The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1876-07-12
From the New York Sun.
SCHOOL WAR IN VERMONT.
A Postmaster who is Trying to Exclude Re-
ligion.

SUCCESSFUL COMBINATION OF SPIRITUAL
lists AND OTHER nETERoDoX THINKERS
a FIRsT-CLAss TEMPEST IN A VERY SINAI,
| TEAPOT.
RUTLAND, VT, July 6.
set out recently for this state of noun
tains and diaries, with the expectation O
discovering here popular movement o
grea: interest 10 the philosophc and ,h
religious mind, and with the intention o
making note of it for the public benefit
thus ran the report, published in severa
eastern newspapers, which attracted IN,
attention and took me hither:
The resolution recently passed by the Nortl
Clarendon school dis riot prohibiting religion
| exercises In the school was offered by Post
| master f. u. Holden, and the vote in favor 0
1t was three to one. 1t is as rolows
"Resolred, ThaI prayer, reading of the Bible
| and every form OF religious worship and teacl
| ing be excluded from this school from Thu
date, and 1t shall be the duty of the prudential
coumlttee 10 engage no teacher who will no
agree 10 CONFORM TO the letter and spirit of thi
| resolution"
The guide books made no mention Of
North Clarendon, and had some difficult,
in finding it on the map; but after while
l discovered that 1t was not far from this
town of Rutland, on branch of the Yer.
mont Central railroad, in the midst of the
Green Mountains. | Travelled through the
Nutmeg state and Massachusetts, AS the
train rolled up the banks of the narrowing
Connecticut, and across the border of Yer.
mont. began to drop into conversation
with intelligent-iooking passengers, turn
ing the discourse as speedily as practicable
to this new wave of thought that sup
| nOapd ha GnrnoIipn no
have made its first practical manifestation
in North Clarendon; to this free religion.
| skepticism, liberalism, or whatever it might
| be termed. The passengers were well in.
formed on many subjects they knew all
| about the soil and the crops, the factories
and mechanical industries, the population
and emigration; but they were not equally
well Informed in relation to the subject
that was more particularly DESTROYS u
hear about. They knew the latest popular
sentiment about Beecherism and Grantism ;
about temperance and prohibition; abou,
woman's suffrage and the currency uuos
ton. But the question Of the Bible and
rsaliiSappse 6xes J ip the public schools did
within recent times.
AT Bellows Falls we turned from the
Connecticut river, and rode in north
westerly direction through q broken and
mountainous country, thiniy settled, hard
| ly ever house to be seen by the wayside
between the stations, stopping at villages
mostly of few score houses and few
hundreds of population.
AS we approached the station of North
Clarendon it was growing dark. In
quired of the conductor "a grsy-headed
man, who had been born in the district
and had held his position since the railway
was established) what sort of hotel:
adorned North Clarendon. The old mar
shook his head. lie did not know, hut he
promised to inquire. After while he re-
turned and said he had been unable to gel
definite and trustworthy information about
the hotels, either as TO their number OF
quality. He thought had better go on tc
Rutland and put up there for the night
They had fine hotels there. A strange
from civilized parts, with care and forti
tude, could maintain an existence there.
"Rutland's good-szed place" be said
"Its the second place in the state-next to
Burlington"
Second city in the stateT What's thu
population
Il guess it's over 12,0O0," said the ven
cradle conductor, with an air of satistac
ton. "Burlington's got $4,000 or $4,000
"And Burlington is the largest city il
Vermont?
Eyes ; it's fine CITY,"
At the railway depot in Rutland | sur
rendert d my valise to the two porters from
the rival hotels of the town. They rushet
upon me with such violence aud uprOa
that entered an interpleadsr and Above,
| 10 Arht | haI "a 4
ascertain which was the better hotel. Tn
conductor on the train had informed IN
that the company prohibited him from ex
pressing an opinion on that point, and tn
passengers were equally divided on III
subject, siding with the rival hotels wit
uncompromising zeal.
Presently the battle between the porter
ceased, the smaller man, by reason of su
perior agility, bearing off my baggage i
triumph, and / following him resignedly
| am not certain whether the result wa
fortunate for me or not but | found
large number of Boston and New Yor
} drummers at the house, and that is prett
fair reason for supposing that there wasn
anything TO be had in that vicinity tina
was very much better.
Rutland is like pebble in chinaston
bowl, or, II that sounds prettier, like
precious stone in golden basin. Which
ever way one turns, the wall of the Gree
} Mountains meets his view, rising HEAVIER
ward. There is no gap through which III
eye penetrates to the beyond. The morr
ing after my arrival took glisteniu
buggy and a mettlesome steed and droy
over the hills at rafting pace toward tn
goal of my pilgrimage, North Clarendon.
And now let me sum up briefly the resu
of my interesting quest, for II Is record {
disappointed hopes, and the brevity of lit
forbids a detailed. narration Of how Ii
truth gradually dawned upon me-
In due course Of time | accidental
found North Clarendon - village s
} diminutiye that it 10 impossible to tell whei
1t begins and the country turnpike ends.
should have passed unwittingly through
had not passing farmer CHANGED I
set me right. Postmaster Holden | foun
to be an oldish gentleman OF mediul
hight, with grayish hair and beard and goo
sized spectacles, located in an old, weaihe
beaten time-stained fame house. He VIZ
standing in the scrupulously clean kitchen
r working with locksmith's tools. In IL
same room was the North Clarendon pos
office, consisting of pine table, thre
feet by three case of pigeon holes, a be
OF postage stamps, mucilage bottle, and
few trifleS OF United States property.
the front room were few book shelvt
: containing number of spiritualistic worl
and several books on medicine.
/ soon discovered that Mr.. Holden VIZ
: an incorporating spiritualist. He b,
came convert nearly twenty years age
His niece was one OF the first medium
} that made tables rock and bsnjos play I
, the touch of ghostly hands In the Gree