Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1906-08-06
HETEROGENEOUS FOR PERCIVAL
W. CLEMENT.

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cratic candidate for governor, is to
speak in Brattleboro next Monday
evening on State Issues. He purports
to stand upon the Democratic plat
form, and 1t will be in order for bim
to declare specifically whether he
approves the various planks which
the opposition party have declared to
be their belief. Let us interrogate
this candidate, once Republican and
now Democrat.
1. Do you, Mr.. Clement, believe in
putting all public officers, including
sheriffs, deputy sheriffs and justices
of the peace, on a stated salary, az Is
advocated in the Democratic plat
form? Do you believe that that
would be a prudent and economical
thing for the state to do2
2. Do you believe in the repeal of
the state highway and state school
tax, as the Democratic platform
urges? Do you think it is fair to the
smaller communities to take away
from them the aid which they need
and which they now receive under
Republican rule, in the support of
the rural schools and in the building
of the main highways? Do you think
IL ia fair to the smaller towns that
practically all the states money be
spent in the large and more prosper
GUS towns, and the small towns be
compelled to pay tribute to the large
towns without recompense or remun-
Grafton in any way?
8. Do you favor the regulation of
railroad rates by the government, as
President Roosevelt does? If so,
why does your newspaper, the Rut-
land Herald, oppose that law?
A. Do you favor law in Vermont
imposing a penalty upon railroads
who grant secret rates and discrimi-
nations within the state of Vermont?
III SO, why did you not have such a
plank in the platform, and why did
you not adopt the plank which the
Republican party has in its platform,
and if you believe now in such law,
did you believe in such a law when
you were president of the Rutland
railroad? If you believe that there
should be no discrimination or favor
In freight rates, why is it that when
you were president of the Rutland
railroad the Standard Oil company
had special rates from your railroad
and practically shut out other oil
producing companies from getting
trade on the line of your road?
And why did you, when you were
president of the Rutland railroad
company, make "a discriminating
freight rate on coal, so that towns
like Chester and Ludlow, and other
towns, which had to rely solely upon
your road, were compelled to pay
larger freight rate than was paid by
other places? Why did you fix the
rates so that Chester was compelled
to pay more for coal which came
through Rutland to Chester than was
paid st Bellows Falls for the same
kind of coal that was hauled from
Rutland through Chester to Bellows
Falls?
5. Are you now in favor of
weekly payment law? If so, what
has changed your mind since you
voted against such law in the house
of representatives in 1892, and voted
against it in the senate in 1900. and
wrote a letter against it in April,
1906? What has brought about your
conversion?
Do you favor an employers liability
law to help the workingman? If so,
why did you, when you were presi-
dent of the Rutland Railroad COM
pany, compel employees and their
families to sign such a contract as
you made in the Tarbell case? Are
you in favor of a law which allows a
railroad to make such a contract with
its employees as you made in the Tar
bell case?
6. Do you favor living wages fpr
the workingman? If so, why did you
undertake to cut the wages of the
laboring men in Rutland City, when
you were mayor, to s1.25 day?
z. You complain of the manage
ment Of the Vermont state institu-
tons. The Republican administra-
ton, acting under the authority of
the Republican legislature, has con-
Quoted an investigation of the hospi-
tai for the insane, the state prison
and the house of correction. Do you
know of any evidence bearing upon
the management of these institutions
that has not been produced before
the investigating committee? If so,
will you tell the people OF the state
what that evidence is?