The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-10
MONDAY, APRIL 10, 1893
Stick to Your Guns, Governor.

Governor Wilbur L. Cross has thrown down the gauntlet to those politicians who see in the return of beer, wines, and per- haps other liquors return to their ward bseling days when their superiors made poli- tics and liquor control synonomous. In flat declaration he has defied the Legislature to heed the pleas of few loud d-mouthed in- diyiduals who are clamoring for a return to the old days when licenses were issued by county commissioners. Remember, though. that Governor Gross is not critieizlng the saloon of the old days. Even though he Hears that Connecticut is trying to resurrect Sold methods rather than try new ones he does not enter upon any trade against the saloon. He is to be commended for this.
 It is with the individual who might control output and flow of liquor in the state that the governor IS concerned And well he might be after the outburst that was delivered at Hartford last week when the general public was given an opportunity to tear to pieces the fortnight piece of legsla- ton that is being offered for adoption as Conneeticuts system of liquor control. No- body has claimed that the liquor commls- sion's report is perfect. It IS far from that. But 1t is right in many respects. In minor ones 1t can easily be rectifed If we heed the demands of the politically minded, tenn perance will be further from our midst than 1t was in the past thirteen years of experimentation.
 We cannot help but feel that if put to test d majority of the voters of Connecu- et,. would prefer to march along with an executive who manifested principle such as this: T have long considered the ques- tons involved. l am unalterably opposed t0 decentralizing responsibility for the ad- ministraton of liquor law. In my mnd there is but one sane position to take. It is for direct state control. In the stand l am taking here, I most earnestly solicit in- dividual and organized support of the pub lie opinion of this state as of vital in- portance in the lives of our children l appeal for the support of the press l ap- peal for the support of the clergy. ap- peal for the support of all organlZations interested in temperance. l solemnly re- onest that all who agree with me make their views known to their representatives in the General Assembly in order tbat there may not be restored in this state all those disgraceful and corrupting conditions which made prohibition inevitable
 Thus spoke Governor Cross after ln- suring everybody that any attempt to foist the county commissioner liquor plan on the state would result in veto from him. We : think that state control under a comms- sion such as that proposed in the recent re- : port is admirable for Connecticut. Other 7 states might envy our solution of the diff ficulty. However, as conditions stand now they can merely wonder what IS go- ing to happen next in Connecticut. We have only until April 25 to make de- ; csion unless we care to witness the un- ] regulated sale of beer and wines in the < state. This week should decide the issue. ! By Saturday the state solons should have decided that it is better to progress than Z retrogress We regard return to the old !. methods of controlling liquor. retrogres- sion, especially SO in view of the fact that foreign nations. with fewer advantages than we have, now show us the way in national sobriety.