Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1905-09-08
THE MEDDLER.
III lie eo0 MS yo1 Put F" on


The office OF tax collector ana ex-
IRENE popularity do not as usunl 70
hand In hand yet that ought not 70 ~
a sufficient reason for deiinauene. a.
securing payment OF the dep,s "n,
are due a town or village. Hese
Brattleboro many people are OF the
belief that Mr.. Gordon Is II anything
TOO lenient In the matter of tax coiiect-
ing. and some have gone so far as W
saw that a person OF sterner dlsposi-
ton ought to hold the office. Whetner
such a change would meet with the
approval of the majority OF tax pay
ers Is an open question and one on
which there would be likely to be
great division Of opinion. However
there Is no doubt that Mr.. Gordoh
could use sitter measures In rounding
up the COIN without exceeding ms au-
thority In any degree. The law gives
him the choice of a variety OF meth-
DDS any one of which ought to work
well II properly applied
There has been no lack Of complaints
from subscribers of the local exchange
as to poor telephone service during the
past several months, and there can De
no denying that many OF the Kicks reg
istered have been perfectly 1ustifiapie.
The main reason for the poor service
is without doubt due to the changes
that are constantly taking place In the
operating force. IL being an acknowl-
edged fact that most of the operators
are young women without sufficient
experience to make them competent.
On this account the reason for these
changes ought TO be ascertained before
the blame Is laid on anyone's should
ers. The Meddler has no wish TO be-
come entangled I'm q discussion as 10
the ability of the local manager 10 get
along with his employees. that being a
question for the telephone company
alone to take up. 1t would seem, how
ever, as If an increase In the scale OF
wages would be as potent as anything
in lettering the service,
However much we may dread to let
our minds rest upon the certainty OF
the approach of cold weather there is
some consolation i'm the thought that
the tyranny of the ice-man Is nearly
over for time at least. His daily
visits to the family refrigerator Will
soon cease for an indefinite period, ana
we can then relax the vigilance when
has been necessary during the past
several months to prevent our being
driven into bankruptcy by the magni-
tude of our bill for CONCEALED aqua.
The e-man may devote his winters
to cutting ice" in the literal sense but
i'm the summer the slangy interpreta-
ton of that phrase well applies to him.
He is a luxury without which we can
not very well get along and yet there
are times when We hate to see him
coming even when we know that the
refrigerator demands his presence. To
the ice man. however. the needs of the
refrigerator hardly ever seem to be
taken into consideration. His business
apparently is to get rid of his load as
quickly as possible and he has no
scrupes about chopping up the 20 odd
pounds already In the ice-chest in or
der to make room for the so pound
chunk on the end of his tongs. This,
of course. provided we are not on hand
to protest against such lavish waste
and explain to him that the old piece
is lust as cold as ever and VIII an
swer our purpose as long as Ii lasts.
But, as has been stated. his season OF
triumph is about to close and We can
prepare to stoke the furnace with the
serene thought that variety is certain
lly the spice of life.
As long as people persist in walking
on Mr. Eames's new sidewalks before
the concrete has been down long
enough to become hard, no oife can
blame him if their surface is not as
smooth as a billiard table. The road
commissioner has been doing some ex-
cellent work recently in the line of
much needed repairs to the walks
throughout the town and he ought not
to have his work marred by thought
less individuals.
What a great Improvement little
elbow grease would have on the metal
trimmings of the chemical engine. Its
daily junket up and down Main street
would be much more imposing If the
machine showed signs of a trifie more
polishing There is no danger of get
ting the metal-work so bright that
eolored glasses would be necessary.
The Meddler.