Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1916-01-06
WARNS TEMPERANCE WORKERS
Not Sufiicient to Get Prohibition
on Statute Books.
Rev. r. VI. BuTuA Tells ". e. II. q.
That P.Sb:n Opinion II vital Fart
Of Every Law witch OFiciai.
Euf'rc~

The Sunday afternoon meeting Of the
Womans Christian Temperance Union at
tho Temrle Sunday afternoon was well
attended. Tho afternoons address was
given by the Rev r. II. Bunum. who
snoh'N on tho need OF caution on the part
~ Temperance workers against over
Srfdence through recent prohibition VT
tories, war.ing them not to nderrate
their foes and to fight as never before.
Pubic opinion must back laws TO secure
their enforcement He said in part:
We are entering a most critical era in
tho lonH war upon intoxcants. and We
need to find ourselves There are times
when incontrovcrtiblc facts require now
emphasis. and ono of those times is rig
before us 7 am here to insis. upon a
facing OF the facts involved in our prob
ION. When the host is jubilant, then let
tho thoughtful be wary
We are tubian, over recent victories.
seven states. Yesterday. swung into the
"rompition co'unr-Statewt6e ban upon
tho liquor curse, 1t is a tremendous sd
vance bnt 1usr how much does 1T mean
FOR u.s. Where. nov. are our <oes? Who're
az" We cannot sit At ease on senti-
"i'H,ai ehthus'asm nor rely wholly on
pious hopee We ars away down IN the
n'rt Tor 'he grip ana the cl'nch - seems
10 mo ver, serious hustness It calls
ior III the wit. and the hear. snd tho
skill. and the persistence that md play
on inc highest ranges Of consocra ed
energy.
we nlu@ nos nnderrata our ene,1,.
" nat dc those seven States show ~,
W. reloicc over 1000 saloons abolished
geef. victory. But mark YOU well I'm
critical periods Of this see-saw OF 49,
foru our leaders havo assumed too
much and their followers have nresur,cI
ZOO much God save us from blunders.
Look at the States We rejocs over. See
now Colorado during its last week OF
ncense-'loaded up with more than
S9,W,oD worth of liquors I'm Washing
Ioii the new law permits each resident
20 bny--from outside the State--tvo
quarts Of hard" liquor or T. quarts
OF beer every % days. Oregon. on the
\ other hand. has the most drastic law.
'or not even physician can prescribe
liquor.
IAN such law be enforced" In lust
one way. and this suggests the very
crux Of the whole liquor problem. How
fatally fatuous are many temperance
zealots. They will agitate and urge
until the law gets into the statute
book and then sit back and denounce
the officials for not enforcing it. You
nave not got your law when the gov
ernor signs the hill. or new article goes
into the constitutions ] want all the
law We can get. but ! want a complete
law. q. real law.
What is law? how is il made, We
are crippled by Il singular misconceptton
Y want to lay great stress on the essentials
"f law. When bill pa SECS the Legisla-
ture and is signed by the governor we
call 1t law, but you have a law only
partly made. We have often heard this
I'VE have a good law hut our officials
won't enforce it." All. those "officials'
are shrewder than we are They feel tina I
this statute Is not full. real law. Again.
ask it. what is a law? In this republic the
fundamental essence of the law is pub
lie opinion. Now. Just SO far as public
opinion is In a statute il becomes a law.
and no further. No executive official will
dare dodge such law.