The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1918-09-04
BECAUSE
L. Vermont has right to ask for Constitutional pro
lection from the lawess liquor traffic of other states

1. Vermont has right to ask for Constitutional pro-
lection from the lawess liquor traffic of other states
We have tried both State and town prohibition and
have found them only partially effective The liquor
dealers of Massachusetts, New York and other neghbor
ing States have insoenty persisted in flooding Vermont
with intoxicating liquor in spite OF our desire to keep It
expressed in statutes andwe have had redress
The only effective remedy is to put the whole law
deyng traffic under the ban of the Constitution we
did human slavery fifty years ago.
II. Vermont has a right to help make the United
States of which il is part cleaner and better country
No one puts forth the claim that the manufacture
sale and consequent drinking of alcoholic beverages tend
to make people stronger, more progressive, more
moral. All experience proves that the liquor traffic
vast amount of poverty, disease crime and
misery, This IS true in California or Arizona as in
Vermont. We as citizens of the United States who
happen to live in Vermont have vital interest in the
prosperity and welfare of our felowctzens who happen
to live in other States AS citizens of the United States
have the right to seek the suppression of an
injurious traffic il the whole country that we have as
citizens of town to vote against license in that
town.
IT is our right as loyal citizens by orderly and
constitutional to seek to promote the welfare Of
the whole Country
ILL., The new times in which we living and shall
live generations require the destruction of the
beverage liquor traffic
Before we entered the Great War, 100,000,O00
the manufacture of intoxicating beverages. Our yearly
expenditure for these beverages was over $20OO0OO 1t
a tremendous drain upon resources but in those
flush times we did not feel it so much.
Since entered the War, have been denying
ourselves wheat and sugar and meat in order that
armies and allies might be fed but the brewers have
still used 30000000 bushels of grain year. many
thousands of tors of and much other food material
After the War Closes the reconstruction of the
worlds ruined civilization will demand such
ton of resource have not yet conceived Of
Never again the world tolerate such waste of its wealth
the liquor traffic has caused in the past century.
"a SaoOnless Nation is necessity of the years
to come.
~. The objection that minority might force
prohibition upon unwilling majority by of
a constitutional amendment is unpatriOtic and ground
less
l. 1t is unpatriotic because it is not so much
system of government The State is the unit in our
Federal governments and Vermont is one of those units
She has the same right to speak that her neghbor New
York has. If minority could have its way,
Abraham Lincoln would have been President of
the United States
But in fact there not the slightest danger that
minority will force its will majority in this
The opponents of ratification have named fourteen
States which they hope to hold against the amendment
If they should hold every of the fourteen-which
they will not-by the last those States contained
only sortyone million of ninetyone million population
VERMONT ANTI.SALOON LEAGUE