The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1905-05-11
DEAD AND DYING
STREWN IN PATH
OF BIG CYCLONE
THAT PAVED STREET.
Correspondent Comments on Action OF
Abutters to Escape Payment Of
Assessments.

Editor Daily Times. | see AR Hoar
has made occasion to spread himself in
your columns over the fact that all
though he has lost one point in the
legal quibbiing in connection with the
case pending between the city OF Barre
and those property holders who refuse
to pay for the improvements, and in
crease Of value their property has ae-
quired from the works of the city, he
has yet one other point in his favor in
asmuch as the court has admitted our
council did not make the assessment
in accordance with the charter require
ments because they accepted and acted
upon the recommendation OF a commit
tee instead of the whole council in the
first place sitting down and consider
ing the matter and fixing the rate with-
out any data TO 90 on or without any
recommendation from ayn committed
This would be a very, very, small
point to raise even were the parties
morally justified in their refusal to pay,
and any man with any conscience get
ting out of even an unjust taxation by
such a quibble would commonly keep
quiet about it, and when questioned
would naturally be expected to say that
although he used such means to save
himself, the justice of his case excused
his mean proceedings.
But in this case instead OF holding
down their heads in shame we find their
paid spokesman standing up and crow
ing aboutwhat? Because they have
got the court to say that the council
in acting as all administrative on legis-
latiye bodies do, in appointing commit
tees to investigate and report, did not
act in exact accordance with the char
ter. Almost every measure passing the
legislature here comes from the recon-
mendation OF committee, and in the
English House of Commons (the moth.
er of Parliaments) all private legislation
is done by committee.
The usage is common and our council
but acted in a practicable way. Still
there was the schoolboy quibble there
and our lawyers and fat property hold
ers caught on to it for all it was worth.
These words, "l7or all it was worth, Z
ought TO be III letters Of fire, but paper
is combustible. It was a great and pa
triotic move on the part of those who
have become rich by the enhancement
OF the value of property through the
influx Of workers caused by the enter
prise of a few granite men. No body
of men could have done less for inn
proving the value OF the city than those
men who waited until the gods through
the efforts Of business men sent them
fortune. No body Of men could have
made more noise for the improvement
of the streets than they did, and when
the question of that Improvement was
being discussed you might have searched
the world to find a body Of men with
fewer ideas or a quieter crowd of men
when that Improvement was taking
place They knew its value 70 them
selves.
But nowl Oh, nowll The street is
laid and they know 1t won't be taken
up again and they will refuse to pay
up to the last ditch, and try to saddle
the expense on the workers and manu-
facturers who have made the city made
them (the property holders) with it.
Honorable men would have made their
kick when the work was commenced If
it was not done legally. Mean men
would wait and receive the benefit and
then kick about paying. This is line
of policy that words fail to do justice
to and those following it If they don't
feel the shamefulness Of their actions
through their own manhood ought to
be made to feel it through their most
tender part their pockets. Ergo. There
is no law compelling the workers of
Barre to buy goods from merchants rent
ing stores from the property holders
whose property is on the paved part
of Main street
ALEX. ROBERTSON,