The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1891-02-11

nounced that membraneous Group had set in
and that the little sufferers condition was
extremely critical Friday noon she had
ceased to breathe. 1t was sudden and
fearful stroke for a family whose ranks
death had invaded for the first time. In
this sore bereavement they have the warm
est sympathy of this community.
COLONEL FRED f. SMITH has accepted the
presidency of the Lookout Mountain Com
pany, which is a consolidation of hotel
company, a railroad company and "A land
company, all doing business on Lookout
Mountain, which, it will be remembered, ia
but short distance from Chattanooga. The
mountain is becoming more and more of a
resort for people of some leisure, both from
the North and from the South. The chat
tdn0ogd Times has the following to say of
Colonel Smith: "Coonel Fred K. Smith of
Montpelier, Vt, will be president of the
companies when reorganized, and he Is Sc
riously considering bringing his family to
Chattanooga. Colonel Smith is the presi-
dent Of the Vermont Mutual Fire Insurance
Company He is a tower of strength at his
home. He will have the management and
control of the three properties. Colone!
Smith has hobby in connection with Look
out Mountain. He has been taken by the
suggestion, which has been often discussed
here, of erecting a colossal monument near
the Point of Lookout Mountain, to be
designated Peace monument erected
by the soldiers who were in northern and
southern armies, and dedicate the monu.
ment To the American Soldier" If Colo
mel Smith concludes to change his resi-
dence, the loss to Montpelier would be one
that the town would feel keenly
WHEN James Canning moved into his
new housa at the corner OF Mechanic and
North streets, last spring, his fellow work.
men at the Lane Manufacturing company's
works planned to give him and his wife
house-warming as soon as they became
nl gnff 1pH Iata on hnr ID,
cided to wait until the fifteenth anniversary
of their marriage. That anniversary came
on Sunday last, and on Saturday evening it
was celebrated right heartily. 1t had
leaked out that few friends were coming,
but when small army of about two hum
dred marched up the hill and entered Mr..
Canning's cheerful home, it may well be
believed that he and Mrs. Canning were
surprised The visitors included pretty
nearly all the men at the Lane shops, the
employees of the Wells River Railroad com
pany, the members of the St. Augustine
Catholic Benevolent Society, and the d" fire
laddies" of the Volunteer Hose Company,
with their wives and many other friends of
Mr. and Mrs. Canning. TIE company met
at the house of NJ. ID. Fowler, and from
there all proceeded, under the command of
j. NJ. Boutwell,, to the home of the worthy
couple, the members of the fire company,
however, coming little later in the even
ing. The Montpelier Military Band orches-
ira of eleven pieces at once began to fill the
house with sweet music, and every one
made himself at home. Then Professor j.
A. DeBoer, as spokesman for the assembled
friends presented Mr.. and Mrs Canning, in
happy and characteristic speech, paror
set of six pieces, a handsome rosewood
enter-table, a hat-rack, some S7S in money,
and large number of smaller presents.
| The contributions to the presents named
came principally from the Lane company
men, the Wells River road employees, the
Benevolent Society and the fire company.
Refreshments, which were brought by the
visitors, were served, and altogether it was
| one of the iollest affairs of the kind that
ever occurred in Montpelier, The festiv-
tiles ended at midnight, but had it been any
| other night but Saturday the "wee sma'
hours" would probably have seen the
happy company still enjoying itself. The
success of this very pleas mt surprise party
was due principally to Joseph Almonn, who
planned and carried out the arrangements
to the great satisfaction of all who were
! present.
A CALL for Citizens Caucus" " this
| "wednesday evening is out, " for the pur-
| pose of putting in nomination the entire
list of town officers for the year ensuing.
| The Importance of attending this caucus is
enforced as, under the Australian ballot
| law, which applies to Montpelier, it will be
| necessary for all officers o be voted for on
one ticket, and it is desired that this caucus
should be practically the town meeting"
| Whether this " desire " is the wish of more
! than the twelve persons whose names are
printed in the call does not appear. OF this
! there may be some question. Whether the
! caucus shall " be practically the town
meeting " will depend great deal on the
nominations. Aud if the caucus is "prac-
ticaly" to supersede the Australian ballot
| law, what was the use of enaCting that
measure? However, the caucus is all right
enough if il shall be free expression of the
preferences of considerable number aud
| a representative body of voters. If any
citizen, or number of citizens, prefers other
candidates for town officers, they are at lib
erty TO choose them, for nominations ay
be made otherwise than by caucus. Sec
tion seven of the new law provides
that certificate of nomination to
any office, signed by voters to the
extent OF one per cent of the entire
| vote at the last preceding election, may be
filed with the town clerk in precisely the
same way as the certificate of nominations
by IA caucus committee, and the ballots shall
be printed in the same way as the ballots
for the other nominations. But the certiti-
Gates must be filed with the town clerk not
less than ten days before the day of cleo
ton. Eight hundred fifty one votes were
cast at /" the last preceding election" so
that a certificate of nomination, signed by
nine voters and executed and filed as the
! law directs, will have all the force and va
/
tion. Still further, the voter of independent
proclivities will find on the printed tickets,
with each class of offices, blank spaces which
he may fill with the name of the candidate OF
his individual choice, if none of the formal
nominations please him. The law specifies
that there shall be one booth for every
seventy-fve voters qualified to vote. Mont
peler has in round numbers one thousand
such voters, so that some fourteen of these
arks for voters must be provided The OBJ
ject of the new law was to smash the po-
ltical machine. Voters must take heed
that no cunningly~contrived machine is
built on the ruins of the old, or out of its
fragments.
SEMINARY HILL.
THE skating-rink is undergoing repairs.
GEORGE j. NEWTON preached at Braintret
last Sunday.
PUBLIC rhetoricals Friday and Saturday
evenings, February 10 and IA.
e. j. GALE is delegate to the Washington
county Young Peoples Society of Christian
Endeavor convention at Plainheld, Feb
ruary 49,
PROFESSOR VAN BENscHoTEN OF Wesleyan
College, Middletown, Conn, will give {