The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1883-10-10

OUR Roxbury correspondent writes: "The
night telegraph operator, f. F. Buck, discov-
cred a fire in the rear of the hotel barn at
twenty minutes past one on Friday morning
| and by shouting to the inmates OF the hotel,
and energeticaly blowing the whistle of the
| locomotive, General Sheridan, that was stand
ing in the railroad yard he gave the alarm to
the whole village. The flames spread with
great rapidity and in a very short time the
dwelling house of Mrs. J. P. Warner and the
two barns Of f. N Spslding, we're entirely con-
sumed. By the prompt action of those present
the post-office building was saved, although
but about ten feet distant from one Of the
burned buildings. Landlord Whitcomb lost
valuable horse and four hogs, besides other
property. Mr.. SpaldiDg's valuable stallion,
Sterling, narrowly escaped burning, as did sew
eral other horses belonging to him. Mrs.
Warmers furniture was nearly all saved.
Northfield was appealed to for aid and sent up
Torrent engine, No. 2, and a large number OF
men, who gave material assistance in staying
the fife. Mr. Spalding's loss includes about
sixty tons Of hay, and was about 81, 900; Mrs.
Warmers loss was 81 800, with $500 insurance;
nAi' w lOss WAS gSUU III WAS n Bln-
gular coincidence that the fire occurred just
year from the burning of Ellis's store and L.
N. Spalding's house in the village and at al
most exactly the same hour. The origin of the
fire Is unknown"
THE Springfield Republicans Rutland cor
respondent says: The Howe scale company
OF Rutland, which has been for some months
IN embarrassed circumstances, has surrendered
all its property and notes and bills to John w.
Cramton, John A. Sheldon and lockwood Bar
rett, well-known business men of Rutland, who
have taken possession of the works and will
hereafter carry on the business, as trustees or
managers. These men represent the syndicate
which has been entered into by twenty-five OF
the citizens Of Rutland for the purpose of keep
ing the works running, it being agreed among
the members of the syndicate that they will
lend their credit and guarantee the paper of the
trustees or managers to an amount not exceed
ing 100000 at any one time. These trustees
or managers are to carry on the scale business
In their own name, without any connection
with the Howe scale company, and will raise
money and pay off the employees at once and
the other Indebtedness of the company as soon
as possible. When all the debts OF the COM
pany are paid 1t Is understood these trustees
and managers are to surrender the property to
the Howe scale company. Ex Governor Page
will have nothing to do with the present man.
agement nor will the Howe scale company
There Is over three months pay still due the
employees who have been hard pressed for want
OF their wages, and the new management will
pay the men to-day Last Monday in nearly
all the shops the men stopped work, but upon
representations that arrangements were nearly
completed, agreed to work the rest of the week
on condition that they should receive their paw
by Saturday. The business OF the company is
and has been very profitable, but it has been
unable to obtain discount OF its paper under the
old management"
The question which agitates the city fathers
is: Shall the town time be set back to corre-
spond with the new railway time? The rail-
ways very largely influence the movements of
the people, especially il they propose to travel
on them, or to do business with them. They
receive and dispatch the mails, and in many
other ways the time which they establish has
much to do with ones affairs Whatever
standard of time they find it necessary or con-
venient to adopt the public must adapt itself TO
that standard. The town clock has sometimes
undertaken to regulate the sun, but that lumi.
nary has been quite impatient of control and
has generally chosen its own time to rise and
set, so that the real function OF the town time
keeper has been to furnish fairly good article
OF time by which those who patronize it NAV
direct their goings and comings and regulate
their individual time-pieces. The sun being
the victim of his own conceit in the matter Of
time, it is question if the public functionary
In the court house belfry had not better confine
his attentions hereafter exclusively to directing
people to the railway station four minutes be-
fore train time. Released from all response
billty for the movements Of the wayward sun,
and concentrating all its energies upon this one
ooJect 1T may acquire high degree OF public
appreciation for the faithful discharge of this
single duty. So we should say, turn back the
hands twelve minutes and maintain the old AL |
legged relation between town and railway time
II, however, the tims-keeper is utterly unrecon-
ciled to this arrangement, he shonld be COM
PEELED to provide himself at once with third |
hand by which to record railway time In his |
moments of leisure he might thus while away |
the time by studying the meaning of Hoyle's |
maxim, Third hand high"
The railway time convention will meet in
Chicago this week and will take definite action
on the adoption OF the new system of standard !
time. AT the last meeting Mr.. w. F. Allen,
secretary OF the convention and editor of the
O0cia Rait'ody Guide proposed to systema-
tise the standards OF railway time as follows:
All roads in the United States east of the longi-
tude OF Buffalo, and all roads in Canada to be
governed by the seventy fifth meridian time
and to be designated eastern time all roads in
the great central region, north and south. ex.
tending to the westerly limits OF Kansas. to be
governed by the nineteth meridian, to be des-
lgnated central time and TO be one hour later
than eastern time. West OF this section the
ROADS are to be run by the one hundred and
NTH and one hundred and twentieth meridians
respectively, two and three hours slower than
eastern time. This proposed system meets the
approval OF the great railway managers. At
present the railroads are run on fifty-three
inherent standard times which greatly COM
piicate the time tables for through trains. No
local trains can run on local time, as for every
ni'een miles east or west there is a difference
0f a minute. The naw ayata,,, ,,ua