Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1869-10-26
Letters from the Shore-Connecticut
Elecrions-Town 0fficers-Rsin
and Pumpkins.

Connecticut has just been through
with her town elections. The first
Monday in October they are held
each year. The legal voters of the
towns-which means all white male
persons above twenty years of age
who can read and write-at such
times assemble together and elect
officers for the town. The principal
OF these are the selectmen, usually
three, five, or seven in number, who
are executive officers for the town,
managing all its business, seeing to
its poor, taking care Gifts funds-in
fact doing everything that a good
business agent would do for his prin-
cipal. Next are the assessors, the
grand jurors, the collector of taxes,
the constables, highway surveyors,
town clerk, treasurer, and other Off
GERS, such as guagers, weighers,
tything men--a reliet of Puritan
days-a corps which for number is
almost alarming to contemplate.
There are no county officers elect
ed by the people, but sheriffs and no
county organization, except for the
purposes of the court of justice, the
judges of which are elected by the
Legislature.
have just counted up the officers
elected for our town, and find they
are seventy-six in number. They
are all, but perhaps dozen, needless.
They have come down to US from
the first planting of the colony, many
of them, and new ones have been
added 10 meet new statutes. Our
town offices are like snow ball that
has been rolling and growing from
two hundred years back.
1t wouldn't do to cut down the
tickets, party would loose influence.
There are some men that think as
much Of being on the ticket for
tything men and haywards as
some others would OF going as
representative to Congress. Think
of it, seyenty-six officers for Laneas-
ter! what chance to catch votes and
what a chance for every man to have
some honor for his children and adj
miring nephews and neices to talk
about. These elections are carried
on partywise-that is by democracy
and republicanism. That is the
most convenient way, it is the Oldest
way. it is the way our fathers trod,
it has a great many advantages, all
of which are summed up in one-ev-
cry body is used to it. Whether a
man shall have the highway to work
or not, will depend, not upon wheth
er he has an OK shovel and cart
and team and plenty of gumption
to make first rate road, but upon
what view he takes of national affairs.
1t may strike you little funny at
first, but mans fitness to work q
road or settle boundary line, here
in Connecticut, is always determined
by his views on national questions.
We have been having some of the
heaviest rains, with October's advent,
since the flood. In one storm, that
of election day, the rain of three
months fell. Railroad tracks and
bridges have been washed away and
an embargo put upon travel. For
two weeks | have been waiting for a
certain railroad to repair damages.
The Connecticut river has been pour
ing pumpkins, stream of yellow
pumpkins, into Long Island Sound
for | don't know how many days.
Tobacco, pumpkins and corn, togeth-
er with fences and bridges, sheds,
and pig pens, have been swelling the
aggregate of the Atlantic. If the
ex-editor, who writes such exhaust
i've letters from the Athens Of Amer
lea, tarries much longer from his
consulshlp he can have the pleasure
of footing it over there on a bridge
of pumpkins and pig pens. Well +!
we all hope he will tarry and favor
US with more Of his Impressions.
We think here that therei are few
editors who WELD so strong and so
discriminating pen as our ex-editor.
Long life be with him and long let
ters from him. ALLAN.