Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1897-10-25
THE VERMONT DEVELOPMENT
ASSOC1A TON.


Hyde Park:
Certain propositions are so self-ev-
ident as to require no proof. I think
the statements contained in the four
following paragraphs may be regard
ed as automatic:
First-A home market which will
absorb the products of our soil at faily
remunerative prices will bring the
greatest good to the greatest number
of the people of Vermont, and conse-
quently best promote her material
welfare.
Second-As a means to this end the
establishing of manufacturing indus
tries is an important, and perhaps the
most important, factor.
Third-Industries which can COM
pete with our sister manufacturing
states in New England, cannot be es-
tablished except by favorable com
bination OF the three factors which
have entered SO largely into their
prosperity, viz: Cheap money, cheap
power and cheap transportation.
Fourth-The converse of this propo-
sition naturally follows, viz: That Civ
en- to Vermont cheap money, cheap
power and cheap transportation, We
can establish paying industries here.
To bring about a combination of
these three conditions is work we'll
worthy a liberal expenditure of the
best effort and best thought of loyal
Vermonters. y Let US consider these
factors in the order named. First,
cheap money. Our Vermont savings
banks are to- daylfu to overlooking
with the savings Of our people. To
find place for their investment is
taxing the best efforts Of savings
banks managers from one end of the
state to the other. The trans Missis-
sippi regions offer high rates of inter-
est. In the absence of better open
ing, our savings bank trustees, tired
of seeing idle money stacked away in
their vaults, are availing themselves
tionable security.
What should be done? / believe the
state should say to the managers of
these banks that on all monies which
they will loan at AZ per cent. to be
used in developing new industries
in our state, the seven tenths of one
per cent.tax, which they are now call
ed upon to pay, shall be abated.
Our savings banks to-day pay to
depositors 4 per cent. 1t costs APP
proximately one-half of one per cent.
for their running expenses. 1t will
be urged that these institutions should
not be asked to do business upon a
non profit paying basis. But is this
true? Let US pursue the investigation
little further. There are very few
savings banks in Vermont that have
not tens, and many of them hundreds
of thousands of dollars loaned upon
our hillside farms. Unless some
means can be devised to make the Gull
tivation of these farms profitable, the
banks must eventually take many of
them on their mortgages. The pros
perity of the farmer is so ineXtricably
interviewer with the prosperity of the
savings bank that it is impossible to
draw a line Of separation between
them. Their mutual prosperity de-
mands liberal policy on the part of
our bank managers. They had much
better loan a few thousand dollars
without profit,::in developing indns-
tries which shall restore prosperity to
the farmer, than to be eventually
compelled to own the farms.
The same general principle is in
volved in low-ra loans to our towns
and villages, to enable them to develop
the power required to turn the wheels
of industry. Let us examine that
feature of the case under the head of
"Cheap Power.o
Vermont has more energy running
to waste than any other Of our New
England States. The streams which
flow down our mountain sides are
capable of generating electrical pow
err sufficient to turn the wheels of
every manufacturing industry in New
England. Within the past five years
improvements in the generation of
electricity have made it practicable to
develop that power on the bill sides
and transmit it at minimum cost to
manufacturing plants located along
side the railroads, and convenient to
our villages where the operatives re-
side.
To illustrate: Within the past two
years my ownsvillage, Hyde Park, has
put in an electrical plant about three
miles from the village. It not only
furnishes our Xillage-both it's streets