Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1892-10-21
THE LEGISLATURE.
OUR MONTPELIER LETTER,
Not Many Bills introduced, and LceiS-
latiye Work Rather Slow.

Home to Celebrate.
MoNrrELIER. Oct. II. 1892.
Excepting Barre no town in the state
made so large percentage of increase in
population during the last decade as Mont
pelier. The granite industry, which gave
the former town its growth from pogo to
6S12. has overnowed into this town and is
the main cause of its increase The rough
stone is brought here from the quarries at
very low freight rate. and the greater ac-
cessiblity Of this place TO the trade more
than offsets the distance from base of sup
ply. The cheap power afforded by the
Montpelier water-work, is also a large fac
tor in the towns prosperity. The supply
is taken from Berlin pond a natural body
of water containing 23l acres, about four
and one-half miles from the village. The
| fall is 364 feet. Two lines of pipe, one
II and one 20-nch, convey the water
to the village, where it is distributed
through about - miles Of pipe. About
600 families and 80 stores and offices are
/ supplied with water, and over 40 motors
are attached, supplying power in quant-
/ ties varying from one-cighth of one-hoTse
| power to 2O-horse power. Several of the
! church organs, the coffee mills in all the
! grocery stores, the sausage cutters in the
markets, all the printing offices, the bakery,
| the town stone-crusher and large number
Of light manufacturing establishments. to
the total extent Of 200-horse power, are
connected by motors with Berlin pond.
About 400, 600 gallons is the average dai-
! ly consumption. Mr.. Joel Foster, the SUI
perintendent, put the 1000 pieces of pipe
together so thoroughly that only five of the
joints have needed repairs, notwithstand-
ing the immense pressure. The construc-
tion of the system was begun in 1854, and
has cost the village about SIS, 5000. The
bonded debt is being paid off from the sur
plus at a rate which will extinguish it in
about l. years.
The new Federal building here is un-
doubtedly the finest building in the state
1t cost $4,000 in round numbers, aside
from the furnishings The first floor is oc-
cupied for post-oftice purposes only, with
balance of the building is at present unoc-
cupied The postmaster is a young man
whose faithful and efficient service as head
clerk for several years happened to out
weigh the claims of the politician.
a close second to the government build
ing is the new building of the National
Life Insurance company. 1t is very sub
stantial in construction, elegantly finished
and intended to meet the growing needs OF
the company for some distance into the
future. The National Life is financial
institution of which a good many Yer,
monters do not know the magnitude. Its
assets are nearly seven and one-half million
dollars. invested to an unusually large eX-
tent in Eastern municipal bonds Th,
company holds nearly half a million dollars
in the village, town and water bonds o.
Vermont, and is in the market for al
that are offered at a low rate of interest
The increase in value of assets for 1S9,
was about II per cents The officers of tn,
company are known all over the state a
of the highest standing, and they are call
|
business talent of the town.
The county buildings here as in Wind
ham county, are not snowy and elegant
but are substantial, comfortable, satisfac
tory to the common people, and centrall
= located. SO much f or Montpelier.
The legislative wheels are moving yer
slowly. Most of the members were a
= home over Sunday and it was expected tina
I they would come back loaded with bills
but such proved not to be the case. L
. number of bills introduced the record
Z about 20 per cent behind the session {
. 1890 at this stage. But little was done i
q the house Monday beside passing the bi
y doing away with three days of grace o
Is commercial paper. Mr.. Clark of Halifax
- in a few words, stated that the bill propose
change and that changes in our law
were not desirable unless it was plainly az
parent that good would result. His r,
marks brought out half-dozen bank me
and lawyers who in an interesting ten mil
:, utes showed that the present custom wa
no benefit to the borrower, who oftentim,
paid for what he didn't take, was Ofte
some trouble to bankers whose fgur,
would cover the three extra days but wou
receive remittances based on the straigl
time, and was not in line with the Law
if governing such matters in other state
| The bill then passed without opposition.
p Mr. Winchester of Londonderry has {
" fered a petition in the house, signed
n certain residents of his town, asking tn
er the subject of rents on public leased lam
he be investigated and some means devised
in equalize them. 1t seems that in some Sc
nc tions the school, glebe, and other pub
,,1, lands are rented on the basis of acrea
it, and are easily reckoned; but in other ST
nd tions, notably in Windham county, t
We rental on given lot was lump sum, a
.er as the lot changed hands and was subdiv
d,h ed, often without reference to origir
of lines, the parties would agree among the
selves as to the proportion of rental. III
custom has resulted in great Unequal
'u' in rentals in some towns, and the co