Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1905-03-03
FRED w. PUTNAM,
j. HENRY PRATT,
JOHN ]. ECKELS,
BrattIebOrO License COMMISSIONERS
Brattleboro, VT, March 1, 1905.
Mr.. Fits Attempts to Explain.

mr. FlttS Attempts 10 Explain.
Editor of The Reformer:
i am informed that in certain quar-
ters there is a disposition to miscon-
strue the statement made by me in
the local papers of last week, as 10
the recent investigation before the IL
cense commissioners, upon my COM
plant. l cannot see how any one can
fah to understand the facts as they
appeared in my statement. but II
there Is in any ones mind any doubt
as to those facts. let me make ii
clear
! The informal complaint | made to
| the commissioners was entirely a per-
sonal one brought about by things
that had come to my personal atten.
| tion and in which l had a personal
interest as the commissioners and IL
censees we'll understand. The COM
missioners did all that l asked of
them. and all that | think they We're
warranted to do under the law. They
certainly followed my requests fully.
The responsibility for what the com
missioners did or failed to do should
be placed where 1t belongs, that is.
upon my shoulders. For there was
not a single request l made TO them
that they did not comply with, /
didn't ask them 10 revoke the licenses
and made no formal complaint to
them to that end. / stated to the
commissioners that there was
doubt in my mind if the facts shown
quite came up to what the law re-
quired as cause for revoking the IL
censes The difficulty is not with the
commissioners but with the law
Under the licenses granted to the
two hotels, as the law stood before
March 1st, the licensees had the right
to sell anywhere in the building, so
the charge / made, that in the in
stances referred to. liquor was fur
nished to the young men in their
rooms, reprehensible though the
practice was, didn't give a legal
ground for revoking the licenses |
And the condition of the license under |
the old law that no sales should be
made to a person known to the IL
censee to have been intoxicated |
within six months, didn't cover the |
cases in question, for nothing ap-
peared before the commissioners of /
this condition existing more than six |
months ago.
The facts in one particular in
stance are as follows: A certain
young man of the town, each time
after drinking many times at the bar
1t the American house was furnished
odgings at that hotel on the follow
ng dates: Nov. s. is and 2Sth. Dec.
!, 5, 81, 26 and Jan. 14th; whiskey
vas charged to the room on the date
If Dec. 4th On Dec. 26th the regis
er shows the hand writing of the
'lerk in assigning the party a room.
The same party at the Brattleboro
louse registered on Dec. s, Dec. II.
AN. Sth, 18th and 18th, and on the
asst day was registered in the clerks
iand writing. On the date of Dec. ,
til the charge of extras, % cents, !
which the proprietor said was whis-
ey. / repeat that this party is not :
he only instance who has been so /,
ut up by these hotels The young I
len in question are not minors. The +
ale of liquor to them was quite ,
kelly not in violation of law The
isgraceful and demoraiizing thing 4
f it is the continued and repeated :
elling, and after repeated selling :
ne furnishing of a room, so that the .
was concealed from par =
nts and employers. Many of our a
est citizens are patrons of these n
otels,. both for meals and in some n
lstances for lodgings. as is entirely 2
roper and right. but that doesn't !,
xcuse the licensees from the moral
rong in doing what they confessedly !,
d do, that is. furnishing aiquor to a
,ung man when he was unable to n
, home, and then concealipg it all a
' furnishing him a room. 1 repeat =;
is is not the fault of the license 81
1t is the fault of the 9,
cense and the licensee. n
Very respectfully yours .,
CLARKE c. Fits. ~
ITO prove to our own satisfaction n,
at Mr.. Fits is wrong about the nj
lmber of times the certain young of
an" was furnished lodging at the to
nerican house we have gone to the Sc
ouble of examining the registers of 10
e hotel, and we find that on Nov. of
Nov. is and Jan. IA he was given pr
1ging; on the other dates mentioned er
only had meals. This simply goes w
show that the commissioners know in
hat they are talking about and that ey
r. Fits, in this case, does not1 dc
tn