Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-03-18
THE PROGRAM OF THE LIQUOR
TRAFFIC.

THE PROGRAM OF THE LIQUOR
TRAFFIC.
The liquor interests claim that they have
al organization not only in every State
but in nearly every county of this Union
| and thoy are working down into the last
precinct Tor the purpose of massing the
wet vote for the election this year. Their
hope Is wet Congress. wet governors.
wet Legislatures and wet enforcement
| officials. They are counting on winning
these victories because of the confidence
altogether too prevalent amonE teraper-
ance psopie, that the saloon has COMA for
good on account of this false security
among the drys, The liquor interests on
poet 10 defeat us A wet Congress would
mean the repeal OF the volst cad act and
| Legislation to manufacture and sell three
| per cent. ~ four per cent. beer and 1,
per cent. wice. Thus the saloons In many
sections would BE- reopened for the sale
or wine and beer, and whiskey in bottles
with beer labels.
They expect TO make al the trouble for
| the cause Of prohibition that il possible
this year. and In 1922 they would work
for wet Congress that would submit
repeal Of the eighteenth amendment
outright or. II not a repeal OF the eigh-
tenth amendment, then amendment
to the FEDERAL constitution permitting a
popular vote tn the entire nation as tho
future method for amending the con-
stitutton
Those OF our men who ere on the In
side and have ways aad means Of finding
out. submit that the above is the definite
plan OF the wste for the next two years.
LEGISLATION
Section Of the eighteenth amendment
reads: The Congress and the severa,
States shall have concurrent power -
enforce this article by appropriate legis-
lation." Thirtysix States have already
passed such legislation. Twelve States
stu remain where no action has been
taken, namely: Massachusetts, Rhode
Island. Connecticut. Now York. New Jer-
sey Pennsylvania. Maryland, Wisconsin,
California. Louisiana. Kentucky and Yer
mont. Our last Legislature failed us at
this point and We should commence at
once to plan for appropriate iaw-enforce-
nient legislation which will put into the
hands of our own State officials a code
that will enable US to handle the ques-
ton of enforcement with lLws Of our own
commonwealth. Severa! States have up
pointed State prohibition commissioner
to see that the state laws are fully APP
piled In enforcing the eighteenth amend
nlent. We strongly recommend such u
commissioner Ger Vermont. whose spec ul
duty will be TO see that the State prohibit
ton laws are enforced
LAW ZEN FORCEMENT
We believe that Vermont has the big
job of watching the most dangerous bit
Of boundary line to be found from Port
land to Seattle. The reason for this is
that Montreal Is tho only large wet oasis
left in the North American sahara Many
a wet pilot will head for Montreal and
try to return with the forbidden bever-
age Az soon as the roads are in good
condition, the auto-trattic will give no
end of trouble.
The customs department. with head
quarters at 81. Adams. the internal rev.
enue department with headquarters MT
Burlington. and the Anti-Haloon League
also located in Burlington, are ali plan
ming to put on a strong program of law
enforcement in order TO handle the hun
dred miles Of boundary from Rouses
Point to Beecher Falls The league will
cooperate with the federal men in many
ways. The border will he the most i'm
portant end Of this big job but we will
do all we can ovcr The whole State
NATIONAL RELATIONS
Our relation to the national league re-
mains the same as last year and every-
thing has gone smoothly during the year
between the State and national men
THE WORLD PROGRAM
The slogan In England now is Pussy
foots eye will make old England dry"
Your superintendent wrote Mr. Johnson
while he was still in the hospital. ex-
pressing sympathy and asked him to send
an article, when he could, to be publish
ed in the Vermont Issue. He did finally
and we urge you to read it and thus get
a vision first hand from London that will
tell you much better than l can Just how
Mr.. Johnson Is filing in cover there nor
withstanding the wet reports to the con-
trary, The world program is moving
nicely. We now have men in Scotland
helping and lecturing daily, getting Scot
land ready for her first local-option vote
this fail. We also have men in Norway.
Sweden, France, Belgium and Australia
China and Japan are calling for help
and there is desperate need Of assistance
In South Africa.
ALBERT Il. LANG. Supt.