Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1904-08-20

The Sorry Tale the Official Figures
Tell
In 1882 the net expenses
of Nermont's state govern
iisent, as shown by Treasur'
er Bacon's special report
four years ago, were S255,2I la
Governor Barstow in his
message that year, as Gov
-snnar psoetQr had done in
1878, pointed out nov .Lsss
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 $4Z9,SS4.OO
Still the Republican plat
! forms promised reduction
and economy, but still the
expenses continued to grow o
and in 1892 had become 94O4 800 w
Still the people of the
! state continued to trust
I Republican promises and as
result found the yearly
expenses, at the end of the
next five-year period, c<Oo rr01
| 1897, to be pOOZ ,ooL'lT
Then came the era when
the Republican party felt safe
from opposition, and though
still regularly repeating its
Promises of economy, still
kept swelling expenditures
until in 1903 they reached
! $S2l ,OOl "a, and after de-
ducting every dime of in
come from state institu-
tions, or that was not in
! the nature Of taxes
tss sssss. es' wtps stass sA- $738,368.95
The peoples money had
been thrown away almost in
proportion as the people
have increased Republican
majorites.
In 1892 the valuation of the state was
$l49. .334 ,O69 and the population Census
of lsSO) 332,2S8. In 1908 the valuation
was $l66,O74,7l0 and the population
census of l9OO) 343,64l.
Increase in population 3l-2 per cent
Increase in property II IL per cent
Increase in expenditures 280 per cent
No other state in the union makes so
bad a showing. Maine, with her pro
hibition and her next largest and steadl'
est Republican maturity, comes next to
it. But Names increase OF population
| III tine same periou ""e i-N per ce"'' or
| n
crease in taxable property 40 per cent
or over four and one-half times ours
though her bloating of state expenses
from the same disease OF Republican
misrule, was about the same as ours.
Yet this grand little state, where
comes such sorry showing from Repub
lcan policies and Republican legislation
and administration, was in the frs,
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
ture's God intended her to be, and wha'
she will be again when blessed witt
Democratic ideas and Democratic
! methods, with her peculiarly good anc
quick renewing soil, whose products ART
everywhere recognized as the choicest
in the markets, her pure air and water
that not only give such advantage il
dairying but make her the "Switzerlant
of America" in delightfulness of resi-
dence her vast resources in mine ant
quarry and timberland and the well
nigh limitless power afforded by he
mountain side streams.
Some shallow pates in the class o
politician economists not politica
economists-have sought to explain thi
condition of things by the fact that Yer
mont is without seaport. The truth i
that the states wonderful development
under Democratic rule was in time
when ocean commerce was large ele
ment in the nations prosperity. The de
cline-as 1t may fairly be called, in com
parison with other states-has come il
the era of neglect of ocean commerce ant
direction Of American energies to inter
nal development In the former er
Vermont prospered greatly in spite o
the disadvantage of lack of seaport
from which other states profted In tn
latter era she has Jagged far to the rea
of the procession among the states in tn
kind OF development for which she wa
hv nature fitted best of all.
How far she has Jagged the ceusu
shows. In the 20 years from 1880 t.
1900. while her wealth increased onl
l.2 per cent-or but small Fraction
r. what simple interest should hav
lded to the capital with which sh
started-the wealth of the nation as
whole has grown, in round numbers fror
$4,000 100000 to $4,000, 100000, or II
per cent or IL l2 times faster tha
Vermont
Others of these shallow pates say tn
trouble has been the rapid development
of the West and the drain of our pop,l
lation and energy to it. Undeniably thi
has been large factor; but so it ha
in the other New England states, who's
progress has been several times create
than ours.
The simple and the whole truth is
and there Is no escaping it-that it
mans folly that has so sadly marre
what Nature intended for Vermont
and that folly has expressed itself in tn
tremendous Republican majorities tina
have taken away all sense OF politica
responsibility, all the stimulus to goo
work which political competition woul
arouse-have lodged petty politics wher
craftsmanship should behave broush
personal intrigue and caucus manipult
tion where real appeal to the peopl
would bring broadening and invigoratin
and progressive policies-have brough
stagnation and decay where in othe