Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1892-09-01

A string of msstatements falsehoods and
fallacies were printed recently in the Mont
pelier Argus aud Patriot under the head
of the "Ihe Favored Few.n 1t was an at
tempt to make ignorant voters believe that
the government of our State is administered,
not for the good of the people, but for the
tenefit OF the few. Appearing as it did in
that paper, nobody paid any particular at
tentiou TO it, for no intelligent person takes
anything for true that is said by the Argus,
unless it is corroborated in some way. The
article, however, has been printed-we sup
pose, by some democratic committee-as Il
campaign tract; aud MS this does not bear
the name Of the Argus and Patriot, some
persons who are not aware Of its source
may believe some Of its statements. 1t may
therefore, be well to notice some of these
The document begins by an attempt to
arraign the republican party of Vermont,
for betrayal Of Trustn-ths is the head
ing in large black letters Of the tract-in
its disposition of the Huntington Fund"
The story of that fund is simple one
Araunah--not Arnuah, rs the Argus in its
natural ignorance both of scripture
names ana of the man calls him Hunting
ton died in Canada, leaving by his will
some $500 coo to the State of Vermont. He
coupled with the bequosts certain spggcs-
honS, not conditions, rs TO the disposition
to be made of the fund: AS that it be used
TO establish n Vermont District School
isnk' and that when the money and ac-
crued profits Of The bank should reach 81, -
400, COO that amount should be distributed
equally among the counties etc, etc, Tho will
was stoutly contested in the Canadian courts
the tinnl decision being that the personal
estate was given to the State of Vermont,
absolutely, to be used as it should see fit
The Legislature accepted the money, put it
into the State treasury and the interest
on it is used Tor the benefit Of tho
common schools. The whole transaction
was perfectly ebove-board, andjthe course of
the Legislature on it was sanctioned by the
people, 1.-THE democratic party" says this
foolish tract, "has pledged itself TO repeal
the present law, and TO carry out the intent
of the will Very well if the democrats
wish to 60 into the election on that issue,
let them do so. Let them tell the voters
lhhL every uemOcrab eleCtel 10 lho Legls-
lature viii try to have T2l6, 900 raised by
direct tax, the money to be used to estab-
lish State bank, and kept till it amounts
/ to 81, 400 900, and then distributed in such
way that Grand Isle county, with its
! hundreds of children, shal receive as much
as Rutland with as many thousands of chill
dren of school Rge--and SEQ where they
! come out.
A page Of the tract is ncrt devoted to the
| State History of Vermont in the Civil War.
| This contains the unblushing statement that
the State paid for the printing of the his
tory; that the State received only 100 copies
Of the work, which went to the State libra
~, and that leach volume thus cost
the State nearly SG0H'
The writer OF tho article, II
he knew anything about the mat
ter, know better than this. Ho know
that the State did not pay for the printing
of that history. The state, by statut,
which stands upon the statute book, oper
to every voter, took 800 copies Of the work,
at the same price that was paid by every
private purchaser these copies being dis.
tributod, one copy to every town to be KEPT
in the town clerks cfiics, aud the rest /,