The morning journal-courier., 1908-11-24
BRANFORD UNDER
 NO-LICENSE LA "
Continued from First Page)
take pains to have the packages dis-

take pains to have the packages dis- guised
 The remaining way in which liquor s brought Into the town, by the con- sumers themselves, opens a much larger question and Is the source of much of the dissatisfaction which is expressed with the working of the law That men do go out of Branford to a greater or less extent for alcohol Is ac- knowedgod by nearly everyone, but there is a largo difference of opinion as to how much of this is done.
 The license district nearest to Bran ford is that part of the town known as Stony Crock, and in the other dlreo- ton New Haven is the nearest place to obtain liquor both within easy riding distance by trolley, At this point ap- pears a great difference of opinion, one party claiming that there Is no more than the usual trafllc In either direc ton while the other claims that the late cars into tho town are filled with men in all stages of intoXicatlon and carrying various amounts of intoxl- cants in bags and suit cases. Both of these statements are congregations 1t is undoubtedly true that there Is more travel Co Stony Creek than usual at | thls tme of the year and that the late cars from that place and New Haven do bring back numbers of men who J have been to those two places for IT, QUOT, There are bound to be men who arc willing to go to quite a bit of trou- hle to get their usual beverages and it is pretty certain that many of the packages carried on those cars contain liquor of one sort or another In sup port of this, 1t is known that the sa- looms of Stony Creek are doing an un- usually large business and that Bran ford men arc drinking there and buy ing lntoxicants for home consumption.
 This leads up to the statement of the saloon men that the bottle in the pock- et is having a most demoralizing influ- enco fin the town, They base their statements somewhat logically in thls manner; that where a man would or dinarily take a drink of beer, that IT, I qud is too bulky to be easily transport ed and so they now drink whIskey and other more harmful liquors in It's place. They further say that where man used to behave himself and drink a small quantity in a saloon he now gathers with a few kindred spirits and has a regular dehauch. Likewise that youth who is Just beginning to drink will now learn to drink tho more harm ] full beverages. One man went so far in expounding the evil effects Of the closed saloons as to say that f Fritz i Strobel had been able 10 secure hts H. quor in Branford he would not have gonot to Stony creek and been Killed by the cars on hls return.
 The answer of the temperance neo- plo to these arguments Is that where 4 it is difficult to obtain liquor there will be much less of 1t used nnd conse- quently less temptation, especially Co young boys While it may be true that some formerly light drinkers now use moro harmful intoxlcants lt is also true that several formerly hard drink CTS have lately entirely ceased drink Ing
 It is very hard 10 say whether there is really less drunkenness here than formerly but it can safely be said that there is less open drunkenness and rowdylsm. There is certainly none in the saloons. which was largely the original cause of complaint, and so what there is on the streets is proba- bly, the largest part of what there Is in tho town. Of course, II Is impossl- ble to ascertain the extent of drink ing which is done privately but the Ino-license party would seem to be to a certain extent backed by the facts ir their statement that the moral tone of the town has improved At the same time the statements of some of tho leaders of the temperance movement that the town has acquired an Infinite. ly higher moral tone and that drunk. ennesS and rowdysm have been reduc- ed to a minimum, are undoubtedly tn, : result Of their wishes rather than tho fruit of their calm, impartial judgment particularly as no town can be reform ed and made over in a month.
 An impartial summary of the stua' . tIon viewed from the point of order and morality, would have to grant , much to the arguments of both sides , While it is true that some men hav' stopped drinking it is also true thai , others drink more viciously than be fore the saloons were closed But or the whole, impartial spectators agret that the tone of the town is better than 1t was,
 The point in which the situation affects tho people of Branford mos yitally, except the radicals on tho two sides, is whether no-llccnse i' hurting the town in q business way Again on this point the extremes O opinion must be discounted,
 In the first place 1t may be sait here that the extra tax which has re
 gently been levied was not mad necessary by the loss of the license fees, but is for the purpose of build
 ing a new schoolhouse at Short Beach
 The advocates of license claim tha the men who find that they must gt Into New Haven for their liquor, als' make their purchases there, thus talk
 ing much of the trade away from tn
 Branford merchants. Some of tn
 merchants. notably those who deal il
 these commodities not generally class ed as the necessarles Of life, state tha
 this is true and that there has bcct an apprcciable falling off in thci
 trade during the last month. Thl seems very probable, as certain number of men do go out of town, es
 pecially on pay day, for liquor, anc
 would naturally make their other pur
 chases at the same time. Then, too 1t is claimed that some families hav
 begun to patronize New Haven gro