Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1890-10-24
essex County 9rala.
island pOni, w., Friday, Oct. "a. 1890.
The Legislature.

tlqIans sooiheq the people Win as
surances that it was not as bad as
represented, and so met the people,
who received them with unexpected
and uncxampled GOODNESS. They !
were rebukcd 10y a small majority J
which was unlocked for. The /
trouble is not entirely in building
bridges that span wide waters; in
erecting extravagant castles to meet
the wants of comparatively frugal
and plain people; nor in the aping
of more popular and popuIous states
in artistic skill both within and !
without the state house; but a f..
greater trouble is in so many sum
mer houses for petty officers. Aud
the difficulty is they are glass houses
too. The authors or supporters of
one scheme do not dare to attack
another. And while one column in
our papers or one hour is spent IN
discussing public interests, two, and
probably ten, are devoted TO indi-
yidual Interests, settling individual
titles to offices, thus creating a class
distinct from the common people.
As fast as classes appear or profess
sional politicians ripen then just 50
fast does the democracy Of our inS,l-
tutons fade or disappear. GIL fares
the land-to Fastening ills a prey,
when legislators devote most time
to create offices, and create them for
specific individuals too in the first
instance. 1t will not do to fill the air
with CrumblingS about giving seven
of our foremost men a bcggarly sal
airy for more and better judicial SER
vice than can be procured elsewhere
in New England for twice the money
and ut the same time create Offices
under the pretence that the business
requires higher qualifications than
localities can furnish, and then put
local affairs into the hands of self
styled specialists to superlntcnd the
commonest affairs in the state. But
it is SAID that highways must be uni
form. Some one must superintend
the working of the roads throughout
Tie state. A board of paid officers
must meet at some convenient point
in the state to consider the wants OF
each locality and to study the best
means of constructing a road
whether it is best to make it on an
even slant from one side to the
other, so that the water will grad
ualiy drain off, or crown it i'll the
middle between two deep bitches SC
as to make a mortar bed in the cen
teri and to study and discuss gen
orally the deep intricacies of roao
making. And so it is proposed tina
inc state lead off in the creation
of a new department of state with
horde of petty officers to do nothln!
save to obstruct the people of tn
various localities by an ofliciou
meddling with work 50 dependen
on the plain, common and practice
good sense of competent men, O
whom every locality has an ampl
supply. How will any party answe
to the people for creating such
useless, impractical piece of mi
chinery as the appointment of q
State Road Engineer with Depl
ties" and that too right in the fac
O. like department WHICH had nc
been in operation year before il
impracticability had been demon
strated. If our aSylums and home
for the poor and unfortunate al
extravaglntly generous, and if man
mistakes and much bad managener
creep into them, they still eXhib
some civilization and enterprise, an
are architectural ornaments to II
state however much want of econ,
my they exhibit, but the creatio
of new departments for sinecur,
will be attended by none of the'
compensatory considerations, unle
it be that such a department, pr
sided over by some bright scholar
and scientific graduate of one Of oil
colleges, would be highlyornament
to the state. 1t would, doubles
be a source of amusement to OF
farmers and practical road builder
There is enough to employ all Il
energies of our legislators now wis
ly suggested, in constitutional +
forms,-the reconstruction of Il
judiciary systematic ellmipatiC
Of experiments in orr education
system which have proved failures
in unannol toyation-ap1 oo,,ooia Il