The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-11-23
LIQUOR LAW CHANGES
Attitude of Prohibitionists Toward
Coming Leoisture.

ard legislation at the coming ses-
sion of the general assembly. Mr..
Smith says:
when the Legislature meets in
January one OF its first duties will be
to repeal the prohibitory law passed
by the Legislature of 1915. The
| League will seek the introduction of
such a bill at the earliest possible mo-
ment and will urge its speedy pas
sage continued Mr.. Smith.
ITO some of our friends, especially
| those not familiar with Vermont leg
! islative methods, this will sound like
| strange doctrine from the League.
We will explain presently, but first let
| us say as clearly and emphatically as
we can, that the Prohibition of the
| beverage liquor traffic, local, state
wide nationwide, worldwide, is our
fixed aim and goal, short of which we
! shall never rest satisfied. We will do
| our utmost to limit the traffic under
our present local prohibitory laws,
and we will work as vigorously and
wisely as we know how for its
statewide Prohibition And mean
| while we will seek by all available
means the national Prohibition of the
| traffic.
But the law passed two years ago
should be repealed at the earliest pos
sble moment, not because it is not
good law--we believe it is an excel
lent one-but because the people have
decided against 1t. In the spring of
1914 the official board of the Vermont
Anti-Saloon League decided that the
time was ripe for movement tow
ard statewide Prohibition and made
public announcement to that effect.
The local option law now in force
is not clear in its definition of the
rights of licensed hotel keepers to
serve liquors to their guests. In fact
it does not explicitly give them such
right except in certain special cases.
The law ought to state very clearly
when and where and to whom they
may sell Certainly it ought to make
impossible the selling of intoxicating
liquors in grills and roof gardens din
| ing service of the hotel, but are thin
| ly-veiled excuse for increasing the
| sale OF liquor and making drinking at
tractiye by the accompaniment fof
| music and dancing and light refresh
ments. Whatever the people think of
allowing hotels to serve liquors to-
their guests at meals, it is not the
wish of Vermonters that liquor drink
ing should be made attractive, and
special temptation be put in the way
of young men and young women by
these substitutes for German beer
gardens.
The original local option law adopt
ed in 1903 provided for the appoint
ment of License Commissioners in IL
cense towns by the selectmen. This
plan was soon found to work badly
because in a town where the liquor
element has majority of votes they
would elect as selectmen men who
would favor the traffic rather than
those who were qualified to manage
| the town business. So in 1904, when
| the whole law was rewritten, the ap-
pointment of License Commissioners
was put into the hands of the assist
ant Judges of the county courts. In
practice this plan has not worked we'll
in some cases. 1t leads to the selec-
ton of assistant Judges not because
of their qualifications to sit upon the
bench, but because of their attitude
toward the liquor traffic. In some
cases there has been open scandal in
connection with their nomination and
election.
1t is difficult question, and any
person who can solve it satisfactor
lily will be a public benefactor. But
whatever else is done, the appoint
ment of License Commissioners ought
not to be part of the duties of the
courts. 1t belongs to the executive
branch of the government, not to the
judicial branch.
Originally one-half Of the license
fees went to the towns and the other
half to the state. In some cases it
was found that the prospect of turn
ing a substantial sum of money into
the town treasury led men to vote for
license in spite of the evils that might
follow and to remedy this condition
the law was amended in 1908 so-that
all the fees should go into the state
treasury. We believe that so long as
licenses are granted this is the best
thing that can be done with the fees,
and we hope the law will not be
changed.
This proposition, so emphatically
voted down in the Legislature of 1912,
is likely to make it's appearance again
this winter. In spite Of the fact that
the people have so decidedly express
ed their opposition to it again and
again, the hotelkeepers of the state. or
rather some of them, seem to think
there is a chance of getting such a
measure through.
But if it appears again it will again
meet the most determined opposition,
and we do not think it will fare much
better than before. Vermont wants
her hotels to thrive when they meet
a legitimate need. And they seem to
have done a prosperous business this
year. But when town has driven
the saloon out of the front door by q
no-license majority, it cannot consent
to have it sneak in again by the back
door of licensed hotel.
I'VE hope the Legislature will take
strong action to prevent the reckless
driving of automobiles by persons who
have been drinking No man ought
IN no p,-antad a liconea IN r,,n oo au