The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1893-07-12
The People Convene.

A sort of Midsummer-Night Dream was
played in one of the parlors at the Bardwell
| House in Rutland last week The popu.
| lists of Vermont were assembled in solemn
| conclave. Ounce the carpenter, Snug the
| joiner, Bottom the weaver, Snout the
| tinker, Starveing the tailor, and Flute the
bellows-mender, all were there, the latter
industrously plying his vocation, and the
| busiest man of the company. Moonshine.
| the leading clown, was cevery taken by
him of Mount Holly, and conspicuous
among the fairies was Peas blossom, the
representative from Montpelier Lack of
space forbids further details of the cast of
characters, but the names of the following
well-known talent were down on the bills
A. i. Bowen of South Dorset, Z. G. Hunt
of West Haven, George G. Underhill and j,
j. Fay of Rutland, George e. Holden of
Montpelier, l.. Sallees of Missisquoi, G. S.
Louis of Reading T. p Cheney of Glover,
I. j. Aldrich of Wheelocl1, j. A. Wright of
Sheffield and Mr.. Beebe of Swanton, sub
stantially made the convention. f. b.
Moore of Rutland, A. A. Orcutt, John Hos
kinson of Mount Holly were also present.
AS a sort of prelude to the play, Peas
blossom offered resolution declaring for
government ownership of railroads, tele-
graphs and telephones, and denouncing the
Central railway of Vermont, which all the
players opposed and finally sat down upon
in concert. Moonshine's voice was for
the gold bugs. Peas-blossom grew green
with envy at the unanmity over Moon
shines proposition, but the clown always
brings down the house when the wit of
even fairy will not raise cheer. Starve-
ling bemoaned the fact that "our grand
fathers owned their farms, but their grand
sons do not"-a state of things for which
the banks and railways mot the impe-
cunious grandsons) were to blame, and
which the third party must reform.
Letters were read from sundry statesmen,
including the sage of Middlesex Center in
dorsing the movement Uncle William eX-
pressing himself--if blossom is not
fooling the reporter and enticng him into
a libel suit-as sick and disguised with both
the old parties, meaning the republican and
the democratic. The play ended, Shout,
the tinker. recited the following cpl
logue, disclosing the reasons p" for the
company's nausea over the existing polit-
ical situation Believing as we do that the
present financial stringency is simply
another name for money famine and that
the gradual depreciation of all property,
whether it be the produce of the farm or the
stock OF the merchant in the city, has been
directly caused by the partial demonetiza.
ton of silver. and feeling that any further
contraction of the currency of this country
means poverty and restitution for the
many, solely in the interest of the few, and
they as rule living beyond our shores, we
submit the following; We demand the free
coinage of both gold and silver at the pres
ent ratio of l6 to 1. We demand that all
money be issued direct from the govern
ment to the people and be full legal tender.
We demand that municipalities be given
the right to establish, own and operate gas
and electric light plants. We demand that
women be given the full right of suffrage
We demand the extension of the free mail
delivery system into the rural districts
we demand graduated income tax" And
the curtain was rung down.