Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1908-02-07

This theory oil accusing
and urOmotiug criHius! trafte Tor the
,..Ae OF taiuted revenue Is utterly rrPag-
,,,ut "a common seuse, deceney, aud jas
tic-. We don't get net financial returns.
The theorists aud advocates OF this plan
mig a. with slanl reason aud eonsiste''ee
adv. ne the license of houses of prosti-
tuition. after the Schmidt plan al San
Francisco AS the hest means OF RESTRICT
ing aud suppressing the social evil. II
it Is the next short step in the same d.
rection.
The opponents of prohibition assert
that you cannot make people moral by
law We prohibit aud restrain IRON
thief adultery, arson, perjury, aud muir
der y the penalties of a violated law.
Ia q. socating the suppression et the sa-
loon we are trying to prevent men icing
mad. bad by a law which fsunts tempt
alton in their faces aud then disgrsces
them il they fall. Candor compels the
admission that there was a strong de-
mand in 1902 for the passage of the pre-
sent local option Law, aud this sentiment
was based upon the following consider
ations: The inetiiciency and sometimes
greed and dishonesty of some town
agents who sold liquor freely and openly
for beverage purposes, aud tried to con-
vert their patrons to temperance by di,
| lifting their stockwith water; the compli
cations of the old prohibitory law which
hy frequent amendments had become
.Josruh coat of many colors, and its poor
enforcement especially in thecities aud
larft towns; last but not least the avar'
ice of the liquor manufacturers and their
agents, and the appetites OF the confirmed
topers. The one apology and excuse
which enabled myself and other senators
and members in 1902, to "eat our crow"
and vote Tor the law on its passage, was
the referendum to the people demanded
by the Republican state convention, and
the assertion and hope that AS new
broom it would sweep clean and dimin-
ish drunkenness in the state at large.
Resolutely opposing its ratification at
the polls have demanded for it a fair
: and ample trial, hoping that it might
: make good in practice. Its advocates
5 assert that it has done so. At least this
generation has had its dose of the
| saloon--the great panacea for intemper
4 ance. Burlington which gave 1860 votes
/ for the law, more than. twice the ajori
+ ty of the entire state, has had its dose
/ with the following results In 1911
:, there were under prohibition 90 con-
y victions for intoxication, aud 80 convic
II tons in 1902. In 1908 there were 2G,
? convictions under local option, and 800
t convictions in 1906. Nearly all the bust
J. ness interests of the city suffered saver e
), ~ and the Queen City has recently voter
l. no license by 4}0 majority. The mer
:, chants aud the bankers have seen
II decided improvement already in trad
e and business. An accurate record of TIL
$ number of convictions for drunkenness
i as taken from the county court record
n of the fourteen counties, and from tn
" local lockups of eleven of the larges
e towns from May !, 1899 to May !, 1905
lie the last four years under prohibition
s, gives grand total of 1920 DRINKS. tn
lr grand total for the four succeeding year
}. of .ocal option was 7i0l drunks, an in
l. crease of 1881 DRINKS under local option
tt But some will say that this is uol fai
al test because the license law is better ell
y forced, hut there is no direct evidence
IS support this claim. Take another test
u the official report of commitments to tn
b. House of Correction for the last IA year,
L. The largest number under prohibitio
f. WAS sos in 1892. The largest numbe
v under license local option was l404 i
lie 1908. Note the recent liquor incte
to murders at Sutton aud elsewhere in tn
s. State, the killing of two partially intox
es Gated men while walking on the trac
IL near Island Pond, intelligent Vernon
te voters, and determine whether you wi
H. vote for furthur trial of the present So
n tenn. The Republican party of Vernon
If has always endorsed Prohibition in il
le platforms although asking for referer
ID DUN. After fair trial of license it wi
lie we believe at the next state convention
5, demand an equally fair trial for sens
&c BILE and workable prohibition law.
is As life long Republican, l sha
k. stand by the right of the majority t
he rule. The great historic Democrat
lie party of the great West and the ne
South whose platforms for many yea
t. contained the traditional plank awe al
i opposed to all sumptuary legislation
ID has seen new light and tidal wave
OF temperance conviction has swept ii
tl great states of Georgia aud Alabama int
II the prohibition column. In Kentuck
I'd fully Is per cent of the population Ii,
We on prohibition territory and almost 8