The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1902-12-10
Is 1T FAIR ?

Editor Daily journal Will the
referendum vote on January 6, next,
give time for thorough discussion
and mature deliberation by the peo-
pie, as solemnly declared in the Re-
publican platform Of last JuneY
Changing the whole principle of the
liquor law, and with columns of de-
tails concerning the law, can the peo-
pie vote intelligently in only few
weeks on q matter that has taken
, months to formulateP If not, why
not? Why is this early date demand
ed? Is it because the circumstances
at that time will be less favorable to
the country towns for reaching the
polls. This inference is certainly
| legitimate. Is there fear of the
country vote by the advocates of high
license? Do the politicians of our
cities and larger towns know that the
country vote is cleaner and more NOR
: al, and because of it do they wish
to prevent its expression on this refer
endum If they do not know this we
can inform them that it is thought to
be true by the facts of history and the
Judgment of wise statesmen Emer-
son says, The city is recruited from
the country. The city would have
died out, rotted and exploded long
ago, but that it was reinforced from
the fields. 1t is only country come
to town day before yesterday, that is
: city court tomorrow. 1t is scien-
tific fact, acknowledged by all sociolo
gists, That only the agricultural
classes possess permanent vitality 4;
from its overflow the city population
is formed, displaced, renewed. "
Any city population, if left to itself,
would die out in four generations. -
The city is an inland lake, fed by con-
slant streams, but without an outlet.
This stream of humanity becomes
more and more polluted as it flows to
the centers of population, just as pure
waters from the mountain sides be-
come less vital and more fetid as they
near some dead sea.
President Roosevelt said in an adj
dress on The Menaces of Civiliza-
ton: In an attempt to reform the
cities by law, nine-tenths of the city
members would be hostile to it. The
only hope of reform lies in the action
of the country members. The aver
age grade of our politicians is a seri-
GUS menace to good government. Four
fifths of the representatives at Albany
from Greater New York can be de.
pended upon to vote on the wrong side
of every question. Has the day
, come of which Wendell Phillips proph
esied, when he said that our great
er municipalities would yet strain GU
institutions as slavery never did?
We want full vote from the greer
hills of Vermont. If we are to hav,
high license we want the will of al
the people behind it. 1t is only fai
! to give the little towns an equa
chance to express their will upon tn
question at issue. A little town,
voice from the hills is God S metho,
of keeping the larger towns and cite
from rotting in less than four gener
ations. The question seems to be
Will the sewage of the cities floy
backwards into the country, or shall
the mountain streams flow down t.
cleanse and purify municipal conges
ton and corruption? At least, Their
should be no attempt to prevent thi
, latter by insisting that the vote 70
? the referendum be taken in less tina
= six weeks, and at time when chill
knows that full vote of the rura
, towns cannot be had.
l J. X Fuller,
9 Windsor, VT, Dec. l., 1902.