to remove that vexcd question from
the Stat" arena and distribute it's Various
phases where they properly belong.
among the people of the 2i6 cities and
towns to h" decided by them annually
according to their own host iudg, mcnt
of their peculiar local situation and it,
needs The liquor question is Il local
question in Vermont to day and neither
Mrs. Proctor's opinion nor that of any
ether possible candidate can have am.
bcaxing upon it in a purely State cam
paien
OF course. It hardly seems necessary
to explain that such n position should
mt be taken TO imply that Vermont now
has a perfect liquor law on it's statute
hooks. as fixed and irrcvocablc as the
Ten Comma ndments, and that discussion
and agitation for change in the details
ar fundamental nature Of that law arc
fcrevertnorc estopped. But is should he
taken to mean that the people hav" elect
ed to try the local option plan Of deciding
the question of the sale of liquor for a
number OF years until their expcrienc,
suggests to them some better way, and
anti TIE question as to a change comes
uI' before the people asair On i,s own
merits in the due process OF time and
that experience. it is folly for any POLL
tican to attempt TO raise it,
IL may not be out of place right here
to add that it Is we'll nigh time Yer
monters awokc to realize that they have
hceE exagSerating the Importance of this
liruor law question for a great many
wears. have talked about it so much and
I"ndercd over it so long that II has be-
come distorted out OF al! true proportion
to tho social and political life Of the
state While the people of Vermont nave
been LAYING their greatest emphasis on
the matter of temperance agitation and
u Liquor law all manner of evils and
mschicfs in social customs, habits laws,
and governmental institutions have been
suffered To pass almost unheeded IL is
time we dropped this hobby If half a
centur, and that hereafter we devote no
more thought to it than its relative i'm
portance demands. Men arc growing
more and moro temperate every day by
reason of conditions and causes u,on
which all the Temperance legislation on
all the statue books in the land have no
hearing whatever. Let us let well enough
alone for Will" now that we have a
new law worth trying. and sea what
good We can accomplish for ourselves in
other directions