Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1916-03-17
SHOULD REPEAL PERRY BILL.
Rev. G. II. Smith of Anti-Saloon
League Talks Frankly About State s


"We got licked. There are not
enough remains to hold an autopsN
over was the way the Rev. c. IL
Smith, secretary of the Anti-Saloon
league, answered request for a state
mcnt on the result of the referendum
on the Perry statewide prohibition bill
last week which resulted in a crush
ing defeat for the project for which
Mr.. Smith and his fellows have been
earnestly working during the past
year. Owe put up as good a fight as
we knew how; we played as fair as
we could; undoubtedly we made mis-
takes; but there is no Whining
Mr. Smith Immediately expressed the
good faith of the Anti Saloon league
regarding the repeating OF the Perry
bill when the legislature Of 1917 CON
venes. The Perry bill was passed by
the legislature, the question submit
ted to the people being whether it
would take effect May l, this year, or
in 1927. 1t was the understanding in
the legislature that if the voters called
for the 1927 date, the next legislature
would repeal the bill.
Whatever influence | personally
have will be eXertcd to have introduced
on the first day of the session of
the 1917 legislature n bill repeating the
Perry act. There will be no delay;
it is thoroughly understood by the anti
saloon people and there is not enter
tanned Il single thought contrary to do
ing just what it is expected we should
and ought to do, - said Mr.. Smith.
eve accept the vote as the verdict
Of the people, continued Mr.. Smith.
- But the people have not expressed
themselves as being in favor of the
saloon note that; they have said that
they are in favor of local option. We
believe in the majority rule, and we
viii do all that we can to keep out the
saloon under the local option law.
Asked how he accounted for the
unexpected result and its proportions.
Mr. Smith said: "There evidently was
a failure on the part of great number
of individuals to understand just what
the new law proposed. \ great many
evidently misunderstood if. Yet the
vote all through the state shows what
the people preferred.
"No one expected such n vote The
best Mr.. Trainer Of the Local Option
league would claim was 5000. Other
local option leaders, on the eve of the
tlcttloi, caI'ItsStu lHclI honest con
viction that it was going to be close,
very close. 1t is evident that great
many people did not express them
selves one way or another ON the ques-
ton. In the small towns the meetings
held to advocate the Perry bill were
poorly attended and there was no way
of telling how the people who stayed
away were going 70 vote
"The campaigning done by the Per
ny men accomplished very little, that
is self evident. In few towns whore
there was organized personal effort,
satisfactory results were obtained. Yet
the state has not in any sense
responded TO the work that has been
done for the Perry law. Franklin conn
ty shows up pretty well compared with
others; a lot of hard work was done
there, There was a keen local option
sentiment in the southern part of the
state and we felt that section was
likely to go against us. -
To the query as to how he explained
the "dry' counties voting against the
Perry bill, Mr.. Smith replied that in
that section they evidently think that
they have a good braad of prohibition
under the local option law.
cit is altogether too early to say
anything definite about plans for the
future declared the secretary of the
Anti-Saloon league. Personally feel
just as | did when | entered the work