Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1900-04-06

q
lawyers and interested parties. | believe
will look with disfavor upon the raid which
mas been started against Newfape with the
purpose Of changing the shire of the county
10 Brattieboro. The question was thor.
oughly tried before the legislature only
eight years ago under circumstances more
favorable for the success of the project
than are likely to occur again for an in
dennite number of years. II is doubtful
II any serious attempt will now be made to
make the change for which, as before, only
lew lawyers, unsupported by the people
are calling. II the matter gets as far as
the notice Of application to the legislature
1t may result in nothing more. Many
years ago, before there was a railroad
through Newfane and the central part of
the county, notice of application to
change the shire to Brattleboro was given,
but on the meeting Of the legislature the
Wlndham county representatives were
found to be so nearly unanimous against
1t that it was dropped without the intro
duction Of a bill.
In 1892 a scheme for removing the
county buildings from Newfane to Brattle-
boro, was planned by some of the Lawyers
Of Brattleboro, and notably one from Bel
lows Falls, Judge Lavant NJ. Read. In the
legislature of that year was Judge Read
from Rockingham, and Hon. J. L. Martin
from BrattlebOro in the house, and Hon.
h. Haskins of Brattleboro in the senate.
When united with their court friends from
other counties, the influence Of these three
was but little short of supreme. And
these were the three lawyers that advocat-
ed before the legislature the removal of the
county buildings TO Brattleboro. Never
again will that side be so strongly repre-
ssnted there. And what was the result ?
Only the two lawyers and one other in
favor. Only three votes out of %
from Windham county. No ballot was
called for on the final vote in the house.
and the defeat of the bill was substantially
unanimous. The project was so completely
killed that even the tender hearted man
from Bellows Falls. who had been com
PEELED 10 witness, here in Newfane, bar.
barities worse than anything described in
Remnants Russia, found it prudent to sui
fer a few years in silence, but he has found
his tongue again, and is followed (or pos
sibly led by a precociously successful sprig
of the Law.
| have been somewhat intimately &C
quainted with the early history of nearly
all the leading lawyers Of this county. 1t
is an honor to them rather than a disgr ace,
that they have, without, believe, a single
exception. been accustomed to as plain OF
palmer ways Of living than prevail gener-
ally among the people of Newfane village.
They were all from small towns. But il
the President of the United States should
visit Newfane, as one who has held that
| office has frequently done, it would hardly
become him 10 assume quite so much as
has been seen here in few others. II is
hardly becoming for any lawyer OF tender
age or older 10 assume that he suffers IN
bearable hardship in being obliged to ac-
cept for a few days the best that Newfane
affords. The old bar of Windham county
never thought of giving such a reason for
moving to Brattleboro. Before the present
system for the assignment Of judges went
into effect Judge Barrett of Woodstock
held court here for many years. Ht
boarded in plain private family, and al.
ways spoke Of his situation as a very pleas.
ant one. he was one of the creates
/ judges that ever sat in a Vermont court
When presiding as judge he was complete
master of the situation. He always sait
| that Newfane, rather than BrattlebOro, wa:
the place for the county court Judge Bar
| rett occurred to me in contrast with this
/ W. udl - a. lOAlA a. want " eAauu u
| here at the March term" Or this: "If
| ever get out of this place I'll never com,
| back here again. I'll be ID if I'll stay
where the temperature varies from 40 to q
| degrees" Whether this referred to thu
! temperature of the railroad station, wher,
| it was said. or the court house, hotel of
fee or private room, does not appear. o
a somewhat conflicting nature is the state
ment of Judge MunsOn, who is said Il
| have spoken in high praise of his fare a
| the County house. Others speak equally
| well of the rooms and entertainment fur
nished at Burke's. Besides there are mic,
! private houses, some of them with all mod
ern convenences, furnace-heated rooms
hot and cold water, etc, open TO cour
| boaIders.
! have seen one newspaper article onl,
that has the ear marks of being dictated
from the same source as one in the Bur
lington Free Press in 1892. The count,
papers have generally treated the question
with fairness. In 1892 a Burlington law
yer visited court al NewfAne, and wrot,
| home to the Free Press, that the Windhau
county court house was the poorest anC
most Anticipated concern in use anvwher
in the state. II was an old meeting house
| he said, moved down from Newfane Hill
and made into a court house with very lit
tie alteration; the judge sat in the ole
pulpit, the lawyers at board tables, an(
the spectators in the singers gallery, etc.
etc. This statement was evidently design
ed to circulate in the north part of tn
state to prepare the case to be brought be
fore the legislature. The legal ability dis
played by such a story might have had
walk over in the legislature had it beel
permitted TO tell its own tales.
1t is claimed that the conditions hav
changed since this project was so over
whelmingly defeated eight years ago. Yer.
little. But the change is mostly favorable
20 Newfane rather than BrattlebOro. Blu
| ought not TO say BTattleboro, for tn
people of Brattleboro do not ask for ne'
county buildings TO be erected there. 1
large number of the substantial business an
professional men of Brattleboro signed
remonstrance against it in 1892, and would
doubtless, sign another, should there b
any occasion. But there will probably b
none. This talk is mostly started by tw
or three ambitious young sprigs, with
few older lawyers looking on with az
proval.
The cost Of enforcing just claim, or G
defending against an unjust one in tn
comfy court is already excessive. Wit
extensive county buildings located i
Brattleboru, the cost would inevitably b
largely increased.
Il