Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1902-08-27
10000 PEOPLE HERE
Gathered At The Granite City Trotting
Park To Listen To P. w. Clement
And Sam Small

went to the state con VentiOn.
From that moment the issue chang.
ed from l)cal option to question CT
whether we shall live in Vermont and
| protect it from corruption or whether
we Shall eventually have it pulled
down about our ears.
In order to perpetuate the govern
n.ent we must keep it clean. The
man who buys a vote is traitor.
When we undertook to expose these
methods OF corruption at the Mont
Jelier convention we were driven out,
am party man and republican,
but, tell me. is it necessary that in
order to be that l must support a
man who buys nomination with
money?
The little ballot is priceless trea.
sure and we should guard it against
every assault. This great issue sover-
shadows that Of local option or prohi-
bition, it is whether it shall be a gov
ernment by the people or whether it
shall be overthrown by corruption.
They say am bolter and glory in
the name. 1t means that l the same
as every other local option man have
turned my back upon the man who
got his nomination by bribery. 1t
does not mean that have broken faith
with any party principle.
Mr.. Clement made plain straight
forward statement regarding the way
in which the referendum has been re-
pudiated by large portion OF the Nc
Cullough party. He showed up the
matter Of state finances and the poor
management Of the ring, how under a
lice nSe law there need be no state tax
and how the state expenses have
increased under ring rule in a most
ridiculous manner during the past
20 years.
1.-The Rev. Sam Small OF Georgia
was introduced after Mr.. Clement
had finished and he raked the
prohibitory law fore and aft. Most
of his argument was something that
everybody knows. He merely put it
into words.
I He said in part: 81 owe it as a
duty to myself and to you to be pre-
sent here tonight and make an eXpla
nation to you concerning the news
paper reports or my appearance at
Brattleboro last night. | have been
tor several days fighting off serious
attack OF illness. Yesterday l drove
from Putney to Brattleboro in the rain
When | arrived at my destination |
was near collapse. At the suggest
ion OF a friend | took stimalent.
1t was more than l could bear, and
hence the misfortune, 1t will make
no difference to this great cause what
one nan did. The cause will 90 on
in spite OF these personalities | ex-
peel the opposition newspapers 10
make use of such things. 1t is pro-
badly asking to much to expect them
to find grain Of charity for an un-
fortunate man. 1t will be the lastop
portunity for anybody to make such a
reference about Sam Small. l am
still alive.
He then went on with his very ef-
fectlve argument against the prohib-
itory law. He said that Vermont is
known throughout the country as a
prohibition state and yet from Maine
to California the people all know when
the wind blows their way that there
is no prohibition here. The prohibit
orv statute has been amended l54
times since it was first passed and
every time it has been made worse,
until today it won't hold water or
LIQUOR either. 1t affords shelter and
! refuge for free rum. 1t makes per.
urers Of the people and OF the law
machine, in the hands of officials who
are doing everything for themselves
and nothing for you. In the pronibl-
tion state Of Georgia there were 1924