The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1906-09-01
Partridge
Nails Lie

Ed tor Evening Banner-Sir: Mr.
Clements Rutland Herald this morn
ing devoted over two columns OF prom
inent space to letter purporting to
be signed by one j. +. Lonergan OF
Burlington. The Herald entitled II
IAN inside view of Fletcher ID. Proc.
tor. the employer Of labor" il is
characteristic Of the Herald that IL did
not attempt to get up this fake inside
view" at home. but went sixty.seyen
miles away for the purpose. 10 is the
same old canard about "the mass Of
humanity unloaded at Proctor, West
Rutland and Center Rutland from
freight cars like SEQ many cattle 10 be
driven 10 the slaughter house, etc,
etc. Lonergan' s article is an unquali-
fed falsehood from beginning to end.
Even the purported pay envelopes are
forged. or at least forged 10 part. as
they contain matter which never under
any circumstances is put onto the pay
envelopes of the Vermont Marble Com
pany.
The burden OF the whole libel Is the
company's store and 1.-THE eXherbitant
prices charged for their supplies.
The store canard has been exploded
many times. The Vermont Marble
Company has not one cent of interest
in the profits OF these stores. 1t re-
ceives nothing for their management,
and only per cent interest on the cap
ital it loans them, although If is itself
paying a higher rate OF interest than
that for borrowed money, Apart from
the indirect benefit to US for having
our employees benefited, we would be
actually better of il the stores were
out of existence. The entire profit of
the stores is divided under the super
vision of committee of the employees
among the employees themselves. The
stores on their own merit as 20 price
and quality of goods command large
outside trade. One OF them located on
a trolly line within mile and half
of the heart of the city OF Rutland
sold last year 80 per cent of its whole
trade to others than employees of the
company.
Last year these stores sold over one
hundred and fifteen thousand dollars
worth of goods to others than employ
ees of the company, and the entire
profit of this outside business was .di-
vided among its trading employees, so
that 10 fact they got their goods for
less than cost, plus their proportion
of the expenses. Last year the en-
ployees trading at the Proctor store
received back in cash IL per cent on
their purchases, at West Rutland 10
per cent, and at Center Rutland 8 per
cent.
These things are all perfectly well
known in and about Rutland, as is also
the further fact, in a general way, that
the bulk of the entire pay roll of the
Vermont Marble Company is paid to
them in cash. For the month of July
last, which is fair average, Is and
$40 per cent of the company's pay roll
was paid in trade at these cooperative
stores. > and 2-l0 per cent was deduct
ed for rent, per cent was paid in adj
vance, and 7S and DO per cent was
paid in actual cash on pay day
The whole proposition that the Yer
mont Marble company would compel
its employees to trade at these coop
erative stores is necessarily based on
the theory that the company would
gain something thereby there can be
no other possible motive. Since all
interest in these stores has been abso
lutely eliminated, even its worst enem-
les can make no such charge, except
they do so maliciously and knowing,
if they know anything about it-and
otherwise they have no right to talk