Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1891-12-11
NO. 50.
L cHANcE FoR. i cHANGE.
The Rutland Herald Takes Its Turn
NIth the State Committee.
-rrom the Rutland Herald of this molnnpl

From the Rutland Herald Of this moiningl
\ considerable number of Vermont
newspapers have urged that Chairman
| Baldwin of the Republican state commit
the should resign. The idea is good as far
as it goes, but it ought to be extended.
the whole committee ought TO resign. And
| if they do not resign they should have as
sistance in moving
The committee has never done ANYTHING
to show its capacity. 1t has lately done
things which abundantly showed its want
of capacity. Apparently the agents of a
few city newspapers completely bamboo
zled them. With talk about providing
campaign literature for the Vermont voter
next year they promulgated scheme for
compelling Vermont newspapers to sell
the city wecklies at a loss TO themselves,
which was hotly resented in all quarters
The attack Of the newspapers was met by
a lot OF big talk from the committee. In
response to a charge that he said that Yer
mont newspapers had little influence.
Chairman Baldwin wrote an il-tempered
and silly letter denying the report and i'm
medately under the denial wrote substan-
italy what he declared he did not saw. and
the attack became hotter than ever. FL
nally the committee realized the fact that
there was meat in the Herald s.suggestion
that II the state newspapers got after them
they would find out about the influence of
the home press and ISSUED circular retir-
ing from the newspaper business altogether.
| he fire was too hot for them to stand
Now, the talk that ii is necessary to get
city weeklles in the state to help inform
the public in campaign is pure bosh 1t
amounts to saying that the state newspa-
pers have little influence if it amounts to
anything The average of Vermont news
papers is very high and some Of the best
weeklcs in the country are included i'm the
list. The position taken by the committee
is simply an insult to them. and a stupid
insult at that. Some OF the outside week
lies in question are almost utterly worthless
and, while individuals of course buy all
sorts OF publications, there is no politi-
cal necessity for bringing here single one
OF them. The home papers cover the
ground. And. moreover, if a dozen copies
OF outside newspapers were brought for
every family the home papers would still
have the work to do The smallest news
paper in the state has power in its own
field beside which that of all other papers
put together is insignificant, and when it
comes to the actual work of the campaign
it is the home papers that must be depend
ed upon And if the committee has anv
money to 90 to newspapers in any way it
should be distributed among those publish
ed in Vermont. There is no chance for
argument about that, and if the newspa-
pers permit the committee to do anything
else it is their own fault.
Presidential year is coming and it is in
order to have "A state committee good for
something. Absolutely the only thing
they have yet done is to make this attack
on the papers to which the party must so
largely look for success, and to take to
their heels in particularly lively fashion
when the response came. They had better
20. The state and the Republican party
need new men and men of capacity for the
work.