The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1910-02-28
ADVISING VOTERS
TO DRIVE OUT
SALOONS
Letter on License Issue From
Rev. W. W. Drunk
EVILS OF LIQUOR TRAFFIC
All the Horrors That Mankind is
Guilty Of Charged up to the Ac-
count of Liquor

gigantic curse of the liquor
traffic in this country know all men
well. Ii is costing us sl,S0O.000.000
yearly,-enough to pay the whole of
the national debt and have $500, 000,-
600 left for charities. 1t is filling our
penitentiaries, jails and police courts,
it is taking the life blood from 100,-
600 homes and sinking the families
in ruin and disgrace while 100000
men are sinking into a drunkards
hell every year, it is debauching our
manhood, outraging our womanhood
and defrauding our childhood.
Why continue this nefarious bust
ness? Is it because somebody wants
to live without honest toll? Better
send them all to the poorhouse and
pay the bills. All concerned would
be much better Off Is it because we
are choosing what seems the less of
two evils? Some tell us here in Ben
nington that it is now better than it
was before the license Two wrongs
do not make a right nor does the
less of two evils justify the evil ex-
listing.
- man NOAlto " Allt Ailio ilit lt 10
going to burn down my barn. | OBJ
ject and he says he thought | would
rather have the barn burned than the
house. ! insist | do not want either
done, and | proceed TO defend myself
against wanton destruction. So the
saloon comes and offers to poison my
| family. | say | do not want it done
They tell me they thought II would
be better to do 1t publicly than priv
ately. | insist | do not want either.
No problem is settled till 1t is settled
right. The saloon problem will not
be settled right - long as there is a
saloon.
We are told we are too close to
Massachusetts aud New York. Yes
1t Is difficult to rid our barn of rats
when all of our neighbors have rats.
But We can clean out our own rats
and set few good traps at the holes
in the fence between our neighbors
barn aud our own and then we have
safe basis on which to recommend
rat killing time to our neighbors
We are told II will make a dull
town experience proves the opposite.
Mayor Warehouse of Pasadena,
Cal, says:-"No-license has caused
more people to make their home in
Pasadena than any other thing" 1t
is so of any city. The greatest ad-
yertisement you can give any city is
to say of it, 1T is rum clean" This
would be specially true OF Bennlng-
ton.
The saloon business is not a legal
business Judge Altman of Ind, says:
THE liquor traffic being recogniz-
ed menace to the welfare of the com.
munity has no standing as an inheri-
tent common law right of citizenship.
| Therefore the legislature has no
right to license it. Permission to do
a thing does not make an evil thing
right 1t does not pay, Mr. Wright
tells us by carefully worked out fig
ures, that for every dollar of revenue
received from license it costs the
public 5000 to take care of the re-
suits of that license.
The curse of God is upon 1t. Isaiah
says Woe unto them which justify
the wicked for reward" Any man
who rents property for liquor bust
ness or owns stock therein or votes
to allow the sale OF liquor puts him
self directly under that curse.
Again Habakkuk tells us Woe un-
to him that giveth his neighbor
drink" This applies not only to the
man who sells but to him who treats
or who serves liquor at receptions or
dinners or who votes to give another
the privilege of doing it.
Nadab and Abilin drank wine and
as result disobeyed God They did
not escape but fire came from the
altar and they were struck dead
God does yindicate his word 1t were
better for man that lightning flash
from heaven and blast his very soul
than that he persistently engage in
this soul destroying business against
the expressed warnir of God And
what is the difference before God
whether we do it directly in deed or
indirectly by deed or vote.
Now in all saneness of judgment
what is the greatest sin of this
country and of this village Is it
whiskey selling. No l think not
| intlt uitH WIN uO nut nave
right conception of values and they
are willing to engage in this business
IL they have endorsement of others
Is it whisky drinking? No think
not There are men who are morally
WEAK or who have inherited or ac.
CURED craving desire they will sat
isfy If they are brought in touch with
1t. | do not excuse these but must
say that the greatest sin of this vii.
lage and country is whisky legaliz
ing. We can stop II il we will
There are 100000 saloons and about
100000 men engaged in liquor bust
ness. The christian church alone
has more than 100000 ministers and
SO,OOO,OO0 of communicates. They
can stop this business II they will
With all Of our boasted civilization
and enlightenment here we are in the
10th century tolerating something
which Rome in her darkest DAYS
could not eclipse in it's consequences.
We are tolerating and supporting by
our votes the saloon which is the
most stalwart child Of hol and a
short cut to ruin and disgrace some
day when we awake from this night
mare or spell that IN over us we shall
lbe appalled, that we have been thus
engaged 80 long, When shall we