St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1904-04-13

clearness and force the Russian case as
| regards the occupation of Manchuria.
There is also an interesting digest, of
Russian opinion on American .smeddling"
| in the far East. as voiced in the most
influential Russian journals. This is
followed by discriminating article on
What the People Read in Russia"
Woman Suffrage at School Meeting.
| A Lyndon correspondent of the Burling-
| ton Free Press, who signs the communi-
cation ''W. c. c." writes that paper
about the working of woman suffrage at
recent school meeting in that incorpo-
rated district. After describing the con-
ditions that existed, the correspondent
puts up strong argument for woman
suffrage which many of our readers will
be interested in. The correspondent says:
At the school meeting about IS women
voted, and cast one-third of the votes.
| The meeting was very orderly; one man
| said it was the most orderly election he
had attended in 20 years. There was no
| smoking, and hardly visible trace Of i'll
feeling. Remarks were addressed to
ladies and gentlemen" The moderator
requested the voters to go up to the
ballot box in alphabetical order. Wives
| went with their husbands. Women who
| have no husbands braced up and went
alone. The women voters were of all
+ ages, from the young maiden to the
| grandmother. Where the husband was
candidate, it is probable that the wife
voted for him. The result of the ballots
was small majority in favor of the
party which made the movement for
| change. One new committee man was
| elected. There is no danger OF dead
| lock in the committee this year, and it is
fully expected that the management of
| the school will be satisfactory. The
| women like to vote so well that others
| intend to be listed this year.
The women of Lyndon have demon
| strated their ability to exercise the suff-
| rage in dignifed and intelligent manner.
| Why may not similar thing be done in
other towns, if school affairs need a
shaking up? The laws of Vermont give
| women the right to vote on school mat
tiers. Women who wish to exercise this
right should be listed in April.
Another question occurs here. Why
| should woman suffrage be limited to
school matters? If the present local
| option law must be restrained, as it's
friends confidently affirm, it would be
very proper for the next legislature to
give tax-paying women the right to vote
on the local question of license or no
| license. 1t is often said that the grant
ing of licenses in town affects the value
OF real estate. If that is true, then it is
| fair that women who hold property
should have voice in the matter. And
surely all women are as vitality concerned
1 in the existence of the saloons where
| their husbands or lovers may learn to
drink, as in the character of the schools
! where their children learn to read and
spell.
A Plea for Reciprocity.
A st. j ohnsbury Manufacturer Urges a
| Free Exchange of Natural Products
with Canada.
Henry Fairbanks of st. Johnsbury,
vice-president of E. st. Fairbanks & Co.
and one of the vice-presidents of the
Home Market Club, has strong arti-
Gle in the Protectionist for April on recip-
in the doctrine of protection, but does
not hold the extreme views that some of
the leaders of the Home Market Club
still cling to, and like many other New
England manufacturers, believes in
reciprocity with our northern neighbor.
Thetext of Mr.. Fairbanks article follows:
'Will the Protectionist admit discus
sion of some side issues bearing upon the
question of reciprocity. especially with
Canada? Iwrite as republican, accept
ing and endorsing fully the position out
lined in. the admirable address of Secre-
tary Root before the Home Market Club
last April, and in absolute consistency
with this I believe in a reciprocity which
is not movement toward free trade,
but preventative and an antidote for
it. And while I am interested in such
reciprocity because I believe that it must
tend to secure a large increase of our
export business, am even more inter
ested because it offers a means of reliev-
ing by administrative methods the grow
ing demand for tariff revision, which II
yielded to would throw business into
chaos, and endanger our whole system
of protection. It seems to me not wise
to screw down the safety valve or sit
upon it. Some proper treaty arrange
ments, either by specific agreements with
individual nations, or by system OF
maximum and minimum rates offered
to all that will concede most favora-
BILE rates to Us would not disturb
general business, and would secure
in a better way all or nearly all
that is desired by those protec-
tionists who believe that revision is
needed. Just now Germany is discussing
a continental zollverein, England is
swinging away from free trade, not fol-
the sake of protecting her home market
h1o,1 1o