Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1892-07-21
Responsibility and Veracity.

The Rutland Herald continues in its mad
endeavor to divert attention from the con-
nection which its persecution of officers of
the law evidently had with the recent riot
The FREE PRESS said that it was not alone
in thinking that the Herald was equity in
no small degree of fostering il not actually
developing the spirit of lawlessness which
resulted in the brutal attack upon tho Off
GERS of the law" and in its issue Of yester-
day our despairing contemporary vented its
lacerated feelings in the following choice |
bit of refined journalistic expression:
The Herald is ready to admit anything |
in reason as to tho contemporary stupid
ity, but this is rather too much. The FREE |
Press does not believe that the Herald is |
responsible for any riotng. This statement
is merely part of one OF the contempt
rary's exhibitions of malignant lying about
the Herald. No other newspaper in the
State has said anything OF the kind, but
possibly few may.
Our genial contemporary pleads we'll, but
we imagine that we can detect "marble
vein" of maignancy running through its ex
hibition Of phariseeism. The Herald evident
ly overlooked, or seeing, passed by on the
other side Of. the extract which we repro
ducod from the columns OF the Bellows Falls
Times in our issue Of Friday last. For the
benefit Of our short-sghted contemporary
we will reproduce the excerpt from the
Times and invite the Herald to retract its
charge of prevarication. The Times said;
In the editorial columns the Herald drops
into double leads in crying down such dis
graceful demonstrations. 1t states that
''every man in the community is discredted
by such a thing, - in which it is eternally
correct But what does the Herald expect
From this distance it would seem that
newspaper which has never upheld the law
as it stands; which has openly and persist
entl assaiied the men who have tried land
with some success TO enforce it, should be
slow to criticise the actions of those who
have only followed its example in a slightly
more brutal and impulsive way. Tho Her
aid should expect no figs from its indus
! triouslv cultivated thistles, and while we
| feel sure taat the good citizens of Rutland,
will look out for the good order Of Rutland,
it clearly seems that the demand for such
order is one in which the Herald can, con
sistently, have no voice. An uncomforta-
BILE position, truly, but one Of its own seec-
! tion.
We trust that this language is sufficiently
]
temporary, and it ought to be perfect sub
sanitation OF our statement that the FREE
| PRESS is not alone in holding the Herald
responsible to a certain degree, for tho re-
cent riot For fear, however, that some Of
| our readers may not understand just what
the attitude of thejRutland Herald is in this
connection we will quote further from it's
| own columns 1t sad editorially in its Sat
urday issue:
T. n. Merriam of this town was struck
and maItreated in principal street Thurs
day evening by some assailant who got
away without being recognized. Mr. Mer
riam IS an entirely inoliensive man, and
from this very fact it is impossible to name
any one bearing him ill will Or TO think of
! any cause for i'll will but it is surmsed that
| the attack came because Mr.. Merriam some
| time ago signed some complaints under the
/ liquor law. 8" 3" -
but, whether the attacl, on Mr.. Merriam
came from the liquor prosecutions not, it
IS TO be remembered that when the pubic
| is offended il does not always discriminate
well in conlen.n.ng and Furnishing. Popu-
lar feeling in the matter is now chiefly
| directed against Franklin and the two spot
| tiers, but OF course these men are not pri-
| mGtily responsible.
The Herald then condemns disorder and
concludes as follows:
The whole trouble comes from tho at
tempt of the tenth man to rule the 9th er
nine. There are in Rutland between 100
| and 200 men who may be called prohibit
! t!onistS. Some others beieve in enforcing
prohibitory Law il it exists, and a great
! many moro would like prohibition if it were
!
/ ready to vote for and stand by prohibition
as things are. These men are in no respect
the pick and flower Of the town. and it is Of
| course absolutely impossible for SO small n
! minority to enforce the Aws--they could
! not eu!orcs the statute against murder if
| the majority regarded it "a it does the liquor
! laW--but tho law is an instrument which
! they can use to make endless trouble and do
! endle5s mischief This they-prohibition
lists from principle, those who go along for
revenue only and the whole miscellaneous
lot-do, and bring upon Rutland drunken
ness Matchmaking and endless crime and
disgrace.
This is the way in which our contempt
rary socks to fulfill Its promise, recently
made, to aid in tho enforcement of the law,
yet this 10 a fair sample Of the language
| which it has Dsen using towards prohibition
and the prohibitionists for years. Much
could be said in this connection, but we are
coutont to quote these extracts aud allo W
the reading public to judge for itself whether
the constant use OF incendIary language OF
this character is not calculated to engender
II spirit of lawlessness. similar to that which
found expression in the riot last week at
Rutland
Uncle sam Wins.
All patriotic Americans will rejoice in the
announcement that the Canadian govern
ment has adjusted canal tolls so that yes
sells from the United States will have pre-
csely the same privileges in the Wellsnd
canal that Canadian vessels have, for it is a
marked diplomatic triumph for the admin
istration at Washington. la view of the
81. n.