Connecticut western news., 1911-02-09

they have stated that if there has been a falling off in business in Canaan, it cer- tainly hasn't shown 1t 1n the freight business.
 But I didn't start out to argue this point. My intention is that 1t shouldn t make any difference with the main issue whether more dollars were spent in Ca naan under license than under no- license It's a question of what is the best way to handle difficult matter for the best moral interests of the community. It's a question ot sobriety, of industry, of in- tegrity, of protected youth and strength ened manhood. Is there more drinking and more drunkenness here under license than under no-hcense? Are young men tempted to drink more? Are families better provided for and safer? Do men tend to business better (even though there be less business to attend top Is life in this place saner, safer and pleas anter and is it likely to turn out more men or more drunkards under license or no license? Those are the questions. Some argue one way and some another and there may be room for difference of opinion. But a man sells his soul to the devil the minute he decides on the basis of dollars and cents. Whats more, he may be selling the soul of his own boy or of some other mans boy, The drunk ards of the next generation have got to be made out of the school boys of today. The town is spending thousands of dol lars to educate them. Shall they be de- bauched? Every one knows that drink is their worst enemy. Then how can ths sale of this be best regulated to pro- tect them? If Liberal" or any other man believes that no license promotes the integrity and the honor of our man l Al~ oll hi fN 1ka next year for license because his busi- ness has been injured by mo license" he deserves nothing but the contempt of honorable men. In allquestions Of pub lie policy the one great crying need is for men who can't be bought. Then whether license is best, or no license, let us be men enough to decide 1t with out reference to our pocketbooks.
 It becomes then a question of ''mau- .. hood'' values, and not of merchandise, between license and no license. If it were "fip-up" between the advantages of these, then business eXpediency could be allowed to decide it. But 1t isn't. l believe that the last three months have amply proved to any but prejudiced observer that for the village of Canaan no-license is best. There has been marked change in the conditions of our | of our men. I have only seen one in toxicated man on the streets of Canaan since the licenses ran out; while formerly T will let you recall the former condi- tions. I know of course that there have been others for no license doesn't mean that there is no drinking in Canaan and we do not claim that it does. l didn't intend to argue this point but since writ ing the above the latest letter of ''Lib- eral" has appeared and there are Une or two points in reply that would like to make. He makes considerable of the point that there IS drinking and drunk enness under nolicense, forgetting that no-license doesn't prevent man going or sending where 1t is sold and getting all he wants. He can be drunk every day without transgressing the law unless he becomes troublesome to others. Men who have become addicted to it can get 1t and probably will; but my claim is that men are not half so likely to become the victims of the habit when there is no | bar-room with it's social attractions and the treating habit. And men do not drink so much when 1t is not so easily got.
 As to the matter of illegal sale and it's prosecution, is an easy matter lay all the blame on the neglect of the officers and the failure of the teetololist fanatics. Who are the officers whose duty it is to get the evidence? haven't found one who thinks it is his. We have no deputy sheriff i'll our town and our con- stables would repudiate responsibility. Onr prosecuting agent says that he isn't hired as detective, but if the men of Canaan will make the complaints and furnish the evidence he will prosecute. | al .t No %ho oiE the license voter (who always washes his hands of responsibility for the en- fOrcement of this law puts 1t up to the no-license voter and then majority of the no-license voters join "Liberal' and say why don't "they" do something meaning, of course, the "teetolalist fanatics" Being q suppose) one of these, must say 1t is a great responsi- bility, and in self defense I would claim that evidence sufficient to convict is not as easy to get as the editor of The News claims. 1 venture the guess that if I went around tomorrow to get "Liberal'' to promise to testify to the reputation" of any of the places where he claims it is being sold, he would do what most men do-crawl. believe that the law can be better enforced and I hope that 1t will be but this will not be until all l of Iaw-whether they voted license or no-icense-get together and do some thing and quit sneering at the mysteri- ous they"
 But if the law isn't totally enforced under no-license shall I vote for license next year? This is Liberals" logic and it is only applied in this question. Pro- bably the game laws of the state are broken every day in the years and are unenforceable; shall we therefore take them off and let the young game be slaughtered all the year round? When the law is on the killing is restricted, when the law is off and man has his license the restrictions are at least parti- ally removed. So when the law is on (as under no-icense) the sale of drink is restricted. but when it is off and a man has his license the restrictions are at least partially removed and he can sell to every man in town until he drops dead by the bar and the law can't touch him unless mans "next friends have l npN1 Rl,n ,14 l. Il,