Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1894-10-12

Der of prominent business men and men of
affairs, like Smith Of Burlington, Clark of
st. Johnsbury, Deal of st. Adams, Hines of
BrattleborO, Morse of Proctor and Bing-
ham of Bennington. The house is com
posed of an older body of men than that
OF 1892 by an average of four years, the
average age of the members being Is.
There are only five members under 80
years of age, the youngest being %. The
Oldest member is Mr. Durham of Strafford.
who is rs. Thirty of the members are old
soldiers; twenty-five have had previous leg
islative experience, eight of whom are
from Windham county.
In contrast with the house the senate
strikes one as being a younger body of men
than the senate of late years. Nearly all
of the members have been members of the
house. The farmer members seem in
smaller numbers than usual the business
men, as a class, predominating. While
containing fewer men who are well known
throughout the state than the senate of
some years, it is a subject of remark that
it is safe and conservative body, who will
not be likely to indorse any radical
changes without good cause
Bills Introduced.
About 80 bills have been introduced in
the house and senate to this date, and
these, taken in connection with the talk
that one hears in the lobbies and boarding
houses, give something of an indication of
the changes that will be attempted in
school, highway, ballot aud other import
ant laws. No one entertains the belief
that the school law in its main features
will be disturbed. A good number of the
representatives think their towns would
like TO return to the district SYSTEM
but are willing to give the present law a
fair trial. Dr. Weston's bill providing for
free text books is in the line of State Su-
perintendent Stones recommendation, and
the idea involved seems to meet popular
approval. The bill provides that each
town shall select, buy and own its own
books and loan them to the scholars. An
other bill provides for a state board of ed
ucatiOn to be appointed by the governor,
and also to include the state superintend-
ent of education, whose duty it shall be to
select the text books to be used in the
whole state, but each town to pay for its
own. The author of this bill claims that
state uniformity is desirable and that low
er rates can be obtained than by each town
making its own purchase.
Mr.Lynde of Dummerston has bill doing
away with the issuing of permits to teachers
by town superintendent. He thinks it poor
encouragement for the teacher who fits
herself for the work to be unable to get a
position because it is filled by some young
girl or married woman who has a superin-
tendent's permit. The dark places in the
school law, such as the proper disposition
of school moneys on hand, etc, will doubt
less be made plain by some act.
The highway law of 1892 is thought to
be secure from any important changes.
There are a good many members who
would like to vest the power in three road
commissioners instead of one, provided the
town should so vote. This was the plan
proposed by Mr.. Reed of Vernon two
years ago. 1t was defeated then, as it
doubtless will be now, because of its re-
semblance, however faint, to the old high
way system. And yet the one criticism of
the present law which is heard everywhere
is that as the road commissioner can be in
only one place at a time the remote sec
tions of the town suffer because there is
no one to look after them as of old.
The new ballot law is destined to be con-
sderably changed, think, even if it sur
| wives the session. Mr.. Pier of Jamaica
voices the sentiment of a great many mem
bers in his effort to have it done away with
entirely in towns of less than 1000 inhab-
itants. This might be considered refec-
tion on the towns of larger population to
the effect that they are less honest and less
capable of government than the small
er ones, though of course not so in.
tended, and it is probable that the law will
either stand, or go down, for all. If it
stands tits likely to be considerably amend
/ oJ