Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1906-02-23
LOCAL LIQUOR PROBLEM
SUGGESTIONS As TO "A COMMON GROUND
ON WHICH TO STAND
Brattleboro People in Position 70 heaoh a
More General Agreement Says Rev H. H.
Miles-Loeal option Upset theories W
prohibs

Prohibs.
Rev. II. X. Miles spoke at the Congrega'
,,on,l church sunday morning upon the liquor
n,oblam and deyelopments that suggest a
common ground upon which men can STAND ~
dealing with H. lie said In part Inc people
Of Brattleboro are today In the poslton 70
reach a more general agreement upon tue way
10 deal with their liquor problem 'han az ~!
earlier time in recent years The c"mhlt'se
OF Fifty have during the past ten years maue
an Investigation OF the liquor probiem no,e
impartial and able than any previous stuay
In this country The physiological, economic
Legislative and social aspects of the drink
traffic have been investigated by sub'comhit'
tees Of such men as could speak with most
authority upon the departments OF inquiry as
signed 10 them. The investigators are men
OF international reputation, and their reports
are now In our public library
After speaking OF the conclusions oil 'he
physiological, economic and social secuohs Vi
the committee, Mr. Miles said that the sec
ton ON the legislative aspect OF the problem
ends It's investigation with the conclusion
that II cannot be positively affirmed that any
one kind OF legislation has been more sue
cessful than another in promoting real tenn
perance, Local option has an, advantage IN
that the same public sentiment that votes H.
stands behind the officers elected TO admin
lister H. The conclusion Of the committee as
10 legal control is that varying conditions
make the liquor problem an essentially ihui'
viduel and local one for different eommuhi
lies. and experience counts for more than
theory IN working out It's solution.
Look AZ our experience with the liquor
problem in Brattleboro. We have been get
ting a good deal Of it In considerable variety
II our conclusion does not agree with that
OF the Committee OF Fifty in any other re.
spect, il does on the point that local eN'
perienee weighs for more than any theory
The theories OF all parties here have been
unset. The party containing most Jealous
TEMPERANCE people voted against the local OPP
lion law as 4 step toward increased drink
ing The party in which there was the larg-
est number Of men who favored the open
sale Of LIQUOR voted for local option. the
outcome has given us through local option
law the strictest local prohibition that any
body remembers. The legislation when the
prohibitonists did not want has brought the
result which the majority OF the local option
people did not expect, and probably ala MOI
want, although they may now approve H.
do not saw that no local option people fore
saw the outcome, and | speak Of Brattleboro'
not OF the state at large. II is emphaiically
true that we face a condition and not
theory Our theories have gone by the
board
What is the condition that We see, and by
which we should shape our present action
All acknowledge a marked decrease in the
amount Of drunkenness. In the six months
beginning with May. 1908. under license at
its worst, we had II prosecutions for drunk
enness. in the six similar months Of the next
wear. under license al its best we had 32
prosecutions, and in the same six months in
1905. under no license, 7 prosecutions, less
than a quarter the number under license at
its best One whose work keeps him about
the station said last week that he had seen
but one man under the apparent influence OF
liquor since Christmas, while he used TO see
three or four a day. There is practically no
Illicit liquor selling.
Some OF our storekeepers tell me that men
who could not pay their bills under license
pay them now. Others say that some who
used to be without money TO buy are now
customers One grocer says that his collec-
tions have been from 8 10 10 per cent. better
this year and that some back bills have been
paid by men whose money used to go for
liquor Some men are not drawing on their
savings bank deposits as they used to- Men
are spending for groceries, meat and clothes
:
liquor for themselves. Our men, not tempted
by the open saloon, find 1t easier to carry
their money home. Our young men, and ex-
perenee teaches that We must include our
boys, find it less easy to begin the drink
habit The extent OF the allurement which
the saloon exercises is measured by the in
vestigation OF 1895, which showed that half
the population Of Boston visit the saloons
daily. This statement was challenged as i'm
possible. until a like investigation in Chicago
in 1898 showed that more than half the popu.
lation Of that city is in its saloons every
day These facts show that the saloon is the
great social center Of cities upon which its
hold is established
We are TO be congratulated upon the res.
taurants of Brattleboro to which many who
would 90 to saloons now go, and find better
chance for q sociable hour than the saloon
would give, We may rejoice in the present
prosperity and excellent service of these res
taurants They make the saloon unnecessary.
We have now cleaner town than under
license Do we want present conditions an
other yeari
Walking the other day behind two labor.
ers who are strangers to me, heard one Of
them say that many would vote for license
this year to bring into town more bust.
ness Half a dozen saloons would make
place for very few more laborers here. They
would not bring a chance to earn more
money, only to spend more. One district
of $4,000 population in Chicago has 200 sa.
looms, saloon to every 24o people. probably
one to every rs men That community has
developed the saloon business. Is il richer
for having the support of saloon saddled
upon every 10 menl The money that would
make business for saloons here would be
taken from the business Of the groceries,
markets and other stores Now it helps to
feed mothers and children. Then men would
drink it up.
Some will voto for E.orso hooorso ,r.h
out licanee foae NO ,,rst III. h;aLs 49,.
Co., - - $3.50 ~ 'eHsi ."Np'' /