Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1871-08-30
fUatohman 6 Journal.
WEDNESDAY. AUGUST 30, 1871.
TEavs SAM per year, strictly 10 advance or I"
ifnot paid within three months.


= period in this rapid age. Within that tim,
the system Of railroads has been mainly devcl
oped. The cars had but Just begun to run or
J few short lines 10 New England The Yer
mont Central was bat begun Little wa.
then known of the effect Of the new kind oil
locomotiou on the old centres Of population
and influence. Within that time many Of tho
most Furnishing aud promising villages oil
New England have lost their prestige. and
places that were wilderness have become
populous and wealthy Many Of our Yer
mont towns within that time have passed
from life into death aud some have become
unexpectedly iourisbue Springfield, Wood.
stock, Chelsea DanvIlc, Craftsbury, Wind
sor and many other towns Of lesser note.
have dwindlod and lost their relative import
ancc Rutland, Mortified, and st. Abans,
have become important and influential A
few towns have neither been largely stmu-
lated nor much injured by the operation Of
the railroads. Montpelier has not suffered
much nor has it been much benefited by
them While il has grown to uearly double
its size in that period, lbs growth has not been
in the least due TO any external aids, or to
any railroad movements The cost Of freight
between Montpelier aud Boston is more to-
day than it was thirty years ago when teams
were used to convey frst-closs goods for sew
enty-fvc cents per hundred The benefit de.
rived from the railroad has therefore been
almost nothing 1t has developed no new
business no manufacture no trade. Other
towns have been able to secure advantages Of
transportation to market, that have been Ut
terly denied to us. They have had the old
rates of travel and freight reduced, so that
their trade aud manufactures have been great
y stimulated and developed. Yet, while the
railroad has given US no additional advantage
IN farms none except III ume' Montpelier by
us geographical position ana by the energy
oil us business men, has not only held ITS
own out mas nearly doubled Its population
a"' ''' Op''"''s' 'O' '"'S VIZ are '"oco'eu
u''' u ''O'' V'u'es ""''n nave 50 maze
''n'y contributor 70 'ne progress Oh such
'o""s ~ ''','''s'o"' i'u''""u' anu ~ A'oanS'
'''' ''"s'o' nus 'o' instance pceh greatly
'''''"''0' y '"' ,r'''O'''' '"' occupied
''' i''''"s 'o'"'' iier '"'r'n"n'' cou'u trans
P0'V " 'i'''Ne' AT tno country produce ana
receive inc Guy exchanges at nan the rates
VI 4uo"'Pe,''r' u Is not 700 mueh to say
"'"' d P'on' Vi se'on'y-nVe thousand dollars
year has gone INTO the pockets Of the Bnr-
lpg'on TRADERS Tor inc last twenty years, sim
ply because OIL reduced rates OF irelghtagc.
Two ui'I'ons OIL prohtS' over ana above the
oruluary prohts oil business would make any
S'na'l town ricn III twenty years Yet with
Out 'nese advantages no town IN Vermont
can show better or a healthier growth.
We do not propose in this article to enter
very much into detail, but only to suggest
some of the obvious changes of more public
kind in the last twenty-five years.
Within that period Montpelier bas contrib.
uted over two hundred thousand dollars IN
the construction of the Vermont Central rail.
road She has also given over two bupdrod
and fifty thousand dollars to the Wells River
road, now in process of building. She has
expended sixty-three Thousand dollars On the
Capitol of the State. She has purchased and
adorned, at the cost Of ten thousand dollars, a
large and beautiful cemetery. She has erect,
ed six new churches, one by the Roman Cath.
olcs' at cost OF ten thousand dollars one
by the Episcopalians, at a cost Of thirty-fyc
thousand dollars; one by the Baptists FOL
twenty-five thousand dollars; one by the Uni
tarians, for fifteen thousand dollars; one by the
Mothodsts' for thirty thousand dollars and
one by the Congregationalists, at the cost o
seyenty-iiye thousand dollars. The citizen,
oil this town have also contributed to the Yer
mont Conference the sum OF twenty thousan,
dollars for the erection Of Methodist Sem
mary IN this place, to which that denomina'
ton has added the sum Of fifty thousand dol
lars, and have here now one of the best edu
cational institutions connected with tina
church in New England. Beside this, oul
Town mas expended twenty-five thousand dol
'a'S III 'ne Dulluins u au ounce ior tue pun
''' S'noo'S' mus III TINS small village with
III quarter OIL century the enormous sun
OIL seven hundred al h'ty-e'ght thousand
doliarS mas Doeh gwen TO general aud pubh'
Interests Dy our cltzens'
Twenty-Five years ago the salaries paid t.
our school teachers did not exceed seventeen
hundred dollars per year. Now they exceed
four thousand. The salaries given to ou
ministers were little less in the aggregate
than two thousand dollars per annum. Nov
they exceed ten thousand Then there was moi
rod of brick side walk in our village. now w
have more than five miles completed Thel
gas was thing dreamed of; now it is used tc
| light the streets There is not town in the