The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-07-10

much in the way of politics. The dem
ocratic papers are trying to boom bust
ness, but it doesn't work. The streets
of New Orleans are about deserted.
There is no money. 1t will take twenty
years to recover from the consequences
of this tory administration. No one
here claims to be democrat, but when
it comes to voting the hoodlum element
will raise the cry of Niger and that
takes with the illiterate class, which
comprises about two-thirds of the white
voters. That class is not as useful to
the country as the darkey. The bust
ness men are nearly all republicans"
The Springfield Republican is fearful
in its expressions of sympathy for
the natives of Madagascar who have
rebelled against French dominion, but
the Republican finds no room in its
mugwump heart for the Cubans who
have rebelled against Spain and are
fighting for their freedom. The French
man has the same right in Madagascar
that the Spaniard has in Cuba; but
sympathy for the Cubans-which would
be the more reasonable of the two
might be of some practical use and
might also have tinge of jingoism,
the Republicans besetting fetch. The
mugwump never expends his sympathy
on anything that is of any earthly good;
so Cuba, Hawaii, Venezuela and Mica
ragua get his cold shoulder, but the re-
mote Hovas are bathed with crocodile
tears.
THERE are, reckoning three to each
board, some 1872 listers chosen and
placed under oath to appraise the prop
erty of the people of this state at "such
sum as they would appraise the same
in payment of just debt due from a
solvent debtor, having regard to the
current value of such property and the
sales thereof, other than auction sales"
And still there are one or two news
paper writers who are maintaining that
property is immensely overvalued, and
that listers must be chosen with brains
enough to see the truth of this ire
sponsible unsworn newspaper conten.
ton and bring the appraisal down to
the level of these editorial experts. 1t
is the case over again of the one juror
who knows all the facts, the law, and
the doctrine, against eleven stupid asso-
ciates.
JUDGE Powers opinions command
respect. What he had to say recently
at Burlington on the matter of the cleo
ton of United States senators and the
president by direct vote of the people
will receive attention. His objections
to the existing plan are the failure of
legislatures to elect senators, which has
recently happened in several states;
the lavish use of money in legislative
elections; the danger of a choice by
minority celebrates, as in Vermont
and Illinois, and as the result of "a
species of grand larceny known as the
gerrymander the absence in legis.
lative election of direct responsibility
to the people. These evils, Mr.. Pow
ers believes, would be cured or min
imized by direct elections, and "no
corporation attorneys or corporation
managers, under this plan, could ever
pass the eye of scrutiny that would be
leveled upon them by the people," On
this question there will be reasonable
differences of opinion. 1t is not quite
clear that all the evils Judge Powers
enumerates will be reformed or lessened
by the change he advocates. The
old, forbidden influences would work
through new channels. AS "when the
raging fever burns," we might "change
the place, but keep the pain" Sena-
tors would be nominated by party con-
ventions. The convention would be
composed of delegates selected by the
caucus. A nomination generally goes.
1t is not necessary to enlarge upon the
possibilities for the exercise of injurious
influences and the lavish use of money
to control the action of primaries and
conventions. These are known and
read OF all men. No system is perfect.
Notwithstanding the existence of GER
tain obvious evils in the legislative sys-
tenn, it does not seem to be clear that
any substantial advantage would be
gained by having recourse to popular
elections, with the opportunities for
deals, wire-pulling, expenditure of
money, and other corrupt practices, that
the primary and the convention pre-
sent. Legislators are select body of
men, acting under a solemn oath.
There is abundant reason to expect
from such body of men higher aver
age of honorable, conscientious, God.
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