Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-03-13
THE RUTLAND HERALD.
THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 1873.
Iha nnssnchu.e.ts senator.

vention of the two Houses OF INC Was
sachusetts Legislature, elected, by thirty
seven majority, to succeed hon. Henry
Wilson as United States Senator from
that State. This result was a foregone
conclusion at the close of the separate
ballotings, Tuesday, although it was an
nounced that Mr.. Dawes friends had,
In caucus, "resolved to stick by their
candidate" and that Mr.. Whiting would,
probably, withdraw in favor of Dawes.
The ballot in the House resulted in a de-
cided majority for Mr.. Boutwell,, and
although he was in a minority in the
Senate, his combined vote was only
seven less than majority over all,
a change of four votes from the sup
porters of Dawes, Whiting or Loring
being ample to secure his election. 1t
will be seen that, on both days, the main
vote was divided between Mr.. Dawes
and Mr.. Boutwell,, showing the effect OF
the insane rantings of the New York
World and other newspapers of that
class, Ia reference to the supposed or al
legged connection of these gentlemen
with the Credit Mobilier The result
and the votes prove pretty conclusively
that scandal, falsehood, distorted facts
and Islander, no matter how much dis
played with head lines, capitals and
italics, orhow often repeated, or reiter-
ated with variations, will not impose
upon the people. They will ascertain
and judge of the facts for themselves.
Does any one believe that if even a 1.-THE
of that which has been alleged and
charged by the Worla had been true, the
people would not have discovered it long
ere this and having ascertained it to be
true, would SO many respectable, honor
able, intelligent gentlemen have record
ed their votes, so as to have made them
in effect, parties to the infamy? This
Is one gratifying feature of the result
and the vote. There is still another.
While we should have been rcjoiced to
chronicle Mr.. Dawes election, believing
him to be one of our ablest, most intel
ligent and useful statesmen, yet his sup
porters did not see fit to place his claims
on these grounds alone, but saw fit to
base their main argument, not on fitness,
but on locality, and we are pleased to
see the matter decided apart from all
geographical questions. The whole
theory of the United States Senate, is
that its members represent the several
States, not parts thereof. Each State
has an equal Number of representatives
Ia that body, and they are selected, or
should be selected, with regard to the
best interests of the whole State and not
any particular locality therein. Because
one Senator lives in Boston, ii is no argu-
ment against choosing the other Senator
from the same city, provided the best
man can be found there. The House of
Representatives was established for the
purpose of having localities represented.
Here, from the very necessity of the
thing, representatives, are chosen from
given localities. But the Senate is diff
ferent. We think one of the wisest
acts ever performed by a Governor of
Vermont, was the action of Governor
Fairbanks in appointing that profound
jurist and experienced statesman Samuel
s. Phelps, United States Senator in
place of William Upham deceased, al
though Judge Phelps resided in Mid
dl4bury, on the ''same side of the
mountain and only thirty-two miles
n ntl of our other Senator, our lament
ed townsman, the late Solomon Foot
This matter of locality has always been,
and we presume always will be, the
curse of Vermont politics. Governor
Fairbanks was the only man ever bold
or wise enoug to break over the iron
rule, but the precedent he established
has never, as yet, found another bold
enough to follow and act upon. This
question Of locality hold us In Vermont
with such an iron grip, that no political
convention could be found with stamina
enough to nominate one Governor fol-
lowing another from the same side of
the mountain. Ability, character, fitness,
anything must not stand in the way of
locality. We have seen and experienced
so much of the evil effects of this To-
cality cry, that we are always gratified
to see 1t disregarded elsewhere. Yer
mont is almost the only State in the
Union that has ever in the selection of
State officers and United States Senators,
had any particular regard to the place
of ones residence. We have had, to be
sure, good Senators, but that is because
we have HAD plenty excellent material
IN all parts of the State. 1t would, prob
ably, have made no difference in locat-
Ing the Senators, one on either side of
the mountain, if there had been an en-
tire absence of suitable men for the pos
ition, the precedents are inhexible and
must be followed But enough of this.
Mr.. Boutwell, possesses all the qualifca-
tons requisite in Senator from the
noble old Bay State. He is a fit and
worthy successor of Timothy Pickering,
Theodore Sedgwick, Samuel Dexter, Har-
rison Gray Otis, John Davis, Edward
Everett and Henry Wilson. He is in
the prime of life, having been born in
January, 1918, and being, consequently,
ffty-fve years of age. He is entirely
self-educated man, his early years hav-
ing been spent on farm and in store,
and he, in the meanwhile, pursuing the
study of Uncommon and higher English
branches, mathematics, Latin, French,
law, etc, etc, at such times and with
such assistance as he could command. |
He early entered the political arena,
being originally Democrat, and took
the stump in favorof Martin Van Buren,
in the log cabin and hard cider campaign
of 1910. AS soon as he reached the legal
age of twenty-one years, he was elected
member of The school board of Groton.
and the same year, or the next, was the
Democratic candidate for the Legisla-
ture, being defeated at the election as
he was, also, the next year. In 1912,
l. i