St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1890-09-25
PRESS COMMENTS.
Two Essential Things.

L ne flrSt business OF the next Legs
lature ought to be to pass a law
making the pay of members 800 for
the next two years. The next is to
have the courage not to vote them
selves free newspapers. This last
item cost the state two years ago
$685. West Randolph Herald and
News
The Vermont Swedes.
The misguided Foreigners pic
tured by democratic papers-especlal-
ly those of the South-as becoming
paupers in Vermont, are Swedes
Instead of being in danger of freezing
and starving this winter, these
thrifty souls have actually earned
more than enough since their arrival
last April to support their families,
and have sent money enough to
Sweden to bring their friends over.
OF these over 20 have already arrived
or are on the ocean. The Vermont
ers are we'll pleased with their new
colonists. : brooklyn Standard
Union.
Give Us Ballot Reform.
We call on Governor-elect Page, as
the professed exponent of reform in
state affairs, to urge with all his
measures by the coming Legislature.
He has now the opportunity to win
for himself the lasting gratitude of
the masses, a gratitude that will
rebound to his future political bene-
fit. Will he break away from the
pot house politicians of his party
enough to push through the meas
ures that the people demand Time
alone can tell, and the freemen of
Vermont must wait and watch
Montpelier Argus.
Ballot Reform Must Come.
The Caledonian, regardless of the
assurances of the Messenger that
ballot reform law is unnecessary and
impracticable,s says that 1.-THE occur
rences at the ballot box last week in
many towns in the state have called
forth loud protest which we trust
has been heard at Hyde Park for a
ballot reform bill With one-fourth
of the Legislature pledged to ballot
reform by their convention platform
the prospect for the Australian ballot
looks promising. Speed the day of
its coming" If the Caledonian
keeps on telling the truth it will get
itself looked upon as disorganizer
and generally dangerous character
by those organs that are too sub
missive and hidebound to insist that
the right shall prevail. The polls in
half the towns in the state according
to the statements of correspondents,
were surrounded and overwhelmed
by bowling mobs, which, if there
were no other good reasons, should
secure a change in the method of con-
Quoting elections. The voting in
Hardwick was far from being quiet
and orderly as it would have been
had a different system prevailed.
Let us have ballot REFORM Hard
wick Gazette.
Vermonf'S "POinfS.D
The Listener makes haste to con-
graduate the state of Vermont.
That little highland commonwealth
has been fortunate and happy in a
great many ways; it is fortunate in
its beautiful hills, fortunate in it's
sunny valleys, fortunate in its superb
forest trees, fortunate in its fertile
soil, fortunate in it's stalwart, truly
free sons and daughters, who have
never delivered over to other men and
women the right to say whether they
shall have leave to labor. And now
tits fortunatei in another respect still;
it is no longer a growing state"
even in a small way; for in the past
10 years 81 more people have gone
ont of the state than h1v come into
it. That means that the soil, out of
which all good things come, has 81
fewer mouths to feed than before;
and SO no one goes hungry in Yer
mont, there is so much more space
upon which pine trees and naples
may grow and help to keep the good
ness in the land. There are some
people in Vermont, perhaps, who
fancy that their state will lose in
fuence among the other states on ac-
count of its loss of population. But,
setting aside the fact that no state