The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-01-19
Wednesday, January 10, 1916.
Perry Act Jokers.

1t Is frequently Sdlu Dy luOSS VINO
favor the adoption of statewide pro-
hibition as provided by the Perry act
to be submitted next March that this
measure merely extends to the whole
state the beneflcence OF no license as
1t now exists in towns that 20 dry.
The Perry act, We are told, means the
same thing as would local option If
every city and town in Vermont, UNI
der the present system, were to vote
no at the annual March meeting.
This assumption is not correct, eth
er in principle or fact. The Perry act
IS not fairly represented when its
sponsors claim it to be simply another
form of local option, and voters, what
ever their final stand on the question,
should not be misled into this opinion
respecting it. The Perry act is in
fact far more stringent staLe pro-
hibitory law than the one repealed in
1903. The promoters of it, instead OF
framing measure of their own, ad-
roitly took the so-called Clement law
and cut out the local option feature
entirely, which was and is the basic
principle of the present liquor system
OF Vermont. This act they would
have Vermont adopt under the i'm
preston that the good results flowing
from the many local decisions rem
dered annually against opening sa.
looms will he achieved for the state
at large by single verdict
There can be no compromise be-
tween the Two principles OF statewide
prohibition and local option Any at
tempt to make it appear that the
Perry act merely makes Vermont go
dry all over as it would if every city
and town in the state took indepen-
dent action that way is distinctly mis-
leading. And for these reasons:
l. 1t is leglslating away from each
city and town of the state the right,
recognized By the present law to de-
eide whether it viii have saloons or
will not. This may be correct and
proper, but it is not local option or
any form Of it. In fact, it is square
denial of that principle. 1t is setting
up the right of some of the towns to
decide the question OF the saloon not
only for Themselves but for all the
towns.
2. 1t is putting away the annual
submission of the question to the
people and setting up in its stead a
permanent no that cannot be changed
by the people until such time as they,
under the peculiar system of legisla-
tive representation that prevails in
Vermont, can overturn it--no easy
thing, as the experience of 1903 and a
long period of agitation preceding ii
demonstrated
3. The Perry act, though cleverly
clothed in the garb of Esau, is in
fact the voice of Jacob, for these rea-
sons, among others:
a. 1t affords no legal way in
which malt or spirituous liquors can
be procured for any purpose whatso
ever within the state of Vermont
excepting hard cider by the barrel
Cleft in TO catch the votes of the farm
ers.)
b. 1t not only withdraws from
towns the right to deide the question
of saloons but it withdraws from
them the right to decide whether they
will have druggists licenses where Ii.
quor may be procured on q physici
ans prescription, according TO the act
OF 1912.
C. By placing Vermont under pro.
hibition it is automatically putting 1t
under the operation of the Webb.ken.
yon federal law which gives federal
officials authority to interfere with
and stop the shipment of liquors into
dry states, placing upon consignees
the burden of proving that liquors
seized are to be used for legitimate
purposes.
d. While not denying that there
are proper or legitimate uses for liqu-
or, 1t is affording no source whatso-
ever for their supply, as the old pro.
hibitory law did through the town
agency.
Let no one be deceived. If YOU
voter is absolutely uncompromising
toward intoxicants In any form and
under any circumstances, Except
hard cider he should favor the Perry
act. But no one should support it
under the delusion that he has mere.
ly assisted in spreading the no-license
mantle over the whole OF Vermont. If
he does he will later learn his mis-.
take.
In our opinion, a citizen may honest
ly and consistently oppose the saloon
or the legalizing of beverage traffic
anywhere in Vermont; he may even
prefer statewide prohibition with pro.
vision for the sale of alcoholics for
necessary purposes to the present To-
cal option system, without In either
case feeling compelled to accept the
Perry act as test of his temperance
sentiment In so far as this act pre-
tends to pose for what 1t is not, we
shall try our best to unmask it.--Ran-
dolph Herald and News.