Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1904-08-19

the Rear Of the Procession of States
I he Sorry Tale the Official Figures
Tell
In 1852 the net expenses
OF Nermont's state govern
ment, as shown by Treasur.
er Bacon's special report
four years ago, were S2oo,-'l'f
Governor Barstow in his
message that year, as Coy
ernor Proctor had done in
1878, pointed cut how these
expenses had unreasonably
grown since the years fol.
lowing the Civil War, and
urged reform and reduction.
which the Republican party
solmenly promised in its
platform. How it kept its
promise appeared in 1887,
when the expenses, accord
ing to the same report OF
Treasurer Bacon had
grown to S4Z9,ooA.Ou
Still the Republican plat
forms promised reduction
and economy but still the
expenses continued to grow a<o 40
and in 1892 had become S4o4, ooo.uU
Still the people of the
state continued to trust
! Republican promises and as
a result found the yearly
expenses, at the end of the
n Iss1, f to By pf''Ou' S6O2,552.l4
Then came the era when
the Republican party felt safe
I from opposition, and though
still regularly repeating its
promises OF economy still
kept swelling expenditures
until in 1903 they reached
1921 COL "a, and after de-
Quoting every dime of in
come from state institu-
tions, or that was not in
the nature OF taxes
s sss, net n ,tpse sz- S738,368.05
The peoples money had
been thrown away almost in
proportion as the people
have increased Republican
maiorities.
In 1892 the valuation of the state was
sl40.334 y069 and the population census
of lss0l 332,2s6. In 1908 the valuation
wa. 1896 ,0747l0 and the population
census OF l900) 343,64l.
Increase in population IL per cent
Increase in property l-Z per cent
Increase in expenditures 2S9 per cent
No other state in the union makes SO
had showing. Maine, with her pro-
hibition and her next largest and steadi-
est Republican majority, comes next to
II. But Names increase of population
In the same period was l-2 per cent, or,
over twice as great as ours, and her IN
crease in taxable property 40 per cent,
or over four and one-half times ours,
though her bloating of state expenses,
fyou the same disease of Republican
misrule. was about the same as ours.
Yet this grand LITTLE state, where
comes such sorry showing from Repub-
lican policies and Republican legislation
and administration. was in the first
quarter of the last century, under the
Democratic Governors Galusha, Butler
and Van Ness. the FL Dorado of the
union. developing faster, proportion
ally. in population, wealth and resources
than any other.
She was then what Nature and Ma
lures God intended her to be, and what
she will be again when blessed with
Democratic ideas and Democratic
methods, with her peculiarly good and
ouick renewing soil. whose products are
syerywhsre recognized as the choicest
IN the markets, her pure air and water,
that not only give such advantage IN
lnr ba wifi
of America" in delightfulness OF resi-,
dsnce. her vast resources in mine ana
quarry and timber-land and the we'll
nigh limitless power afforded by her
mountain-side streams. Il
Some shallow pates in the class OF
politician economists - not political
economists-have sought to explain this
condition of things by the fact that Yer
mont is without seaport. The truth is
that the states wonderful development
under Democratic rule was in times
when ocean commerce was large ele-
ment in the nations prosperity. The de-
cline-as il may fairly be called, in COM
harrison with other states-has come in
the era of neglect of ocean commerce and
direction of American energies to inter-
nal development. In the former era
Vermont prospered greatly in spite OF
the disadvantage Of lack of seaports
from which ether states profited. In the
latter era she has Jagged far to the rear
of the procession among the states in the
kind Of development for which she was
bv nature fitted best of all.
How far she has Jagged the census
shows. In The 20 years from 1850 to
1900. while her wealth increased only
lll-a per cent-or but small fraction
os what sin pie interest should have
.dded to the capital with which she
started-the wealth of the nation as a
whole has ct ,wn, in round numbers from
s44 600. 900. 900 to S95,000 100000, or lis
per cent or II 10 times faster than
Vermont.
Others of these shallow pates say the
trouble has been the rapid development
Of the West and the drain of our popu-
Iation and energy to it. Undeniably this
has been large factor: but so 1t has
In the other New England states whose
nropress has been several times greater
than ours.
The simple and the whole truth is
and there Is no escaping it-that it is
man. folly that has so sadly married
what Mature intended for Vermont,
and that folly has expressed itself in the
tremendous Republican malorlties that