Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-04-23
WHAT OUR NEIGHBORS SAY.
The "Mountain Rule" in Connection
with the Question OF the Governorshi p.
CFrom the Randolph Ierald.)

Two unwrtten rules or customs have
governed in Vermont for some time with
regard to the selection of gubernatorial
candidate by the Republican party. These
are the mountain rule" and the mon
promotion rule" The former is much the
older. the latter having been tacitly
adopted and observed since L. A. Wood
bury. then ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. was de-
featcd in 1880 by Carroll s. Page. We are
rot certain when the mountain rule came
into vogue, but it must have been many
years ago, since the governorship has
SWING back and forth, from one side of
the state to the other, as long as we can
remember.
a good deal of consideration has been
given in years past and is now being di-
rected to the wisdom or unwislom OF
these two rules, particularly the noun
tain rule 1t is held by some to be a
ridiculous limitation, without sufficient
basis in justice to warrant its continue
ancc. Lot us pick out the best nan for
governor, wherever he lives, and elect
him. they say. And the larger the field
of choice the more likelihood there is Of
securing strong man.
These are good points. not to be lightly
considered. Nobody will contend that IA
weak man should be chosen from the
East side when a strong man is available
from the West side merely because ii i.
the East sides turn" Vermont wants
and needs good, strong MEN always for
governors. But the situation generally,
We may say invariably, is that neither side
of the State has even a temporary monop-
oily of all the men who are good enough
and strong enough to serve the State
crcditably as chief executive. Nor does
any one man tower SO high above his
fellows. even on his own side, as not to
have plenty Of opposition from those who
believe another or others to hc better
qualified and better entitled to the Office
There are at least one hundred men in
Vermont to-day who would wear the
Gubernatorial toga without a single sag
in the garment-mcn as capable as the
average governor of the past 20 years
and If n hundred mon were to name in
secret the one best qualified. it's a fair
guess that no 10 of them would agree
Were they to thus ndme the man with
out any regard to the mountain rule. not
more than a small majority would be
found to have selected their candidates
from one side of the state. That's the
| situation, gentlemen, and out Of il has
grown the mountain rule "a rule of eX-
pcdiency, pure and simple. not to be oh
| served when there is good reason for
| non observance, but serving the purpose
of securing a fair and equahe division
| of the governors term among the many
| good men available.
Rules like this arc common in all States.
| They are common in all counties and
| towns in the filling of offices. Sometime
| they work poorly and sometimes it is
well to disregard them. but they are based
| on pretty good common sense after all
the theory that one patch Of earth is
about as likely to produce good men an
| other, and that If this Is so it ought to
be fairly treated in the matter Of office
| Vermont has chosen its two United States
senators in due observance of the noun
| tain rule so long that many people think
| ma q
never sent weak man to the Senate in
! consequence, or chosen one manifestly the
| inferior OF some other We do not re-
| elect our governors, and there Is every
incentive for strong man to continue In
| his good works with the prospect that
in due time the claims of his locality
will bring him TO the front.
| AS to the non-promotion rule, II does
not seem to be well founded. Its tendency
Is Ia draw small men to the lieutenant
govcrnorship-a really important Office
| and to bury them there If the State gets
a strong man, 1t is generally at the sac
| rifice OF his political future. Thus it
works poorly both ways. There is no
reason why a strong man who has served
| well as lieutenant governor should not
aspire to the higher seat, but rather
plenty of reason why he should. The nom
promotion rule grew out of the protest
raised against the promotion rule, the I'M
iustihable practice of showing up lieuten-
ant-governors. whatever their calibre,
simply because they had managed to
squeeze into line two years before.
There is one comforting thought about
these rules-whencver their III effect is
seen they can be abolishd and no harm
done
GENUINE NEW VERMONT
(From the st. Johnsbury Republican,
Woodstock Is to have improved fire pro-
lection and a $40 900 school building. This
is the new Vermont" of the right sort.
SENATOR DILLINGHAM; APPOINT
MENT.
(F'rom the Barre Times)
Senator Dilingham's appointment as
chairman of the subcommittee ON terrific.
RES to investigate the condition and re-
sources OF Alaska is a deserved recogni-
ton of Nermont's junior senator. The
senator's capabilities are well known in
Vermont and 1t Is evident from this most