Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1891-04-17


used as an offset against the sums due them
on account Of the refunding Of the direct
tax. In the list given Of such states Yer
mont is put down ne owing the government
Sji3, 80, a sum which would eat up the
$l19. 900 Of direct tax money three times
over. The allusion here is 10 an old mat
ter which was sprung upon the public in
October, 1886 by the third auditor Of the
treasury under the Cleveland administra
ton. The claim was made that Vermont
owed the government this sum Of over half
"A million dollars on account Of arms aud
equipments furnished the state in 1863 aud
1864. about the time Of the st. Adams raid, |
and never settled for The matter created
some little excitement at the tine and was
the subject Of legislative action. Careful |
investigation Of the matter at the time |
showed the facts to be briefly these In |
1908 Congress passed a law appropriating |
soon, 600 n year to he distributed among the |
several states for arming aud equpping
the militia Of the country. The arms or
equipments thus furnished we're not sale
or loan 10 the states, but were simply
transmitted" to them. This law was af-
terward changed in some respects but 1t
was under its general provisions that mill
tary supplies were furnished to Vermont in
! 1864 for protection against expected raids
on the Canadian frontier.
The st. Albans raid Of Oct. 49, 1864, not
only created CONSERVATION in Vermont, but
caused great anxiety 10 the government at
Washington and 10 Gen. Grant in the field
Secretary Stanton was very anxious that
the frontier should be protected, and Gen.
p. p Pitkin was elected quartermaster gen
eral to take the matter in charge The
question was how the protection should be
accomplished No troops could be spared
! from the front, and no money was available
to arm the militia here at home. Mr.. Stan
ton, always fertile in expedients, looked the
matter over and concluded that, under the
| laws of 1908, and an equalizing act passed
| in 1855, Vermont could draw on its future
quota Of arms and equipments to any
amount needed and he Immediately pro
ceeded 10 put this construction Of the law
into effect Further than this, he insisted
that to avoid accident or mistake the Yer
mont militia should have the regulation
United States uniforms. The state had al
ready voted to raise large militia force of
twelve regiments of infantry three bat
teries of artillery, and three companies of
cavalry and she at once went on to recruit
these troops and make them ready for ser
vice at an expense of over 5000, 600, fur
] IL 81 hayargaskg
and blankets--with everything, in fact ex-
cept tents, in readiness for the winters
campaign which was anticipated. The
United States furnished the arms under
Mr.. Stanton's construction of the law,
these being transmitted TO the state and
charged against its quota, but not charged
as a debt against the state. The militia
were armed, and held themselves ready for
service at an hours notice, but fortunately
their services were not needed. The next
spring the war was over, and in due time
the militia was reduced TO peace basis In
the ordinary course Of things these arms
furnished by the government were gather
ed up and stored in the arsenal built for
their reception ON Seminary hill in Mont
pelier There was no provision for their
return to the government and here they
lay until the Franco-Prussian war broke
out, when foreign agents secured this coun-
try, gathering up all available firearms,
and these were bought, hurried to New
London, and shipped to France In the
$500 received in the transaction was
included the moneys received for the
blankets and other equipments furnished
by the state at its own expense, and the
whole amount received was $50, 900 less
than the expense met by the state independ-
emily of the arms and equipments received
from the government. 1t was held at the
time by those having the matter in charge
that there was not only no way for the re
turn of the arms to the general govern
ment, but that all of the acts of Congress
on this subject had gone to show that arms
once issued ON the states quota under the
law of 1903 became the property of the
: state to which they we're transmitted, and
l there was nothing of whatever kind tC
show that the arms transmitted IN Vermont
in 1864 to meet a pressing emergency con
|
state. 1t was as much matter Of nationa
protection as Of state protection that the
. defence was undertaken.
Gov Ormsbee sent a special message K
the legislature on this subject, and the leg
islature passed an act empowering the gov
ernor and auditor to act ON the behalf o
the state in the matter. 1t was the senti
r IL. /. -. a e Ill al
t people of the state at that time, that tn
( matter ought to be squarely met and prop
. erly adjusted, and that if it was PROVED
v that the state was in debt to the genera
:. government for any sum the Indebtedness
should be fully paid.
Il Gov. Ormsbee stated in an interview oil
4 Tuesday of this week that bills covering thi
q subject were afterward introduced into bot
d houses of Congress- but never got beyon'
b the committees to which they were referred
v The fact appears to he, therefore, that Yer
/ mont has done all in her power in the mat
"a ter toward settlement, while the govern
n ment has done nothing except to advertis
l. the fact that such a claim exists.
l. 1t is not by any means probable that an al
r tempt will ever be made TO establish vail
v claim of $543, $50 against the state of VeI
/ mont on account of the way in which thi
It wartime emergency was met, but it
10 doubtful if the state ever fingers any poi
q ton of that $780, 600 of direct tax money
is The talk of an extra session to formal
le accept it and to decide to what shall be don
ia with it may safely be indefinitely postponed
q The Morrisville News and Citizen, whic
~ is understood TO voice the views of Coy
ar Page, says on this matter this week "W
~ understand by special act of the nationI
- Congress the comptroller is forbidden I
file in offset these claims for war msterii
furnished the states as against any jus
r claim of the states against the nationi
es government"