Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1902-08-08
HOT SHOT FOR CLEMENT.
Charges Against Him Similar to
Those He Makes Against McCuI-
loueh--speeches at Rally Wednes-
day Evening.

day Evening.
Boiling Candidate Perclval w. Clement
was handled without gloves at the Re
publican rally at the Auditorium Wednes-
day evening. The issues which he has
raised were punctured by two bright
young lawyers, c. G. Fits of Brattleboro
and f. c. Archibald of Manchester. If
Mr.. Clement wishes to discuss state is
sues he ought to meet Mr. Fits, for in
stance, in joint debate, and he can have
the opportunity If he will only set the
date.
Although rain fell throughout the day,
a large audience was present, much
larger than the one which greeted Mr..
Clement when he was here last week.
The First Regiment band gave a concert
from the town hall balcony from 1880
to O'Clock, and opened the program with
| selection on the stage. c. II. Thomp-
son and l.. w. Hawely of the Republican
town committee were seated on the stage
with the speakers of the evening.
Mr.. Thompson introduced Mr. Fits,
who was the first speaker Mr.. Fits ex-
posed the faults of the high license bill
which Mr.. Clement introduced into the
legislature in 1900, and showed that such
document would never be endorsed by
the people. The Republican party has
! pledged itself to pass a true license bill
to be submitted to the people, and can be
| trusted to meet the question fairly and in
| good faith and to pass the best bill that
can be framed, said Mr.. Fits.
Some of the fallacies of the arguments
/ regarding the increase in state expenses
were also exposed. At one point Mr..
! Fits said: But there is one trouble
about the state tax business. 1t is too
| high. The Republican party has long
been pledged to see that the corporations
pay fair share of the taxes. Railroad,
! telephone, telegraph and express prop
| erty is not taxed in the communities
where II is used. The value of the Rut-
| land railroad. at the price for which Mr..
| Clement sold IL to DIR. Webb last winter,
is $145O0,0O0. The average rate OF tax
alton throughout the towns through
| which 1t runs is $3.50 on the dollar, so the
annual tax on the railroad. If it were
taxed as property in these towns is tax
ed. would be S217.500. Last year the
taxes Of the road were So. 200
THE Republican party in the legisla-
ture Of 1900 voted to increase the taxes on
| corporations to keep pace with the in
creased taxes throughout the stsate. A
! bill was passed by the House increasing
the rate on railroads from 2la per cent. TO
| 3is per cent. OF the gross earnings 1t was
| referred to the committee on finance, of
which Percival w. Clement was chair
man. He held the bill until the morning
| of the last day of the session and
| then reported adversely, because, as
| he said, there was money enough
| on the afternoon of the same day
he reported 10 the Senate bill to
! lay a tax of 10 cents on the dollar on the
| individual taxpayers of the state a bill
to raise more than 5000 for the state
| treasury. If there was money enough in
the treasury why did he do that? 1t
cost Brattleboro $500 but the Rutland
railroad was saved from any increase.
1T is understood that the Clement fam
| lily own 81 per cent of the stock in the
Rutland road. IL the bill to increase
corporation taxes had been passed 1t
would have cost the Rutland railroad
| $500 more in the past two years. But
1t was defeated and the Clement family
| saved $4,000 by Percivals little coup, and
| Clement rides in the palace car Grand
| Isle, and has coon quartet, and hires a
brass band, and is conducting cam
paign for reform in Vermont. and claims
| state taxes ought to be reduced by put
| ting the poor Insane paupers back into
the poor houses.
Mr.. Fits spoke effectively and with
| sincerity and his telling points were re-
ceived with hearty applause. He was
succeeded by Mr.. Archibald. who also
had the audience with him from first to
| last
| Mr.. Archibald took up the subject of
| bribery and turned the tables completely
upon Mr.. Clement. Mr. Clement went
into the convention hoping TO be nomi-
! mated, and was willing to take the nom
! ination, although he knew, IL his claims
were true, that the convention was made
/ up of party of corruptionlsts. Mr..
Archibald touched upon the aid which
Mr.. Clement received from Democratic
votes, and spoke particularly of the case
In Brandon where two men who voted for
Clement In the Republican caucus after
ward signed the call for the Democratic
| caucus. Some of the absurdities in the
! much-vaunted Beatty incident were also
refuted. He challenged Mr. Clement to
show that state money had gone into the
! pockets of the machine, and showed that
the state auditor and the state treasurer
were the only men who could possibly
profit through handling the state funds.
! He made a good point by asking where
! corruption ended and purity began since
| Mr.. Clement, after securing the nominal
ton of himself as governor and Mr..
Agan as lieutenant governor, endorsed
the regular Republican ticket, includ-
! ing the men to whom money is entrusted.
Mr.. Archibald read signed affidavits of
| L. IL. Mcbride and L. Dupee of Bristol
who swore that the affidavits printed in
the Rutland Herald, showing that they
| sold their votes for Mccullough were
false and were procured through mis-
| representation. He also read the affida-
| Wit of Henry Leach of Westfield in Or
leans county, who said that two men,
acting in the interest of Mr. Clement
| oHered MIN $40 in cash IL he would give
an affidavit to the effect that he had re-
ceived money from persons interested in
the campaign of Fletcher ID. Proctor or
John G. Mccullough. Mr.. Leach said
| that all the men seemed to care for was
| TO procure the affidavit without regard
to whether it would be true or false
| The affidavit of c.. c. Brooks of Bristol
| showed that w. II. Ridley, president of
| the Bristol license and local option club,
/ and now president of the Bristol Clement
club, paid the said Brooks 81 for his vote.
as Brooks understood. and that Ridley
| also employed him to procure the state
ments previously referred TO from Dupee
and Mcbride, and Brooks further added
| that these statements were secured
through fraudulent representations which
he made.
Senator Dillingham; discussed national
issues at some length, and also showed
| the falsity of Clements claim that the
value of farm property declined between
1880 and 1900. In closing he made an
| eloquent plea for the Republicans to
stand by their party to give Gen. Nc
Cullough as large a majority as his pre-
| decessors had had lest the confidence of
| those who are looking TO Vermont be
weakened and the national Congress be
endangered.
| Mustaches are not worn by men ex-
posed to the severity of an Alaskan win
ter. They wear full boards TO protect
| the throat and face, but keep the upper
| lip clean shaver. The moisture from the
| breath cOnPealS u1licllv that rn,ts