Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-10-13
GOV. SMITHS MESSAGE.

Gentlemen of the Senate and House of
Representatives:
1t is with = growing sense of the re-
sponsibilitics and impressed with the i'm
poltancc Of this office that ! have to-day
walked up the aisle of this hall, and sub
scribcd to the constitution and taken the
oath, thus following in the footsteps of
those VINO nave gone before me, whose
voices have been heard from this plat
form in defence of nigh principles; whose
,NhoTtations have fired the love and pa
triotism that have made Vermont what it
is, whose administrations nave invariably
been honest and u~ntarnished. and VINO
have in long, venerable line passed out Of
Office either to other of lite's duties or to
higher duties in broader fields, or nave
finished their work ON this earth and
passed into that peace which lies beyond
the vision of mortality and which f. the
gladstone eward of honesty and faithful
service and loyalty. One might well hesi-
tate on the threshold to take rcspunsihiii-
ties, the result of which shall he COM
pared with the record that l. past, but as
! look over the names of the newly elect
ed State officers, ant Of the Senate and
House of Representatives who shall bear
with me the burden of this administra-
ton, | am encouraged to believe that the
outcome will he crcditable alike to the
Legislature of 1898, and the State.
| am somewhat uncertain under the pro-
visions of the constitution, ana the prlc-
ticc of those who have preceded me, pre-
cisely what is my duty in the way of Il
message. The able and exhaustive dis
CussiOn by the outa1 ing governor Of the
various subjects of State government has
left little to be said on these topics. ! am
happy to concur in many of his recon-
mendations so far as they relate to the
State institutions and to ask you TO give
such the most careful consideration. |
am happy to speak, too, from "A personal
though necessarily hurried, examination
of the various State institutions Il few
weeks since. and of some of those rccciv-
ing State aid and TO say the state has
reason to be CONGRATULATED, There was in
almost every institution visited, evidence
of careful. watchful supervision by
State trustees and economical, prudent
management by the officers and employees.
1 saw no evidence of extravaganza or
waste Of money either in the
structures themselves or in their
operation so far at least as APP
peared from superficial examination.
, the various reports by the State Office rs,
= the trustees and superintendent Of the
other various institutions are before you
and ought to receive careful examination
and consideration. Their recommended
, tons are, in my judgment, in the main
conservative and hould have the benefit
of your intelligent judgment and possibly
your approval, | leave the topics there
fore already treated by the outgoing gov
eInor and by the State officers and trus.
tees and supcrintendents and bring to
your attention certain new matters which
seem also to merit especial consideration
at this session.
The first of two important subjects is q
means of increasing the revenue of the
State. There are two ways by which this
might be accomplished, either to decrease
the expenses. or to increase the income
In either way, the net revenue available
will be increased. As already stated,
have not yet had time or opportunity tC
go into the detail of operation Of the vari-
Gus State institutions nor the cost of the
State government sufficiently to feel com
petent to advise on this subject; later
propose TO do SO and possibly may haze
something to shy, but, speaking generally
i do not believe the expenses of the State