Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1870-04-12
Letters from the Ehors-Conneotiout
Acknowledgements and Eoono-
my of the People-Weather.

Ivy VI tue IoOpi0- odtuoEs
Yesterday was our annual election
in Connecticut. A more stormy and
disagreeable day there has not been
for many year The wind has
hing in the northeast quarter for
weeks, hurting occasionally snow
and rain. Everybody has cold in
the head and tickling cough. just
now looked out at the window and
there was snow squall. Now there
is drizzle Of rain, smoke rolls
along the ground. There, it is spit
ting snow again. Did you ever see
such weather? And the wind hangs
there in the northeast from morning
till night. If we were not very
resolute people we should commit
suicide. heard the blue birds and
robins this morning, but poor things,
they are trying to doze in hollow
trees and wall chinks now. | began
with yesterday and here / am on to-
day. Yesterday we elected State Of
ficers in Connecticut, we elected also
Legislature and Judges of Probate
and Justices of the Peace. Connect
cut is more like ancient Athens, /
suppose, than anything else we can
find in modern times every town is
a little sovereignty. What do you
think In our town, which is not
more than six miles square, with q
population of five thousand, we have
two members of the General Assem-
bly,, Judge Of Probate and twenty
one Justices of the Peace. Our town
went Republican, the Static went
Democratic. You needn't be alarm
ed, the democracy in this State are
very respectable. Governor English
is a popular man, che is a gentleman
and scholar" az they say. There
is an invisible line which sep
arates parties, line where they
shade into one another. The Repub-
licans and Democrats are obliged to
select their candidates for the peo-
pies votes along that line, neither
would dare to venture away from it.
Shut your eyes and you couldn't tell
which was which as to the State tick
cts. English is elected by few hum
dred ; if the day had been right pleas
ant and the walking good, a few
hundred Of the well dressed might
have turned the scale, but tho peo-
pie don't care take the the "demo-
cratic" off and the Republicans would
rather English would be it than not.
Connecticut is very rich State, a
very bright State and very prudent
State. We have, | suppose, the
cheapest government IN the country.
The secret Of it is, VIC arc very little
governed. Divide up the property
and there would be over nine nun
dred dollars to each soul. Our rail-
roads and public institutions are
models; and yet the State does moth
ing for railroads, and very little for
charities. The best paying railroad
in the country is the Hartford e.
New Haven the best managed In
sane Asylum is at Hartford the best
Institution for the Deaf and Dumb
il al Hartford the best schools are
at New Haven. And all this is done
by the enterprise of the people.
Some OF your extrGvagant Western
Legislatures might study the Polite
al Economy Of Connecticut with ad-
vantage to themselves. We are
Democrats by nature, we inherit a
hearty contempt for aristocracy.
We arc constitutionally States rights
men. 1t was here that the famous
Hartford Convention was held du-
ring the war Of 1912. 1t makes no
difference who is Governor any more
than who is engineer; the people
have built the road bed and the en-
CINE of government must run on that.
The Spring is cold and late. When
L began it was drizzling, now it is
showing steadily. My letter is all
about politics, next time | will try
to write about something else.
Connecticut, April 0, 1870. ALLAN.