The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1900-04-04
The Senatorial Question.

On this question Hon. G. A. Prouty
addresses some considerations to the
attention of the voters of Orleans
county. They are of general interest
and the subjoined extracts from Mr..
Prouty's presentation of his case are
made. In the opening paragraph he
says:
In the contest over the United States
senatorship. the three newspapers OF this
county all support General Grout 1 have
no money to establish one which will sup
port me and am therefore obliged to resort
to some other method of presenting my
claims to the people, Nor am sorry that
this is SO. Without presuming to criticise
the course of any other candidate, it accords
better with my feelings to say over my own
signature whatever I have to say upon this
subject than it would to hire one or more
newspapers to say it impersonally for me.
The question at issue in this section is
whether the voters of Orleans county
should support General Grout or myself
for that place. I claim that, other things
being equal, they should support me rather
than him for the reason that am and al
ways have been a resident of this county
while he has not been for several years and
is not now such resident, except for the
purpose of casting his own vote and obtain
ing the votes of other people.
Mr.. Prouty enlarges upon this matter
of residence, and treats it with his own
peculiar force and incisiveness. He
continues:
Gen. Grout was first elected to Congress
because he wanted to be. He has been
sent there ever since for the same reason
There has been no time when he would not
probably have given all he possessed to
stay there. 1t sometimes happens that
members Of Congress find themselves at
the end of long service without pecuniary
means. Such is not the case with Gen.
Circuit, for he has grown rich in the mean
time. 1t is said that he has been faithful
servant. Undoubtedly he has; but no more
faithful than he ought to have been and no
more faithful than many others who might
have been selected from the district would
have been. Putting everything together,
the suffrages Of his constituents have en-
abled him for eighteen years to live that
life, which above all others, he has desired
to live, and at the end of it he finds him
self in comparative affiuence. Is the fact
that he has been thus favored in the past a
reason Of itself why he should continue to
be more favored in the future, or is it a rea-
son why he should step back and allow the
same favor to be extended to somebody
else2
He has been remarkably we'll treated
Scarcely representative in Congress from
all the broad domain of the United States
has been as we'll treated, although in hund
reds Of instances those Representatives
have conferred infinitely greater benefit
and distinction upon their constituents
Looking at this merely in the spirit oil
equity, ought he not to stand aside? Il
there any decency in saying that this place
"belongs" to him? II the rule for which
he contends Is to obtain, what prospect OF
encouragement have the young men OF Yer
month
But the question here is not what is fair
1t is not what Gen. Grout wants, nor wha
l want, nor what any other candidat,
wants. 1t is, or ought to be, what Ia fo
the best interests Of the State of Vermont
If Gen. Grout, as result of his long con
gressional service, mas acquired such ma
tional distinction and such fitness for tn,
place that 1t is for the interest of Vernon
TO put him there, then, and for that reaso,
and no other reason, he should be pu
there 1 undertake to say that his servic,
in the House not only fails to demonstrat
that he is suitable man, but ON the con
trary conclusively demonstrates that he 1
not the man whom Vermont should selec
at this juncture.
The position of member of Congress II
either branch depends more upon mer
length of service than upon any other on
factor. The most brilliant man withou