The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1888-05-09
agricultural.
"The Mission of the Exchange"

"The Mission OF the EXchange.'
The above is the title of an article, in
late issue of the Rural Vermonter, in
which there seems to be indications
that our remarks concerning the Yer
mont Maple Sugar Exchange have
stirred the bile of the genius who pre-
sides over that sheet more than little.
He refers to us as Grandmother
Tinkham." Now, to the best of our
knowledge and belief, this is an error.
We don't wear the right style of clothes
to indicate the proper sex for that ven
cradle and worthy title. Among other
"pet names" applied to us are. " stu
pid," "weak," wicked, " "malicious."
He may be correct in these, but we
must insist that we are not at the pres
ent writing a grandmother" The
trouble this time, which has broken
him all up, is, as we have said, the
Maple Sugar Exchange business. This
is how he puts it in the Rural:
"In the last issue of the WATCHNTAN
he declares that one of the objects of
the Exchange (to protect and guar
antee the purity of maple sugar. is an
insult to the sugar-makers of YER
mont. No one but Tinkham could
evolve this idea. Unless he is stupid
instead of wicked he knows that the
adulteration of Vermont maple sugar
is committed outside the state, and that
a large proportion of consumers are de-
frauded in the article they buy for
pure Vermont maple He knows, or
should know, that it is against such
frauds that the work of the Exchange
is chiefly directed"
What we commented upon was the
paragraph we copied from the Brattle
boro Ph@nir, which calls attention to
"what Mr.. Messer says about the adul-
teration of maple sugar" This is it:
cone of the main objects of the eX-
change is to protect and guarantee the
purity of the product which it handles,
and in doing this it will of necessity do
everything in its power to enforce the
stringent provisions of our Vermont
law VI 1901 against lllC dOulICldIlOu VI
maple sugar"
Now what fair idea of what Mr..
Messer said, as reported by the Ph@nir,
and which we took as the text of our
remarks, does Mr.. Ropes give? He
speaks of it as Zone of the objects, )"
instead of one of the main objects. He
says we know, or should know, that it
is against the adulteration outside the
state that the work of the Exchange is
chiefly directed, when Mr.. Messer said
it was to guarantee the purity of the
product which 1t the Exchanged han
dies" and will invoke the power of the
Vermont law to that end. There is not
word about the outside adulteration
in the whole item, but the direct in
situation that such an Exchange is
needed to secure the purity of our
maple sugar and the enforcement of
the law against adulteration. Will Mr..
Ropes kindly inform us whether the
authorizations from outside the state
will be among the products which it
THE Exchanged handles" or how the
Exchange proposes to enforce our Yer
mont law upon people outside the state?
We said it was an insult to the sugar
makers of ermont-and we say so
still-and it carries in its language an
accusation of fraud against our sugar
makers which might be stunned by
dealing with the Exchange. The arti-
Gle in the Rural closes thus: g Great is
Tinkham, the farmers friend!" We
are friend enough to the farmers to de-
fend them, as best we can, against
such unjust charges and the garbled
writings and Representations of a
self-constituted champion.