Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1881-06-22
Act Number Seyenty-Tight.

Act Number Seventy Eight.
The extract which we give from Judge
veazey's charge to the Bennington county
grand jury will afford much qualification &c
the friends of thoroughgoing tax reform IN
this state. The judge enjoins upon the jury
the rigid discharge of an imperative duty,
and gives utterance to some plain truths in
language more clear and direct than always
comes from high official sources. His re
marks upon the possible effect of an honest
law, impartially enforced, to drive some of
our people out of the state sustains the po-
sition taken by. the WATcuMAN when at a
critical period in the application of the new
methods and requirements of the new tax
law the allegation was industriously circu-
lated that the enforcement of its provisions
would produce a disastrous exodus of cap
ital from the state, and in course of time
convert it into "howling wilderness"
The Change of front by some newspapers,
now that the law has succeeded in spite of
their opposition and their demonstration
that it would utterly fail to accomplish its
purpose, is suggestive commentary on the
power of success to change opinions. The
st. Adams Messenger is typical instance of
this kind. For months that paper was filled
with hippant hits at the law and the fact
demonstrated, editorially and by correspond
ents, that the new measure was impractica-
BILE and would fail in its object In Feb.
ruary, after showing how, under the law, the
poor mans property would be listed at its
full value and his taxes thereby be increased
while the rich would escape as heretofore, it
said: "What we mean is, and we think the
fact will be demonstrated, that the new law
will fail to bring out the concealed prop
erty to very great extent and will bear
more heavily upon the small property hold
ers and comparatively poor men than upon
the rich man whom it was intended to reach"
Now that it has been shown that the
concealed property" has been brought out
to an extent increasing from four hundred
to fifteen hundred per cent the former
reducing the poor mans taxes when the
new law no longer needs friendly advo-
cacy before the people the Messenger is
ELUSIVE in its expressions of favor and in
commentator of Judge Veazey's charge.
There was time when manly, outspoken
support of the law by that journal might
perhaps have favorably influenced popular
opinion in Franklin county. The operations
of some of the listers in that locality show
that they lacked either correct understand
ing of the provisions of the law, or their |
moral perceptions of the duty they had |
sworn to discharge were not clear,--in either |
Of which cases enlightened and independent |
journalism had fruitful field for its faith
full ministrations. To the class OF violations
of the law against which Judge Veazey d.
reefs the attention of grand jury, st. AL
bans is reported to have furnished a most
conspicuous and scandalous example-the
appraisal of the stock of the National Car
Company at $40 per share when its a. value
in money" is reported to exceed sl00-and
was appraised at the latter sum, as we are
informed, by the Burlington listers. 1t is
also reported that certain bank stock owned
in Burlington was transferred, for the evil
dent purpose of evading full taxation, to
party outside of that city, on an understand
ing with the listers of the town where the
party resides that the stock should be APP
praised by them at a sum much less than
its "value in money" Similar violations of
the plain letter and spirit of the law have
been committed in other parts
of the state. Will each judge whose duty
it shall be to charge grand juries have, like
Judge Veazey, the courage fearlessly to do
his dutv a.?