Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-03-16
Annual Town Meeting.

The annual town meeting was held al
the Town Hall in West Rutland on Mon
day, March 18th, commencing at IL
o'clock, a. m. Rutland has heretofore had
the reputation of having uproarous and
boisterous proceedings in it's past town
meetings, but on this occasion it fully re-
deemed itself from any such charge. The
meeting was conducted in an orderly
quiet and peaceable manner, without
wrangiing, opponents met each other
with smiling countenances, and conducted
the canvas in manly way, in a spirit OF
liberal and generous rivalry, each, Of
course, intent upon securing the victory
This auicable and agreeable phase is
wor thy of note, and teaches men that
even political contests can be conducted
in an orderly and kind way, and it is to
be hoped the day of unkind sentiment
and boisterous demonstrations has passed
away in Rutland elections.
AT little past 10 o'clock a. M, B. w.
Marshall, Esq, Town Clerk, called the
meeting to order and read the warning.
He then directed the meeting to the cleo.
ton of Moderator, which resulted in the
election Of Hon. Martin G.. Eyerts, 0iga
00ce.
A demand signed by twenty three legal
voters was presented to the Moderator,
for vote by ballot, on general ticket.
The voters then commenced to cast their
ballots, two voting places having been es-
tablished in the uall for receiving them.
After nearly two hours spent in voting,
the Moderator informed the meeting that
the boxes for receiving votes would be
kept open while the meeting proceeded to
the transaction of the business specified
in the warning.
The first article in the warning, ''to see
if the town will vote to raise money to
defray the expenses of the town" was
taken
John B. Page suggested that the taxes
for the past few years had been quite
onerous, and to siome had become a bur-
den and no more money should be raised
than was absolutely necessary. On an
examination of our financial condition he
found there was now due on the Collec-
tors books the sum of $4,000, and the
current expenses were estimated at $780,
Git, and if the amount due was collected
no tax was necessary. He believed in
collecting the old taxes before any new
uotoI g -. oF
the warning to be dismissed.
He said he saw no reason why most, if
not all, of the taxes of 1867 and 1868
could not be collected. He thought the
present Board of Selectmen had erred in
settling with the Collector and allowing
him to take up his bond. He thought
such course should never be pursued
until questions in which the town might
be made liable were fully settled.
w. II. Smith remarked that, as a gen
eral proposition, it was safe to follow Mr..
Page in financial matters, but that his
present proposition was an ultra one. He
would favor any proposition to tighten
the taxes, but in this instance he did not
deem it advisable for the town to omit the
voting of tax. Unless tax was voted,
how were the POOR to be supported, or
how the maturing Indebtedness of the
town was to be met, or where the money
to pay current expenses was to come
from. He thought the town ought not
to be "run on tick" and that something
should be voted.
Mr.. Page replied that he did not know
but he was little radical, but there had
not been that rigid accountability on the
part of the officers of the town. He
thought all public officers should be held
to strict accountability. He thought
that with the cash on hsnd and over $685.
600 Of assets. with proper diligence, in the
collection Of outstanding taxes, the town
could be run even if it got little in debt.
Let ms clean off the sheet before we vote
more taxes.
This article Of the warning was dis.
missed by large majority