The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-01-15
PERRY ACT" AND DOCTORS.
Doctors Discussed By L. w. Hanson Of
Montpelier.

An open letter.
Mr.. Raymond Trainor, Sec. and Treas
Vermont Local Option league,
White River Junction, Vermont,
My Dear Mr.. Trainor;
Your letter of the 29rd ult. addressed
to the physicians of Vermont regarding
the Perry prohibition referendum bill ant
local option, and asking their views re-
garding the two measures at hand
You are asking the physicians "wheth'
er they are opposed TO, or in favor of
statewide prohibition that would elm
mate alcohol and liquor from their con
sideration In the practice of medicine and
take from them their right to direct It's
use in proper cases"
You also mention quite an impressive
list of uses for which the Perry act for
bids the sale of liquors.
just what the Perry act says and all
it says prohibiting the sale of liquors
without elaboration is as follows; "No
person shall furnish, or sell, or expose or
| Keep WIFI lHItIJ w Ftlt any
liquor" All the rest of the bill relates
to the Interpretation, modification and
administration of the foregoing sentence
| from the bill.
| do not find anything in the bill that
refers directly to any of the uses of
liquor mentioned in your letter or that
interferes in any way with the right OF
physician to direct its use in proper
cases.
do not find anything in the bill that
forbids any person from procuring, hav-
ing and using liquor for any purpose for
which they can now use it. 1t simply
eliminates the traffic in liquor, which to
all intents and purposes means the local
option saloons.
Both whiskey and brandy are dropped
as internal medicines from the forth
coming edition of the United States
Pharmaeoppia, the national standard for
medicinal substances.
The period of alcoholic internal medi-
cation by the medical profession gen
orally has passed. Alcohol is used some
what externally as palliative and can
continue to be used II the Perry bill
passes.
Ii intoxicating liquors were positively
necessary in medical practice, as once
thought to be, it would by no means be
necessary to have the local option sa-
looms in order to secure them.
There is no evidence that alcoholics
increase the longevity of the people but
on the contrary their use materially |
life and has a pernicious inhu
- +kn ~, Of Ir,nIr |
ing parents.
Kansas for many years has had rig |
id state prohibition law that is endorsed |
by all the political parties in the state, |
and the health of the people is such that
the death rate is only per cent of the
annually.
Local option is claimed by your league
as a temperance measure to be superior |
to state prohibition. Our former pro-
law was said to be a failure.
We admit that its administration was
very elastic. The number of persons
to all the jails in Vermont
under that law during the last four
years OF It's existence for intoxcaton
was 2l75--altogether too many but
Under the local option law-the so-called
temperance measure-during the first
our years Of its existence the number
If persons so committed for drunken
less was $3.50, an increase OF l55 per
'ent under local option. That is the
way it operated as temperance meas
ire. There are more statistics of the
anne nature. The facts show that even
,oorly enforced state prohibition results
in less drunkenness than any
orm of license.
The internal use of alcohol Is not rec
in the teaching of present
lay medical colleges or medical litera-
ure, but opposed.
We have not heard Of any opposition
o the Perry bill by the medical profes
ion of Vermont, though possibly an oc-
asional physician may oppose it. The
writer did not hear the Perry bill men
toned either in or out of the sessions
t the recent meeting of the Vermont
fedical society. We feel that the medi-
al profession of Vermont can be trusted
0 work out its own alcoholic problem.
Neither has the public manifested APP
aren't anxiety about liquor for medical
Sc, as only seven of the 229 no-license
tiles and towns voted for the druggist
cense even when the Perry bill was
ending in the legislature, which leaves
p towns voluntarily under the pro-
isions of the Perry act now, as the
cry act is exactly like the present law
18th the licensed saloon privileges cut
ut, because the saloon is a public evil
nd no public evil should be legalized.
1t is the local option saloons of the
cense towns that supply most of the
runks for the jails and we are credibly
formed thatsa majority of the dipso-
aniaes sent to the state asylum for
'eatment come from the four towns
ost noted for saloons, Burlington, Rut-
nd, Bennington and st. Albans, which
i've 81 of the 81 saloons in the state
II seems to be the sole mission of the :
ermont Local Option league to save the
cal option saloons by defeating the
cry bill.
1t is the mission Of the workers for
e Perry prohibition bill TO save hui
anity and the state from the blight of
e local option saloon in Vermont.
These are few of the reasons why
E feel it TO be the duty Of every voter
Vermont who cares for the welfare of
; fellow creatures to vote Yes for the
'rry prohibition act on the 18th day of
arch next before o'clock in the after.
ON and to vote No ON liquor for his
wu