St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1914-01-07
Look Out For License.


Five weeks from yesterday the an
nual town meeting will be held ana
one of the questions to be voted on
is. shall license be granted for SAFE
of Intoxicating liquor in this town.
This question has always been an
swered no in st. Johnsbury, but by
a closer margin each year. 1t would
have taken but few changes from
no to yes last year to have had IL
cense installed in this town. one rea~
son assigned for it was that the peo-
pie who vote no made no agitation OF
the subject, they acted Indifferent or
ovar-confdent There are unmis-
taxable signs of an active but quiet
agitation for a larger license vote at
the coming town meeting and unless
every voter who is opposed to the
omen saloon is alive and at the bal
lot box this town is likely to go for
license.
The fact that a person can send
out Of town and have a quantity OF
liquor shipped to him and often use
il to excess is no argument for an
open saloon. To get liquor now
man must save a dollar or more and
pay 1t to the liquor seller sometime
before he gets his liquor and he does
not have the dollar on hand nearly as
often as he has a desire for a drink.
He can secure it only at irregular
intervals now but il the saloon was
between his workshop and home he
might purchase drink whenever he
could get ten cents for its purchase.
The bottle business by express is bad
but not nearly so bad as an attrac-
tive saloon between you and home.
That the open saloon brings bust
ness to a town is an exploded fall
lacy. 1t is fact that the large ma
iority Of people find it difficult to
earn money enough to pay for their
rent, food, fuel and clothes under
present conditions. An open saloon
would not reduce the price of any
of these pecessaries nor would it in
crease the wages of common labor
ers. If they buy liquor they must
pay cash for it, the sellers having
seen to il that the law does not al
low credit And cash paid for Ii
quor cannot be paid for groceries or
other necessities. 1t is an invaria-
BILE practice where liquor is sold for
men unable to properly provide for
their family to spend their cash for
liquor. 1t could not be different in
St. Johnsbury. Therefore every man
engaged in legitimate business in st.
Johnsbury should work and vote
against the establishment of a saloon
here to take away the money his GUS
toner should pay to him.
Anyone thinking it might be a
good thing for his town to have
saloon will do we'll to look at towns
that do have them. Does any one
believe it has been a good thing for
GrOton to have a saloon the past
year? Can any one think the open
saloon there has resulted in less Ii
quor being used in that town?
Would any one like to have the ship
ment of penniless drunks out of
town a regular part of the transpor-
tation business in their town? Can
any one name a single legitimate in
dustry in Groton that has been bene-
fitted by the opening of the saloon
there? These are live questions that
a voter should answer before he goes
into the voting booth and every man
who decides to vote for the best in
terests of his town should make the
same effort that the man voting for
his appetite will to get to the booth
and vote on this question
Ecor,rn.nf tor, Tho Next Gtnrn