News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1890-05-15
Mr.. Page and the Railroads.

! fying way of rising above the charges
and insinuations of his opponents,
and that so far he has come out OF
them all in q manner which proves
more and more his manliness and in
dependence. The charge that as a
boy he skedaddled to Canada to
avoid the draft was wiped out as
soon as the facts were known. A
charge that followed, that Mr.. Page
is responsible for the low price of calf
skins, and that he is getting rich at
the expense of the farmers, quickly
followed the Canada assault into re-
tirement when the common sense of
the situation was stated, and now
charge No. 3, that Mr.. Page tried to
get Central Vermont support in his
canvass and failed, has followed suit
This latter charge was contained or
implied in a letter published by Lieut..
Gov. Woodbury. in the Free Press of
April %, allusiOn to which was made
in this paper at the time. The para
graph containing it was the follow
| ing:
In December or January last, some six
weeks or two months before | received any in
| timation that | could expect any support in
! that direction, a well-known attorney of the
east side came here and went to st. Adams in
| the interest, as he said, of certain aspirant
! for the governOrship. Not finding the per
/ son or persons whom he wanted to see, the at
! torney subsequently went to Boston and
| found them, and told them he came to get
! the Central Vermont railroad interest to sup
| port Mr.. - for the governOrship. He eX-
! hibited a list of newspapers that were to sup
! &c oil ,oi1 hot ha I'd
| thing. and suggested that they fall into line.
| They did not fall in. Now do not cite this
| to censure in the least the attorney "a man
| for whom | have the utmost respect) or his
! principal, but in view of these facts | may be
! permitted to ask this question: " If it be dis
reputable to accept the voluntary support of
party or person, is it not equally to at
tempt to obtain such support and fail?''
The Montpelier Waterman has
looked the matter up, and gives the
result of its investigation in detail
this week, Learning from some of
Col. Woodbury's friends that Hon
Chas. P. Marsh, of Woodstock, the
present representative from that
town, was the attorney referred to,
Mr.. Ropes, of the Waterman, wrote
Mr. Marsh a letter asking for the
facts In reply Mr.. Marsh says in
substance that last fall he met Mr..
Page at the Quincy House, Boston,
| entirely by accident. The guberna-
torial canvass was casually alluded
to, and Mr.. Page remarked among
other things that he did not know as
he should have the support of certain
gentlemen prominent in the railroad
interests, because he had understood
that the appointment of a chairman
for the last Republican State conven-
ton had given offence to certain per-
sons connected with one of the lead
ing railroads. To this Mr.. Marsh
replied that he did not believe any of
these gentlemen would be hostile to
Mr.. Page on this account, and he said
in addition that he would make an
explanation of the situation when cir
cumstances offered. Mr.. Page made
no objection to this, but did say that
"as a Republican candidate for Gov
ernor, he would not, even for the sake
of being Governor, tie his hands in
any way, or pledge subserViency to
any interest,"" Mr.. Marsh adds that
the proposition on his part to make
such an explanation was an entirely
free-will Offering, and that any con-
versation which he subsequently had
on the subject with any person in the
railroad interest was incidental to
other business. The utmost frank
ness of speech was used and each
party to the conversation was left
free to the exercise of his choice as to
what candidate for Governor he
might support. "There was no at
torneyship about it, no fee nor no re-
ward, nor any hope or expectancy of
any fee or reward"
This certainly puts Mr. Page in a
good light and relieves him of all sus-
picion of having tried, through an
attorney or otherwise, to secure rail
road support for his canvass. No
man in Vermont is of higher personal
character, or enjoys more universal
confidence and respect than does Mr..
Marsh, and there can be no doubt of
the truth of his statement.
What were the circumstances at
tending the appointment of a chair
man Of the Republican State conven-
ton of 1888, as alluded to, the Yer
mont Waterman thus explains, and
the statement is of interest:
after the adjournment of the State con-
vention at Burlington in April, 1888, for the
choice of delegates to the national conven-
ton at Chicago, the State Committee held a
meeting to arrange for the convention for
nominating the State ticket, The question
of the temporary Craftsmanship of that con-
ventIon came up for considerations The
name of George T. Childs Gov. Smiths pri-
Vate secretary, was suggested. One by one
the members of the committee expressed their
approval. with a single exception This
member expressed his objections frankly. If
anyone connected with the Central railway
were to be chosen he preferred Gov. Smith
himself. The chairman was the last to sneak
lie referred to the political situation in Frank
lin county. The fact that the Republican,
party there was divided into two hostile
camps, resulting in Republican weakness and
said, upon canvass in which vast interests
are at stake. The Republicans of the nation
will see in the result of the election in Vermont
a sign OF victory or defeat-of victory, as in
1880, if that splendid majority shall be recoy-
cred OF defeat, as in 1854, if there is discord
and division and Vermont's historic major
ltY Is again seriously impaired. Chairman
Page pleaded for concord in the party in
every nook and corner of the State in which
the first battle of the campaign was to be
choose for the man who was to sound the first
bugle-note OF campaign opening with such
promise a representative of either of the war
ring factions in Franklin county, or of an
interest which, justly or unjustly, was re-
garded in this State with widespread jealousy
Inc force OF the chalrmans reasons and the
practical wisdom of his counsels prevailed,
and his suggestion that the selection of a
chairman be delayed for awhile was accepted.
In this sagacious act Chairman Page justified
the wisdom that had made him the Republi- |
can leader III Vermont. His subsection of
personal cOnsidera tions to the dictates of
official duty was characteristic of the man |
Fermont's splendid canvass and the national |
triumph that was foretokened was unuues-
tionably attributable, in some large measure |
to the quiet resolution and wise foresight at |
that tlme of the Chairman OF the Republican |
State Committee But by that act of duty |
and courage he incurred the bitter enmity of |
the mainland his personal adherents-whose |
ambition had been disappointed. Angry |
threats of vengeance were made, and appar- |
emily the parties believe the time to execute |
those threats has come"
This incident simply illustrates, as
we think, the independence of convic-
ton which characterizes Mr.. Page as
a man. While the fact that Col.
Woodbury. is understood to have, in
this canvass, the sympathy and sup
port of the railroad interests, ought |
not to be unduly counted against
him, it ought not to lie understood,
on the other hand, that Mr.. Page, if
elected Governor, would entertain
any hostility toward those interests.
We believe he would simply try to
hold himself free from undue infuence