The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1915-08-02
HoMEWARD BOUND.
Vermont Auto Tourists Have Completed
Their Visit In California.
Stockton, Cal, July "a, 1915.


Editor Times: We are still here at
Stockton, but Clarence, Barton and !
start this afternoon on n 30O-mile trip
to Santa Cruz, on the coast, away south
of San Francisco, and will visit grove
of big trees in the coast mountains. tx
pect to be gone two days, camping out
one night. We got a card yesterday
from Dix people. They have been to Los
Angeles aud when they wrote the card
were within one days travel, by auto, OF
San Francisco where they were intending
to stop few days at the falr ana
then all but Dix go with the car back
TO Knowles; Dix to stay few days
longer at the fair, then go to liyermore
to see Staney's people, then all meet
here in Stockton Aug. to start iof
home.
| visited the police court here again
ore afternoon. While there, special
policeman tone in plain clothes, or not
wearing uniform) brought in two boys
and glass about one.half full Of beer,
which the policeman had caught them
drinking in saloon. They were held
for trial and policeman was sent out
after the, saloon keeper who sold them
the beer. No child here under q years
OF ace is allowed to enter saloon, nor
is a saloon keeper, under a heavy pen
atty, allowed to sell intoxicating liquor
to minor.
A few words in regard to our old Yer
mont prohibitory law, so called, that was
in force for over half a century. For a
law to prohibit the sale OF Intoxicating
liquors, our local option law now IN
force in Vermont is far ahead OF the
old law, which was about as near free
rum as it was possible to get it. Each
town had a chance to elect town liq-
uor agent at each March town meeting
who sold the liquors furnished or bought
for him to sell by the selectmen OF the
town, and the law provided that it should
be sold at the nearest to cost price as
possible The law also said 1t was to
be sold for medicinal purposes only. II
a man wanted to take dozen drinks
day, he could oonscientiously say he
wanted it for medicinal purposes and
he had no trouble in getting it. In fact,
the agent was obliged to sell TO hIm |
unless the agent could prove he made
base use of it. If | remember Alright, our
town agent for Randolph, VT, sold in the
vicinity of $4,000 worth of liquors in
a year. A large part of the 243 towns
in Vermont awaited themselves OF this
opportunity and elected town liquor
agent. Besides this, in the larger towns
and cities, there were hundreds of other
places where liquors could be bought, In
fact, it was impossible to enforce the
so-called prohibition law.
At the time we were about to vote on
the question whether Vermont should
change to local option | had neighbor,
a good neighbor, prominent in local sf-
fairs having been at the head of our To-
cal grange, also of the Pomona grange, |
who. before the vote was taken, Travelled |
through the state lecturing and distribut-
ing anti-saloon literature, and was aw-
fully opposed to local option. He and
were always joking one another and |
happened to know that he was in the
habit of using liquor in a small way |
every day. | says to him. "Iou are
working on the wrong side of this ques-
tion for your own interest / says, |
"Where will you get il when local OPP |
ton comes in force? All of these town
agencies will be closed He was almost |
luuiNNNuls Hilu Tue NltAN NNhA1 bN hitNA 1
with open saloons, which would be bad
for the coming generations. He did not
want his children brought up in sight OF |
an open liquor saloon. told him they |
had better be brought up in sight OF an
open saloon than backdoor saloon.
In less than a year from that time,
he came TO my house one morning, said |
he had got out of liquor and had got TO
have some. / told him did not use it,
nor had | any in the house. He says,
"Where am | going goet IT, | says |
to him. vermont is dry under local Opt
ton. guess Barre, 25 miles distant, |
is the nearest place you can get it,
says TO him, laughingly, NOW YOU were
az work on the wrong side, weren't youP
He admitted that il he were trying TO
restrict the sale of liquor he certainly
was on the wrong side.
later in the same day. / have been
out In nearby blacksmith shop. I
asked the price for shooting horses around
here. With new shoes, 50; resetting, 81;
setting buggy tires. s. a set other work
accordingly. The price OF most things
here i by bits. 1879 cents. II the price
Of anything here i less than 81 they
VIII say ttiHti wv A"hf VI ~ hiAr.
Scarcely anything costs sums between
that. Five cents in the smallest piece
OF money used here much and scarcely 4
any paper money Is used here, nearly 4
al gold or silver. Don't like to take a
s. geld piece for fear shall pass Il for
. fye-cent piece, which Il resembles very
closely.
] see BY the papers that YOU are still
having very wet weather in the East.
No rain since we have been here and
none i expected for three months.
.l---..- It,. arI L L.. - 80 .