News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1890-04-17
BURLINGTON. Vt, March 3, 1890.

Ny Dear Sir:-Yours of Feb 9th received
Absence from town and pressure of other bus
mess has prevented my replying to it until
now. In answer l would say that some six
years since, | fully Investigated the matter to
which you refer / examined the books kept
by Mr.. Page during the war. | examined the
books of account and papers relating to his
fathers business, which were at that time
kept largely by his son, c. S. Page. They
| show conclusively and beyond a possibility OF
a doubt, that they were made and kept by
| him at that time, and not since, as anyone
/ can see that cares to examine them. l exam
ined the enrolment list for the town of Hyde
| Park, the records of the drafts made in that
town during the war and the report of the
/ Adjutant General of our State. The examin-
| alton was very careful and thorough one,
/ and the evidence, | repeat, was of the most
| conclusive and convincing character, and
| showed beyond any question or doubt, that
/ at no time during the war could Mr. Page
/ have possibly been in Canada for the purpose
/ of avoiding draft, but that he was at all
| times during the war, subject to one, if one
| was had in Hyde Park, and that he in no
way sought to avoid or escape it.
| They show, further, that from the month in
| which the first draft occurred in Vermont to
| the end of the war, he was in Canada at diff
| erent times, in all less than eleven weeks He
was at that time minor, acting under the
| directions of his father in attending upon
| legitimate business, at times / repeat when
have been absent for the purpose of avoiding
a draft.
l am glad of an opportunity to make this
statement as an act of justice to Mr.. Page,
for / am sure that if any Friend of Lieut.
Gov. Woodbury." is making any such charge
against him, he is either in entire ignorance
of the matter, or. if not ignorant, is prompted
by malice and desire to do Mr.. Page a
great injustice
As to the question az to who is the best
e.. Il
opinion. l count all those who have been
prominently named as my friends. For my
self, for all that know, / can cheerfully sup
port any of the candidates named for that
office. Sincerely yours,
HENRY BALLARD.
Together with other papers in the
State, the Monitor has engaged in
the early discussion of the character
and merits of those presumed to be
candidates for Governor. We have
undertaken to discuss the matter
fairly and to base our statements on
what are believed to be facts. In re-
gard to the Canada scandal on Mr..
Page, we have taken measures to per-
sonally examine Carroll Pages dia-
ries, his fathers cash books, ledgers,
etc, and we unqualifiedly vouch for
the truth of Mr.. Billiards. statement
III the above letter. We learn that
Carroll S. Page did not seek to avoid
the draft and flee to Canada to escape
one, but that he was always subject
to a draft, when one could have been
made, and was nearly all of the time
in the State during the years when
the drafts were ordered. From the
letter of Col. Sawyer, published in
this paper, and from other evidence.
we believe that Carroll S. Page was
as patriotic and as eager to 90 to
war as any young man in the valley |
of the Lamoille. That he did not 90. |
if a fault at all, was not his own. |
The following are some of the facts
that we have ascertained in the mat |
ter:
Carroll S. Page is the son of Hon.
r. S. Page of Hyde Park. The father.
previous to and during the war, was
engaged in an extensive business.
He sent out a large number of tin
peddlers; their field of operation was
in Northern Vermont and Southern
Canada. He was a sufferer from the
effects of a spinal injury in early life,
which nearly cost him his life, MAX
ng him an invalid for life and inca
Daeitating him for manual labor and
many of the important details of
lis business. His son Carroll
vas eighteen years of age at the
lime the war broke out. He had
'een his fathers dependence in some