The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-06-26

consequence the farming towns of the
state are rapidly decaying. Over
against this statement we place the
facts that the listers, the men who
make the appraisal, are selected with
special reference to their fitness for
this business; they are usually three in
number, and the final result in each
town is the judgment of the board; the
the basis of appraisal of property is its
value in money in the settlement of a
solvent estate, having regard to sales of
such property other than forced sales;
these officials are generally familiar by
long acquaintance with the points of
advantage or disadvantage in every
piece of land appraised; they are COM
petent judges of its value and of every
item of personal property, stock, pro-
duce, ETC.. finally, they are under oath
to perform their duties honestly, i'm
partially, and in accordance with their
best judgment. Now when the ques-
ton of the business of the valuation of
farm property is raised, whom shall we
trust, the Burlington newspaper writer,
or these appraising boards, singly and
collectively? This determination of
the matter might not be satisfactory to
the newspaper man, but it would be
entirely conclusive with every rational
being.
The cussedness or ignorance of the
Ne,cs writer appears at every point
where he touches this question. He
suppresses the fact that the decline in
values is not peculiar to Vermont, but
seeks to convey the impression that
this state is the sole victim of deprecia-
ton, and that the shrinkage is due to
imbecility in policy and business man.
particularly among the farm
ers. Orange county is his "terrible
example," The farming towns of that
county, he says, lost one-fourth their
between 1880 and 1890. All
the towns of Orange county are farm
ing towns" There are no very large vii
lagos or manufacturing communities.
The corporations are for agricultural
purposes. The population of the county
in 1880 was 1885; in 1890, 10, 575, a de-
crease of one-sixth instead of one
fourth, which the Ne,os writer disin-
genuously charges to the decadence of
the farming towns, whereas the bulk of
the decrease was the result of the ex-
odus of large population which had
been engaged in copper mining. The
towns of the copper region lost from
thirty to sixty per cent of their in
habitants. The valuation of property
in that region shrank enormously. In
Vershire alone it has decreased 100000
since 1882. In 1890 the number of
ratable polls in the county was 500 less
than in 1881, and nearly 400 of this de-
crease occurred in Vershire and West
Fairlee. The foregoing are very i'm
portant facts in considering the case of
Orange county, but the Nsws sup
presses them and throws upon the
farming towns alone the full burden of
the shrinkage occasioned by the de-
struction of the copper-mining industry.
Orange county and its splendid farm.
ing industry are all right. So is the state
at large. Its wealth is increasing.
Under very adverse circumstances, it
has gained largely in wealth during the
past generation and has more than held
its own in population. There has been
a redistribution of population. Fewer
people in farming town does not
necessarily mean a decline in the value
of land. The reverse might follow.
There are more people and more con-
sumers of farm products in the large
towns. The value of the farms of
Caledonia county is strengthened by
the local market afforded by the grow
ing population of st. Johnsbury; those
of Chittenden county, by the same
in Burlington and Winooski;
those in Bennington county, by Ben
nington; those in Rutland county, by
Rutland and adjacent communities;
those in Franklin county, by St.
Adams; those in Windham county, by
Brattleboro; those in Washington
county, by Montpelier and Barre; and in
a lesser degree in the state at large, by
the smaller centers of business and
within its borders. The in.
creased facilities for marketing in the
large communities to the south of the
state have their influence, also, in sus-
tanning values. The better advertise
ment Vermont has been receiving since
1890 is further, and an important, fac
tor in sustaining values and promoting
a general prosperity.
By telling half the truth, by leaving
out vital facts and suppressing impor-