Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1910-07-07


demand exists, then 1t should mani
fest itself in the election Of members
! of the Legislature.
Temperance principles cannot be
confined to q single party any moro
than any other virtue can be poIiti-
cally organized. The third party has
in some instances by drawing away
votes from the better of two candi-
dates. Several years ago q sheriff In
Vermont county. in the days when
the prohibitory law was In force had
been particularly vigilant in enforo-
ing the act. and by his faithfulness
element. They attempted to throw
sufficient number Of votes to tho
democratic candidate to defeat the
republican official. No third party
man could have done better work for
prohibition than the man in Office. and
yet prohibition can didate was nom
|
tho republican candidate won, but his
success was imperilled by the very
men who claimed to be the best tenn
perance men in tho county. This Ia
1air Illustration Of the most that n
! th'rd party prohibitionist ticket can
| accomplish. There is no real demand
| -
Inc campaign for the republican
nomination for the governorsh.p lust
ended, affords an Interesting field Of
study for the student Of political
things in similar direction. 1t had
been generally understood for over a
year that DR. Mead would DO a can
didate for the governorsh,p. but he
| rcfrained from making any state
ment for publication in relation to n
| referendum. When i. O. Fleetwood
came TO issue his platform he was
constrained by the agitation In favor
OF a referendum to include in his dec
lnration of principles n plank looking
|
Word was quietly passed through
| out the circle OF liquor interests that
] the way to prevent q referendum was
to support Mead and not Fleetwood,
and IT is no secret that in BurIing-
ton and other large places this was
! one of the most potent causes of the
triumph Of the Mead campaign. and
In view Of the narrow margin in the
convention it unquestionably deter
mined the result
! In the meantime the sentiment Of
the State found expression in a plank
| dealing with the referendum which
as finally adopted was strengthened
by the part played by the liquor in
tcrests in the governorshp struggle,
and it was adopted by the State con-
| When DR.. Mead returned to his
home following the convention he
made a speech followed by a state
ment to a reporter of the Herald, and
| in the course of the latter he said:
| "There was one thing in the cam
paign that disguised me. 1t was that
| I should have been held up as sa-
| loon candidate. If there is a man in
| Vermont who has practiced total alb
stinence mora consistently than I
have, | should like to be informed"
The result Of this development Will
unquestionably be to increase the de-
mand for more stringent temperance
legislation. Indeed Or. Mead in his
trend of public sentiment when he
said:
CAS- regards liquor legislation, I am
free to say that l believe the traffic
| IN intoxicants should be subject to
every practical regulation and re-
striction and I further declare that
| if | am chosen governor Of Vermont,
no genuinely Temperance measure
will be denied my official approval
In new Legislation on this subject. !
hope a way may be found to prevent
certain abuses not fully guarded
against by the present law
In view of Dr. Mead's strong stand
and inasmuch some of the strong
| est Fleetwood papers opposed a refer
| cndum, It Is not strange that the
liquor interests. like the temperance
| forces, should at times be puzzled rs
to the way in which best to promote
their own cause.
| tionably find the temperance people
| of Vermont ready TO cooperate in
genuine Temperance measures
THE STATE, REPUBLICAN CONVEN-
| TION.