Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1906-01-19
BRATTLEBoRo, FRIDAY, JAN. 10, 1870,
Political Advertising in Vermont.

An event in Vermont newspaper cir,
cles during the past week and one
which possesses peculiar interest for
all citizens has been the quotation of a
state law in connection with the at
tempt of a political candidate to secure
advertising space in the newspapers
for use during the coming gubernatori'
al campaign.
The law, passed in 1902, reads as fol-
lows:
Section |. No person shall, in order
to aid or promote his own nomi'
nation, or the nomination OF another
person, ms a candidate for public office,
by caucus, convention or nomination
papers, directly or indirectly, himself or
through another person, or by OF
through a committee, give, pay, ex-
pend or contribute, or promise to give,
pay, expend or contribute any money
or other valuable thing, except for per
sonal expenses as hereinafter provided
Section 9. Any person may incur
and pay, with reference to his nomina-
ton. or the nomination of another per-
son, as candidate for public office,
his own personal expenses for trav-
cling; for writing, printing and pre-
pairing for transmission any letter, CIR
cular or other publication not issued
at regular intervals, whereby he may
state his positions or views, or the posi-
tions or views of another person, upon
public or other questions; for station
ery and postage, for telegraph, tele-
phone and other regular messenger ser
vice, and for other petty personal pur'
poses; but all such expenses shall be
limited TO those which are directly in
Cured and paid by him.
Section 3. No publisher of any
newspaper, or other publication issued
at regular intervals in this state shall
directly or indirectly receive or accept
money or other valuable thing, in pay
ment or compensation for the support
or advocacy, in such newspaper or pub
licaticn, of the nomination of any per
son as a candidate for public office IN
this state
Section 4. Any person violating any
of the provisions of this act shall be
fined not less than one hundred dollars
for each violation.
Various opinions and no little indig-
nation. as well as doubt, have been ex-
pressed as to the exact meaning and APP
plicaSion of this remarkable product of
the legislative wisdom Of 1902: but
none Of these is of practical value or
Importance since the supreme court
alone has authority to interpret the
statute. 1t is possible that such inter
probation may be secured in time to
meet the exigencies of the coming cam
paign.
If the law was designed merely to
prevent the corrupt use of newspaper
influence, then it was a bungling piece
of legislation; for it fails to make an
exception in the case of legitimate adj
vertising needs and of the sale of ad-
vertising spsce at regular rates.
If it was designed to prevent abso-
lutely the use of newspapers as mediums
for the promotion of political plans,
candidates or principles, then it is both
discriminating and unjust. Discrimi-
mating, because it forbids the news
paper publishers to sell space in which
the nomination of IA candidate may be
advocated in print by the buyer while
allowing owners of public halls to sell
their space for the same purpose essayed
by word of mouth; unjust because it
limits the newspaper man in the dis
posal Of his own goods-his chief source
of revenue. The legislature might as
fairly say that he shall not sell space
to liquor or patent medicine dealers, to
magnetic healers, clarivoyants, amuse-
ment bureaus, or any other of the many
promoters of businesses which members
might find Objectionable.
1t will be remembered that, during
the campaign of 1904, the democratic
state committee purchased large
amount of advertising space in state
newspapers, not to advocate the nomi-
nation of candidate, but to oppose the
election Of one. Presumably, then, the
trainers of the quoted law found only
support of nomination Objectionable
since that is the only thing it sought
to make illegal
If the supreme court of Vermont
should thus interpret the meaning of
the law quoted, we do not believe it
would find constitutional such limita-
ton of the newspaper publishers bust
ness.