The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-03-22
Barre City Has No License
Commissioners
TIME LIMIT OFLAW PASSED
Assistant Judges Ended Session Last
Night Still at Loggerheads over Third
Man-Middleaex Commissioners
Were Named.

"a /
| NO license commissioners have been
appointed for Barre City within the six
teen days, as stipulated by law shall
be done when a city OK town shall have
voted to license the sale Of liquor. The
time expired last night at midnight, and
the assistant judges, L. r. Wells Of Mid
diesex and q. III Winch OF Barre Town,
who had the appointing power, separated
several hours before that time with tha
deadlock OF the past few days remaining
lunsolved
They did, however appoint commits
sioners for Middlesex,. the only other
place III Washington comfy to vote
| yes this spring, the three men being
A r. Leonard, Ira J.. johnson and e.
q. Densmore. 1t is doubtful If any ~
cense - granted in Middlesex, as twenty.
five citizens Of that town have recently
published a complaint of fraudulent vot-
| ing. They claimed that fye men voted
yes" who were not entitled 70 vote.
and that therefore the town went license
BY the vote OF 65 to 64 For that
reason, no license may be given out
there.
There is tremendous turmoil in this
city over the failure of the assistant
Judges to appoint commissioners, and all
sorts OF ruInors in connection with it
are ailoat. No definite plans have been
made or steps taken to secure commits
sloners, but it is likely that some move
viii be made soon TO that end The
law, as amended in 1904, states:
III a town votes for license, the as
sistant judges of the county court shall,
within sixteen days thereafter, appoint
board Of license commissioners for
such town, consisting Of three persons.
who shall not be directly or indirectly
engaged in the manufacture or sale Of
intoxicating liquors, nor hold public
office other than that Of notary public.
and each Of whom has been legal voter
in such town for at least two years
preceding his appointment"
II is obvious that the intent OF
the law has not been followed, which
requires that commissioners be appointed
m towns where the citizens vote ''yes."
as IN Barre. Whether or not this man
datory statement that commissioners
"shalr' be appointed viii be construed
by the courts so that license commission
ers win yet be secured is a matter for
discussion. II is held by many people
that commissioners must be appointed,
and the viii Of majority of the voters
be carried out.
The talk on the street here and in
Montpelier has even gone so far as to
state that the assistant judges may be
prosecuted for failure to appoint, under
a law which was passed by the legisa-
ture Of 1906. A section Of this law
states that county official, similarly
Others, who "wilfully neglects to per-
form the duties imposed upon him by
law, either express or implied he shall
be imprisoned for year or fined $1,000,
or both. But it is probable that it
would be q hard task to prove 'wilful
neglect in this case.
The judges have labored often ana
long TO get the matter settled up. but
failed absolutely to come TO an agree
ment. II is understood on the street
that some days ago they agreed on two
Of the commissioners, in the persons OF
Henry NJ Phelps and II. M. Houston,
and that when they came to settle on
the third there came the hitch Rumog
further has it that Judge Wells stood
firm for the appointment Of George w.
German for the third man and that
Judge Winch would not coincide. Lii
rense advocates have been accusing Pro-
hibitionists of being at the bottom of the
affair and the failure to get commission
PRS for Barre. On the ether hand, the
liquor interests are being accused of
blocking the appointments.
One rather surprising thing about the
whole affair is the frequent expression
made by some advocates of license chat
h.,. orn sfnasaJ that fha .t,daos JsJ ,,,t
agree under the conditions. Still the
yes men who worked earnestly to &c.
,ure the majority Of i5e votes fer II.
,ensc arc very much worked up, and
ega action is likely to be taken by
hem to see If commissioners cannot be