Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1897-02-01

sour, irascible disposition. his in
firmities grow with his years. Bigot-
ed, intolerant, unforgiving and saw
age he lets no opportunity go where
he thinks he has opportunity to. at
tack one who has disagreed with him
some time in matters of politics or
policy. He complains. of being called
ecrankyn Let our readers peruse
his effusion above and see if that is
not very mild word, to use if we
were to attempt to name his malady.
The Messenger makes a second at
tack on the MONITOR which is both
fair and able. We undertake to ans
wer in the same spirit of fairness: In
answer to our statement that no pa
per has shown nor can show that any
evil, greater than would exist under
any other system of representation
now exist the Messenger undertakes
to answer as below:
stOf course until trial has been
made of other systems it would be I'M
possible to demonstrate their super
iority or inferiority to an existent
system. The Messenger, however, has
no hesitation in affirming it's opinion
that many of the evils of existing leg
islation would have been impossible
of enactment under a democratic re-
presentation. 1t believes the fritter-
ing away of nearly half million dol
lars a year upon the highways to no
permanently good result would have
been long ago corrected under a
Ill IL 49, - aEn&
believes legislation which makes it a
crime to commit a certain act in one
room and perfect lawful act to do
precisely the same thing in tho adj
joining room would have been rem
edied under republican representa-
ton. And it firmly believes the same
thing with regard to almost sinnumer-
able other laws which now cumber
the statue boks of Vermont
"The Messenger sshas no hesition in
''affirming," and it "believes" SO and
SO. 1t believes one thing and we be-
lieve another, and belief is no sure
criterion. The belief that a half mil
lion dollars is 'sfrittered' away on
the highways of the state annually
with no permanent results is a mis-
taken belief. The roads have to be
maintained in a comfortably passible
condition whether or no, and that
sum of money, which by recent
law is to be used in making perman-
ent repairs or improvements, is not
being frittered away. 1t is in most
instances put to it's intended purpose.
With from Is to 20 thousand miles of
road in the state it is not possible in
one year or ten to make any great
show toward putting them in McAdam
condition. The most that can be done
possibly is to do little annually, and
that is being done in most localities.
That there may be slight incongrui-
ties in our laws no one will doubt, but
that there is anything very serious,
or that is incompatible, we doubt.
The statutes were most thoroughly
looked over, revised and harmonized
during the session of 1894 and COM
mittee of careful and able lawyers
who gave months to the work. If
there had been anything very serious
in regard to single section or phrase
that would have been pointed out and
the legislature of 1896 would have
corrected it. The statutes may be
numbered" with many laws, but it is
not. shown that any of them are detri-
mental to the welfare of the state.
If the district or equal representa-
tive system is necessary for the sub
FINEST legislation we have it now in
one house of the legislature. Every
measure must pass through the SEN
ate, still more select body of men
than could be had in a larger number,
chosen on the district plan, the same
to be scrutinized by the governor be-
fore it becomes a law. Certainly we
now have all that could be had in the
event of a change in the number of
house representatives. Everything
must be filtered through the senate.
After other arguments to combat
our previous attempts to show that it
8 impossible to make representation
equal under any system, and our
claim that the larger towns have the
strongest men, and therefore, the
arger influence, the Messenger says;
'sThe Messenger does notscare to dis
,uss the relative influence. of eindivi-
luals from the smaller andothe larger
towns. 1t is convinced much whole
some legislation was defeated. and
some bad legislation enacted by the
votes of Representatives from towns
aggregating much less than a. MAORI
~ of the state. Against a eombina
ion of the smaller towns ability is
aeither working nor a voting power.
And because such combinations have
0een made and can be made to the
letriment of the state. The Messenger
s still of opinion the claim of the
MONITOR in this direction is without