Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1885-05-01

TAIN STATE
lFrem the Herald Of April 1871
When q cheap city reporter ia bard pressed
for humor the traditional visiting countryman,
his antics and msfortunes, are printed. This
countryman is always described "a from Var
mount, and as queer compound OF stupid
ity, vulgarity and meanness and the conclu-
sion from reading his sensational story would
be that our little state was about as ignorant
rude and backward a community as any
"moonshine" whiskey district in the noun
tains of Tennessee, Kentucky or North Caro-
lima that the popular pronunciation Of Yer
mont at home was "VarmOunt," and that our
citizens generally we're a sort Of cross between
John Ovens "Solon Shiuglo" and Paul Pry
IL a man of respectable appearance is intro
duced to one of these cockney Journalists the
Quid Nunc looks disappointed, as il be sup
posed that "Narmount" was so entirely sur
rendered to bears, woodohucks, coons and
polecats that it did not produce any men
above the grade Of q jackass.
The Washington correspondent of the Gin
cinnau Commercial Gazette the other day was
at the pains to say that the newspapers ex-
pressing surprise because minister to Eng
land was found in "Varmount" would do we'll
to remember that among her children, living
and dead, are President Arthur, Postmaster
General Villas, Senator Edmunds, the present
minister to Russia, Alonzo Taft, John G..
SAKE, Gen. enjamin Alvord, Geo p. Marsh,
Sllas Wright, Stephen A. Douglass, Thaddeus
Stevens SENATOR Samuel s. Phelps, Hiram
Powers. Larkin G. Mead, General Stannard,
Judge Collamer and Judge Poland. This
roll.call of Vermonters closes as follows:
"The list of vermonts great men would be incom-
plete were TO fail to include brigham Young Joseph
Smith and Jim Fisk all Of whom were Vermonters,
as was also John H. Moves the father Of the Oneida
community. Neither wpuid II bp nj
pheu X. Dorsey, and omit him from the list The Lee
land family Of famous hote-keepers came from YER
mont, as did originally Yankee Robinson and
sleeping Lucy the first Of the trance mediums in
spiritualism.'
We think the list ia good one, but some
names have been omitted. Alvan Stuart, able
lawyer aud eloquent abolilionisi; Oliver John
son Charles g. Eastman, a beautiful poet,
warmly praised years ago by the Westminster
Review in days when ''nobody read an Amer
lean book; Orcstes A. Brownson, famous
for his great controversial ability and schOl-
arship; Samuel Prentiss, United States sen
ator aud United States judge; Rev. DIR. VIM.
G.. T. Shedd Rev. DIR. Calvin Pease Nancy
Priest, author Of "Over the River; Matt
Carpenter John Mattocks Asa o. Adds and
Frederick Billings these are men worthy to
be added to the list Of eminent Vermonttrs re-,
living or dead
A glance at the army register will show that
from the days OF Martin Scott, who fell at
MOino del Rey, to those Of Gen. Israel b.
ltichardson, who was mortaly wounded at
Antietam, our state has furnished many stout
officers TO the regular army. Gen Joseph A.
Mower aud Gen. 4. f. g. Ransom, whom
Grant aud Sherman united in declaring to be
men Of most brilliant military talent we're
Vermont boys Mower was a native Of Nor
wich, we believe, aud Ransom, we think, of
Mortified. Sherman says in his memoirs,
that, had he followed Mowers advice at Ben
tonville, he would have destroyed Johnston !;
and Ransom was so true q son Of his gallant
sire, who fell at Chepultepcc, that Grant gave
him an independent command, so that be
might not be hHmpered by the inferior oapac-
ity of his division commander. Gen. VIM. +.
Smith was described by Grant officially as a
military engineer of great genius, to whose
capacity he owed his victory over Bragg at
Chattanooga, that saved the army of the Cum
berlsnd. Gen. Truman Seymour, Col. Kim
ball OF Hawkins's zouaves, and Hawkins him
self, Gen. Selden Connor and Gen. o E. Bah
cock were men of high military distinction
that belonged to "VaTmount."
We hope that when Minister Phelps gets
abroad and is called upon to speak for him-
self, he will not date from Yale the mother
who adopted him, but from Middlebury col
lege and the stout little state of Vermont he
WAS DOTu anu DTtu III NtTuOut uuill
hood Vermont schools laid the foundation
of that intellectual discipline which developed
those powers that have won him his fame,
and he ought to be proud to tell EnglshmeD,
Oxford bred, that in the little inland common
wealth of Vermont, poor and thinly populated
compared with any county in England, rug
| ged in soil and climate, free schools and free
thought 80 strongly prevail that she has not
| ouly been the mother of one of the most ac-
complished OF our Presidents, but that among
her sons she has trained men conspicuous in
American statesmanship, in art, in learning
and in literature.
Connecticut largely coloniZed Vermont but
since the days Of Roger Sherman, Connect
cut has educated no abler nor more versatile
| public men than were raised from Connect
cut stock in "Varmount." The first intellect
| in the United States senate is the gentleman
| from "Narmount"; the best of our late Pres
| idents is a gentleman from Yarmouth, who
| once taught school in Pownal the greatest
Of modern linguists was a gentleman from
| "Varmount' the greatest lawyer and orator
combined that the United States senate has
zen since Henry Clay was Matt Carpenter, q
| gentleman from "Varmount" the first sculp.
| tor of America was a gentleman from Var
mount the first theologian in America is q
| gentleman from "VArmount" the first spot
where Garrison found place for his press
was in "Varmount"; the first soldier to see
the right thing to be done at the crisis at Get
tysburg and do it, was a gallant little briga
dier from 'Varmount' and we think Minis
ter Phelps will be proud, after thinking ovel
this roll of living and dead, to date back tC
Vermont with her hills, her lakes, her streams
her earlier and later history, and be glad tC
announce himself as gentleman from Yer
mont, who is no more likely to say "Var
mount than Gladstone is likely to explain t.
Minister Phelps that the reason why ''yor
ave no hale in Hamerica is because you ave
no ops" And, by the way, no Vermonte
ever said "Varmount except in initiating
outsiders. The local pronunciation of tht
name of the state is that of the scholar, ex
cept for a tendency to neglect the ''r" ant
| make it "Ve'mont"