The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1907-03-22
OUR OPPORTUNITY.


fifth largest developed waterpower II
New England, with the right to use
comparatively unlimited amount OF
this power at a rate hardly one'hali
that which towns and cities less fortu
nately situated are obliged to pay, Is
n privilege which will be Brattleboro I
upon the completion of the now as
sured dam across the Connecticut river
And with this privilege will come an
opportunity for commercial and indus
trial expansion such as is given Ia
comparatively few communities. Brat
tleboro cannot hope 10 rival Holyoke
and Springfield, Mass, in size but
there is no good reason why it should
not double its population within the
next few years and become the busiest
and most prosperous town, or city, IN
the state of Vermont. But this result
can be brought about only by cooPera-
ton. We must forget the petty differ
tnceS anu ulspubVo V'ti ""'N" "
have wasted so much time in the past
and begin concerted and sustained
effort to build a bigger Brattleboro.
We must work together in harmony
with that as our common purpose.
The completion of an enterprise of
such magnitude as that of building a
dam across the Connecticut river will
of necessity be n matter of consider
able time, and it is improbable to ex-
pect that the actual development of
power will begin within a year at the
very best. Yet this is no reason why
our campaign of expansion and enlarge
ment should not be started at once. By
the time the work is fairly under way
every manufacturer in New England
and western New York should know
not only that Brattleboro is soon to be
in a position to offer industries power
at an unusually low rate but also that
Brattleboro offers exceptional advan-
tages in the way of schools, stores,
churches, building sites and so on.
And these facts should be continually
kept before the eyes of those who are
likely to be interested in them. This
work can, of course, be done to best
advantage by the local board of trade,
but every citizen in town can help by
giving his hearty support to that or
ganization.
What Brattleboro wants is more peo-
pie, and they can be secured only by
getting more industries. The sooner
this talk about "the danger of unde-
sirable classes" is stopped the better
it will be for the town. If we are for
tunate enough to induce a cotton or
wooden mill to locate here so much the
better for everybody. The danger CD
of Brattleboro's becoming a mill town
is more than offset by the prospect of
increased business in such an event.
Let IS cut out any talk about the kind
Of people that are wanted and direct
all our energies to the number. AS for
the likelihood that Brattleboro will not
get all the power needed to accOmmo-
date its growth there is no need for
thought. All the power used in Brat
tleboro today, either water, steam or
electric, amounts to little more than
1900 horsepower, which is less than
half Of what is reserved for Brattle-
boro according to the contract under
which the charters in Vermont and
New Hampshire are turned over to the
capitalists who are to finance the pro;
iect The rates at which this power
can be purchased are so low that they
cannot be approached except in places
where the natural resources are fully
as favorable, and such places are few
and far between.
Brattleboro is facing golden oppor-
tunity. Hinsdale and Vernon may
double their populations, but this town
will be the industrial and commercial
center of this section as long as its
citizens remain loyal to home interests
and work in harmony for the common
good. It's splendid time just at
present for the grumblers, the scoffers
and the pessimists to go way back and
sit down. Every public spirited Brat
tleborean should doff his hat to the
citizens committee and its counsel,
and then vie with his neighbor in help
ing push along the best and biggest
thing that will ever come within our
reach.