The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1892-10-12
The Messages.

coming chief executives. These adj
dresses are meant to lay before the legis-
lative bodies both information concern
ing the public interests and such sug-
gesions as to future policies as commend
themselves to the two men whose Office
has imposed on them careful and COM
prehen.ive examination of the condi.
tion and needs of the state. The one
task-that of presenting in compact
form information regarding every i'm
portant branch of the public service-is
hardly less important than that of offer
ing suggestions for future legislation.
Few mistakes would be made in law
making did all legislators know we'll
what has been done by their predeces-
sors, and what the actual facts are with
which they have to deal. 1t may be
said with entire candor that in this re-
spect the messages of Governor Page
and Governor Fuller are complete and
valuable.
AS is fitting, Governor Page reviews
at length the events of the two years
during which he has been the execu-
tive, and his advice is principally con-
fined to matters which have been prom
inently before the people during his
administration. The school law nat
urally has the first place in his message,
and what he says regarding it must COM
mend itself to the good sense of every
one. 1t is more and more evident to
thoughtful students of the conditions
and tendencies of this country that the
mainstay of social order, and especially
of democratic institutions, is education
There is no danger that the opportuni-
ties offered to the young will be too
good, or that any money or time, if
wisely used, will be wasted in building
up the schools. If the town system,
which Governor Page recommends, is
best calculated to raise the standard of
the schools of this state, it is duty of
the legislature, second to none that
faces that body, to enact workable
system on the town idea. The unfor-
tunate delay of two years ago in con-
sidering the school bill should not be
repeated.
Governor Page takes strong ground
in favor of law compelling corpora
tons and individuals employing large
numbers of employees to pay weekly
wages. This was his position at the
time of his Inauguration, and he has not
changed it since. In this connection it
is worth while to note that the supreme
court of Rhode Island has just declared
law imposing such a condition on
corporations to be constitutional, on the
ground that the creator of corporations
has large powers in the way of saying
how such bodies shall conduct their
business. Such laws, of course, trench
upon that freedom of contract which by
many publicists is felt to be the corner
stone of healthy social progress.
The message is emphatic in its APP
proval of the prohibitory law. The
governor is sanguine that five years
more of the enforcement which has
been given in the past two will elimi-
nate illegal selling in the smaller towns
and greatly diminish it in the larger
ones. The expectation is not unrea-
sonable. Equally emphatic in APP
proval is what is said upon the. new
ballot law, which Governor Page sim
cerely hopes will be improved, not re-
pealed. His suggestion that emblems
be placed after the names of the candi-
dates of the different parties is worthy
of consideration. So, too, is that of a
state engineer or state commission
on roads. After cautioning the legisla-
ture against hasty work, Governor Page
concludes his message with portrayal
of the present prosperity of the state,
which is encouraging in the extreme.
The two years of his administration
have been notable for a revival of in
dustry that promises much for the
future. In this revival Governor Page
has had his full share of influence.
The message of Governor Fuller con-
tains more of suggestion than does
that of the retiring governor. This is
as it should be; his eyes are fixed on
the future, while those of Governor
Page are, just at this time, turned tC
what has been done. Governor Full
ler's suggestions are almost too numer'
GUS even to be enumerated. He adj
vises wise economy in expenditures
with view to making the direct state
tax as small as possible. He would
have the laws regarding the duties O.
the inspector of finance and in relation
to savings institutions revised in mum
Der of respects. He favors the intro