Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1882-12-13
" That Secret Session."

Under the above title the Free Press OF
the 9TH instant says "The Montpelier
WArcHMAN has an elaborate defence oil the
action of the senate in sitting with closed
doors during the debate on the state tax
bill. The WATcHMAN wastes time and
strength. Everybody knows that the real
reason why the senate closed its doors was
because the majority of its members did not
dare to discuss the measure openly because
they had favors to ask or expect Of the cor
porations and were afraid TO run the risk OF
mourning their enmity." The Free Press
should learn the meaning of words. In a
short, unheaded note the WATonMAN cor
rected wrong statement by the Worcester
Spy of the course of the Vermont senate in
considering the Hooker revenue bill. This
is our learned contemporaries idea OF an
elaborate" defence. The remainder of the
Free Press squib is simply a mean, sweep
ing, impugnment of as intelligent, indepen-
dent and fearless body of men as ever sat
in the senate chamber. Our contemporaries
wild allegation as to what everybody
knows" men of candor will feel inclined TO
believe is as untrue as it is shameless. Its
language might be deemed calumnious il it
were not so much like bawlipg fshwoman's
scurrilous chatter that no reasonable person
will give it credit The revenue bill, as the
Free Press should know, was fully and
freely discussed on both sides in open senate,
aud twenty.four out Of thirty senators, the
full number, voted eyes when their names
we're called on the question of the passage
of the bill, and the vote was published in
the public prints. Excepting perhaps the
railways, which were conspicuous through
all the stages of the bill by their absence
from the lobby, and which had quite gen
orally expressed willingness to bear their
full share of the public burdens, representa-.
tives of the various corporations were pres
emit at the discussion and when the vote
was taken, as they had been, and as they
had right to be, from the time when the
house ways and means committee com.
menced work on the bill and yet the Free
Press impudently says "the senate closed
its doors because the majority Of its members
did not dare to discuss the measure openly
because they had favors to ask or expect OF
the corporations and were afraid to run the
risk of mourning their enmity." Who were
| the timid senator's, and which were the cor.
porations that had them in the bondage OF
fear Five senators voted against the bill
and one did not vote at all. Do these six
senators constitute the Free Press fear-ap.
palled q majority" and does it mean to say
that they opposed the bill because they
were afraid to run the risk of mourning the
enmity of the corporations 1t can hardly
be claimed that twenty-four out of a
body of thirty is minority, and it is hard
to see how in advocating measure or in
voting for it in open senate, with the agents
friends or representatives of many of the
corporations in the lobby around them and
on the floor of the senate, these senators are
chargeable with cowardice, or could give
the slightest color for the Free Press out
rageous assertion. All the facts and Incl
dents tend utterly to discredit the dishonor.
able charge. If the Free Press were ami
mated by decent regard for truth and
Justice and for the honor of the state, il
woull never have made such charge with
out the strongest warrant, or, having made
| it, would have retracted the offensive Ian
guage unless it were prepared to support il
| by facts,