St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1904-11-09

up by the member from Peru and made
special order for this week. The salary
bills, as whole, will not be popular.
For Higher Education
There was considerable debate in the
house on the bill providing higher educa-
ton for advanced pupils in every town
in the state. It appears that 81 per
cent of such pupils now have this higher
education within convenient reach, and
the object of the bill is to take care of the
other SO per cent. An attempt was
made TO amend the bill so as to leave the
matter optional with the towns. on the
ground that town officials could safely
be trusted to see that advanced pupils
were not neglected. But the house felt
differently and rejected the amendment,
stoutly maintaining that the end fully
justified the means. So the bill as passed
provides that towns wherein are no high
schools shall furnish that sort of educa-
ton for advanced pupils who desire it.
The measure will probably meet with
little or no opposition in the senate.
Against Woman Suffrage.
The friends of the bill giving municipal
suffrage to women were not numerous
enough to ensure it's passage by the
house. On Thursday when the bill came
up on question of third reading, "there
were ninety and nine" members against
it and 81 for it, so the third reading was
result if the other SO members of the
house had been on hand to show their
colors either one way or the other, isn't
certain, but it is quite possible the bill
would have passed. The claim was
made. in debate, that the majority of
women in Vermont didn't care for mu-
nicipal suffrage. The attachment of a
property qualification was objected to
by Others, who asserted that if woman
was to be allowed to vote at all it
should be mainly because she had the
necessary brains and not because she
had property that could be taxed. Mr..
Dartt of Springfield championed the bill,
as did Mr.. Grout of Derby, and each OF
them was sure the effect of such a meas
ure on municipal life would be beneficial
but votes were lacking.
The senate said an emphatic "no" to
the bilf passed by the house making
woman eligible to a place on certain state
boards. The vote killing it was IS to 8.
1ne hOFseAeSs wagon.
When the committee reported favor
ably on the bill regulating the use of
automobiles, they sent in a dozen pro-
posals of amendment. The house, agreed
to all of them except the one taking away
from selectmen the right to say which
highways the auto drivers could or
couldn't use. It insisted that that
section should remain undisturbed. Then
one or two other amendments were
made. after some sharp-shooting, to
enhance the safety of drivers of horses,
and the bill was ordered to lie and be
printed, so that everybody could see how
it looked in it's much-amended form. It
is the evident intention of the house to
give the SO, 900 horses in the state fair
show as against the $50 automobiles,
without meaning to be impolite to the
latter. Mr.. Hapgood of Peru facetiously
referred to the auto owners as the
starched gentry" but nobody stiffened
up much over that. The bill will come
up for final disposition this week.
Weekly Payment Once Vac
The house has performed its biennial
task of legislating for the many instead
of the few ia the direction of weekly
payment of wages, and passed the bill
introduced by 1.-THE gentleman from
Rutland" by yea and nay vote of 147
to IS. The speeches in favor of the bill
set forth the benefits of spot cash tran
sactions and insisted that both the wage
Garner and the merchant with whom he
deals are better off under the weekly
system, and Mr.. Pape of Barre city said
that savings banks deposits there had
materially increased since some of the
granite firms had adopted the semi
monthly plan of payment instead of the
monthly. Mr.. Darling of Hardwick
said weekly payment was apparently a
success there. The bill had an easy trip
through the house, and it will now rest
upon the honorable senate" to concur
Or kill the bill. Two years ago it saw fit
to kill
The attitude of the Caledonia County
representatives on this question is indi-
Gated by the following:
Yes-Messrs. Clark of Sutton, Darling
of Hardwick, Harris of Waterford, Morse
of Peacham, Mou1ton of Burke, Park OF
Lyndon, Phelps of Barnet, Kicker OF ST.
Johnsbury, Warren of Kirby, Smith OF
Sheffield, Cheney of Newark; No-Hatch
OF Groton, Manchester of Ryegate. Ord
way of Walden, Stocker of Danville
absent and not votipg-Hutchins OF
Stannard, Hoffman of Wheelock.
Successful Measures.
Comparatively lew public bills of i'm
portance have been finally disposed of
Those which have successfully completed
the journey through both houses during
the past week are:
Prohibiting the adulteration Of articles
of food and drink, as well as drugs, and
| requiring a proper standard OF purity
and strength.
Appropriating $4,000 annually for
care of deaf, dumb, blind, and idiotie
| children.
Compelling fire drills every month In
! schools of at least SO pupils.
| Making husband and wife competent
witnesses in cases where either is party