Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1894-07-20
lien OF Vermont

from the press ana puDEsHCu ny j. "
Ulery of Brattlcboro, which must be ac-
corded the highest place of any work
ever issued in or concerning the State.
This is due alike to the richness of the
field, the care and thoroughness with
which the work has been done by Mr..
Ullcry, who has devoted nearly three
years to its preparation, the hnc discrimi'
nation of its editorial supervision by
State Librarian II. \. Huse of Montpe-
lier and the ability and enthusiasm which
the various contributors brought to it.
The introduction in fac Siniilc is BY
ply, including the fathers and early
heroes of the State, the Governors, Seua-
tors and Representatives, i'll Congress is
by c. H. Davenport OF the Brattlcboro
Rcformcr, and by Mr.. Huse, who writes
of tie Judges OF the Supreme Court and
the long series OF great names i'll her Jur-
isprudcncc, with short chapter on her
queer characters, including the leaders Of
Mormonism, Joseph Smith, Brigham
Young and Iicbcr {. kimball, who were
all of Vermont nativity, and by GOV. l..
X Fuller who writes of Vermont lnvcn-
tors.
Vcrmont's story is ever an inspiring
one. The history OF the state is unique
for fourteen years an independent little
republic, shedding the first blood OF the
Revolution, and maintaining herself
against Britain and New York, New
Hampshire and Massachusetts. and even
for a time against the Continental Con
grcss, taking the lead OF the whole mod
ern world in prohibiting slavery, and
establishing as the work of plain farmers
and hardy mountainccrs, the best and
trcest constitution, the purcst and most
enlightened system OF government man
kind had known. These pioneers" rs
! Senator Proctor says, speaking of the
founders drought with them the com
mon school, the town meeting and a firm
belief in the rule of the people both i'll
church and State affairs"
Vermont has always been n nursery
OF remarkable men" says the opening
sentence of the book and the subsequent
pages amply prove the statement. Be
history, besides the long succession of
those who have been at the front i'll ma.
tional affairs from the beginning the
Bradleys, RobinSons. Paine, Fisk, Sey.
mour, Phelps, Prentiss, Collamer, Foote,
Edmunds Niles, Chapman, Lyon, Nal.
lory, Slade, Hall, Marsh, Poland. and
! Willard, besides such famous sons as
Stephen \. Douglas, Thaddcus Stevens
Chester \. Arthar and Levi p. Morton,
it is shown that 100 Sons OF Vermont
have been i'll Congress from other states
and innumcrablc others have been gov.
are almost entirely made up of Vermont
ers. 1t is shown by Governor Fuller in
this admirable sketch of Vermont Invcn
tors that nearly 1000 patents have beer
issued to VermonterS, and over 1000 o
them the first of their class and including
III the products of her minds the steam
boat, the telegraph, the electric railway
the ocean cable, the present scale, The
modern postage stamp, the cooking
stove, the typewriter, the revolver, rule
marking, slate and marble cutting ma.
chimes, and many of the other device!
which have done SO much to revolution.
izc modern life And the noteworthy
fact is brought out by Mr.. Davenport il
his part OF the work that the two great
tariff bills before the Mckinley measure
were chiefly the work Of Vcrmontcrs, thai
of 1928 by Rollin c. Mallory as we'll as
that of 1861 by Justin S. Merrill.
Mr.. Davenports work in the Histori.
cal Biography is extraordinary for its re
search, for its discernmcnt and sense o
ments, and for the interesting way, tn,
most difficult and most profitable worl
biography, in which it connects it's sub
iects with the ideas and issues OF theii
times and careers. Thus he has given us
a complete political history of the state
the courses and fortunes of it's parties
with many election figures never befor,
published, and has traced the pionee
origin and development fits legislation
as about schools and highways, will
singularly full and impartial justice to al
opinions treated. He has similarly pre-
sented a succinct account OF the positions
votes, speeches etc, of Vermonters il
National affairs, facts that could other
wise I've learned only by the search o
whole libraries. His presentation of tn,
character and career of Ethan Allen seem
to us the most adequate and lite-like o
all that has been written about that re
markable man. Certainly Ira Allen ha
never been 80 wildly and comprehensive,
written up as i'll the six pages here de
voted to him and very nearly the same i
true of the sketches of Governors Chitten
den, Tichnor and Galusha, MATTHEW
Lyon, NathanielNil Stephen p. Bradle,
and others. An interesting feature of tn
work is the effectual and decisive way h
meets and disproves the Historian Ban