St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1907-09-11

railroads regulated, as well as every
thing we have the power to regulate,
but let us not forget that, while we
should protect every part OF the body
politic-farmer, laborer and politician
we must grant full justice and protection
| to every man who owns share OF rail-
way stock or a government security.
The Speaker said that there always
had been men who would "vex the air"
with calamity bowls and always would
! be.
"But, gentlemen, what's the use" ne
| added. They can go on calamit1zing
and agonizing, but you Vermont and
you of New York will keep your heads,
and we of the middle west will keep our
! heads"
Speaking of the Philippine question,
he said Congress withstood the demand
for war with Spain as long as possible.
The inheritance of that war was Porto
Rico, practically Cuba and the Philip
pine Islands. "The people ofthe islands, "
said he, have no more conception OF the
duties of selfgovernment than | have
about the duties of the chief archangel
in Paradise" He said he was opposed
to a government by the bayonet but
that sort of government is better than
none at all, better than anarchy. His
parting word was the Mosaic injunction:
GO forward"
1t was nearly 7 o'clock before the
Speaker finished and at the close all
started for the boat, only staying in the
hall long enough to drink toast to
Rear Admiral Clark, that gallant YER
monter who brought the Oregon around
Cape Horn in the Spanish-American war.
Burlington was reached at o'clock and
the great occasion was only memory.
There was something doing" the
night before when the Vermont Officers
Society held their reunion and the speech
making at the Strong Theatre and at
the banquet which followed at the Van
Ness House was of a high order In the
absence of Gen. "A. Grant of Minneapo-
lis, Hon. Hugh Henry of Chester presided
throughout the evening. The theatre
was we'll filled with a distinguished
audience and Interstate Commerce Com
missioner Prouty, the Vermonter who
is by far the ablest member of that body,
made the opening address. Mr.. Prouty's
theme was THE Equalization of Oppor-
tunity" and he spoke along the lines of
all his public addresses, scoring the
Standard Oil for their commercial high
wayman policy; paying his respects to
E. H. Hartman, who testified before the
interstate commerce commission, that if
the laws allowed him to own or control
all the railroads in the United States he
would have them and citing examples
of rate discrimination and the need for
rate regulation. He denied that this
administration had instituted wanton
prosecution against the Standard Oil
Company or any other corporation, and
his mention of the administration and
the President elected the widest ap-
plause of the evening. Mr.. Prouty
claimed that so far there had been no
drastic but merely proper legislation, but
that it was now high time for a fixed
and settled policy. His reference to
Russias friendship to this country in the
hour of its trial brought forth great
applause and an acknowledgement from
Baron Rosen.
Gen. Henry introduced Speaker Can
non, who, after a ringing, patriotic trib-
ute to Vermont's record in the war, kept
the audience for about an hour alter
nately laughing at his whimsical, eccen-
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