The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1892-04-20
Colonel Fuller and the Board
of Agriculture.


A correspondent of the Farmers
Advocate, signing himself "Senator of
1885," undertakes to dispute the &C.
curacy of the Barton Monitors recent
article showing how, in 1886, Colonel
Fuller-then Acknowledgements and
in that capacity president of the SEN
ate-saved the Board of Agriculture.
The alleged senator quotes from the
senate journal to show that H. 21l an
Act to establish an Agricultural Ex-
pertinent Station, was reported to the
senate without an expression of opin-
ion; that Senator Chaplin moved to
amend by striking out Section s,
"and the same was agreed to-; that
Senator - now lieutenant governor -
Fletcher moved to further amend by
providing 10 pay cost of the station out
of the income of the Agricultural Col
lege fund, "and the same was disa-
greed to-" The "Senator of 1886 :"
then says:
"Now, Mr.. Editor, that is the record and
the whole record so far as the senate of
1886 is concerned. Colonel Fuller's casting
vote, If he gave one, was on Mr.. Chapins
motion to strike out Section s, which was
simply to relieve the Experiment Station
bill of an Objectionable feature, without
which III. oil could not, probably, have
passed the senate. The main fact is there
was no vote in the senate of 1886 to abolish
the Board of Agriculture, nor any vote on
the passage of a bill for that purpose"
The alleged senator is a coward in
that he does not sign his name to his
communication he is either culpablv
ignorant of the matter of which he
writes, or wickedly and maliciously
false in his statements.
House bill oil, to establish the Agri
cultural Experiment Station, was intro
duced by Judge Poland, the repre-
sentative from Waterville. When the
bill came up for the third reading,
Judge Poland moved to amend by in
sorting two new sections, one of which
was the following:
"SEcTIoN s. All laws heretofore passed
creating Board of Agriculture and pre-
scribing their duties are hereby repealed"
The amendment was adopted, the
bill was passed by the house, and went
to the senate. Moved and instigated
by some spirit, Poland, Tinkham and
John W. Currier were making raid
on the Board of Agriculture, and they
carried the house with them-on the
first dash. Now, to strike out this Sec
ton s, abolishing the Board of Agricul-
ture-craftily tackled on to the Expert
ment Station act-was the object of
Senator Chapin's motion, which "Sen-
ator of 1886 innocently observes " was
simply TO relieve the Experiment Sta
ton of an Objectionable feature"
StOeet innocence, indeed! 1t is true, as
the Advocate's correspondent adds,
that there was no vote in the senate
of 1886 to abolish the Board of Agricul-
ture but there was a vote on this
proposition, embodied in Section s of
the Experiment Station bill, and that
the section was rejected and the board
saved was due to Colonel Fuller's cast
ing vote. The vote ON Mr.. Chapin's
motion to strike out Section was tie,
and it was united by Colonel Fuller,
who voted with decision that did him
credit and illustrated his frmness,
sound judgment and integrity. Mr..
Chaplin was the leader in this move
ment to save the board. President
Fuller came to the rescue, and by his
casting vote saved the senator's efforts
from failure. Editor Blake of the
Monitor was a senator in 1886 and
voted for Mr.. Chapin's motion. Lieu
tenant Governor Fletcher, now candi-
date for governor, was also senator in
1886, and Uoted against Mr.. Chapin's
motion. These are the facts. Now let
the advocates "Senator of 1886 " deny
them over his own signature-like a
man-if he dare. The bill went back
to the house for its concurrence in the
senate amendment, striking out Section
] 8, and the house concurred.