Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1904-02-12
CLEMENTS FIRST GUN
Good Roads and State Finances
on His Banner This Year
Points Out the Need Of Reforms Before an
Audience at Windsor and Then Saws
"It's Our Own Fault"

Points Out the Need Of Reforms Before an
Audience at Windsor and Then Saws
"it's Our own Fault"
Percival w. Clement of Rutland who
spoke by request at Windsor Friday eve
ming on the subjects of Good Roads" and
state Finances" said that IL was nom
sense TO talk about a greater Vermont
Vermont can never be any greater ne
said but 1t can and ought to be made
very much better as n place of residence
In the past 30 years our population has
increased only about $4,000, and that
mostly within the last 10 years He said
the one thing needed at this time was
better facilities for communication and
transportation. The two main lines Of
railroad on the east and west sides of the
mountains give good facilities of that
kind and cost of transportation for freight
and passengers has been steadily reduced
but wagon roads have stayed still for 100
years He continued as follows:
Now IL man in Bennington wants to
go to Brattleboro or Bellows Falls the
easiest way for him is to go down into
the state OF Massachusetts. go around by
Greenfield and come up the Connecticut
river valley. 1t is practically days trip
II there We're good macadamized road
kept in good condition every dav of the
year man would take that trip of 40
miles with a good pair of horses in four
hours, or with an automobile, which is
the coming means of transportation
through the country. in less than two
hours, and think what such road as
that would mean to all the farmers and
manufacturers and all people living on
the line of it.
I estimate that it will cost $4,000 a mile
to build thoroughly good macadamized
highway 16 feet wide and when thor
oughy built such road requires the min
imum of expense for maintenance Each
road then, should we build across the
state, will cost approximately a quarter
of a million of dollars Now You all will
say, ~ hats all right. that's all well. but
where are you going to get the money!"
Well l will show you
l have been looking over the auditors
reports of the state of Vermont and |
find that so years ago, that's in 1870 or
1871. it cost to operate this state $3.50, OO0:
in 1851 it cost s3O3 600 in 1891 $45l 900 4:
in 1901. $685., 600, an increase in that period
of $345,000 a year for running expenses.
or more than 125 per cent.
Now good many of you can remember
conditions in 1S70-1S71. What have we
got now in the state of Vermont moro
than we had then? What are We spend
ing this money for? Where does the
$345.0O0 that it required in 1891 more than
it required in 1871 to run the state Of Yer
mont, where does it go to? y careful
analysis of the expenses shows that the
expense of the executive department has
remained about the same. In 1871 il was
$1,000, in 1891 it was $1,000 The eX-
pense of the legislature has remained
practically The same-S55 600 in 1871. Sol
900 in 1891; but the expense Of the courts
during that period has increased ire
mendously. In 1871 the net court ex-
penses were $4,000; in 1851 they were
only $1,000; In 1891 they were Sl34 600
and in 1901 Sl75, 900, Krom the period of
1881 to 1891 there Is an increase of more
than S1OO 0O0 in the expense of justice in
this state; but We are told that litigation
has not increased. Certainly the popula =
ton remains about the same. In 1881 il
was 1872, 900; in 1901 3i5, 000-only an in
crease of about II 900. Why this tremen-
dous increase in the expense Of operating
courts then? 1t can be charged only to
one thing--the cost of prosecutions for
violation of law. The most of these pros
ecutions We're against violators of the pro-
hibitory law We had the prohibitory law
in 1881 and we had ii in 1901; but in 1881
apparently the prosecutors had not aVak-
ened to the possibilities of making money
out of prohibition. With the law repealed
We shall make a great saving in the ex-
pense of operating the courts. The ex-
perse of conducting penal institutions
during this period has remained about
the same-there being an increase Of only
about O.0OO or $12 600
Ii a proper accounting and auditing
were kept of the money received by the
state and paid ont, and If the business of
the state was transacted along the same
lines that any successful corporation fol-
lows we could certainly save enough each
year from our present running expense
To build so miles of macadamiZed road
In five years we would have five Of such
roads running across our mountain range
from the Canada line to Massachusetts
and it would not really have cost us any
thing.
You may say: What has the state OF
Vermont been doing all these years to al
low such an increase in state expenses?
Well. my answer is that it is nobody 5
fault but our own. Every two years we
attend a state convention and nominate
state officers There has been. except
two years ago, no particular platform up
on which a campaign for state officers
has been based; moreover the time hao
come around when We needed some new
men and we have assembled and nomi-
mated them Once in a while the con-
Vention will pass a resolution advocating
economy in state expenses and then aftel
the summer campaign we have taken ina
old resolution and hung it up behind th'
door 10 serve for the next convention. We
would have our electors send a lot Of new
green men up to Montpelier, men usual!
who had no experience in legislation
charged with no duty in particular, eN'
cept to go up there and draw So day
and lave as good a time as they can. anC
We ought not to complain if the state eX-
penses have increased under those con
ditions 1875 per cent. with little or no APP
parent benefit to the state. 1t s our owl
fault