St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1907-11-13
The Fletcher-HugheS Specifications.

ton Clipper tor specifications on til
statement That Mr. Fletcher of Caver
dish was more like Governor Hughes c
New York than any man in public life il
Vermont today.
The CALIFORNIAN invites the careful
reading of the Clippers bill of par ticular
to wit:
1t is pleasure to give it.
But first, will the CALEDoNIAN kindl,
note what the Clipper said-"He is t.
our mind ETC."
The editor of the Clipper holds nc
bret for Mr.. Fletcher; does not even
know whether he will be candidate or
not, and simply gave personal impress
sions of the man, formed from a long
and pleasant acquaintance, without
thought Of its being considered a
presentation of Mr.. Fletcher as a cand-
date for governor and without reference
to the feeling of the people of this section
OF the state toward him.
Now for the specifications
Mr., Fletcher is a successful business
man.
Born in Cavendish, a poor farmers
boy, he has, by his own ability and en-
terprise made his name respected in
many states and accumulated com
Portable competency.
He has done many things and always
in the right way.
He has been successful in business but
not by grounding down the face" or
wages of the poor.
In every situation in life he has proven
himself every inch man.
When he undertakes anything he care
fully studies the matter in all its bear
lngs, and when he makes up his mind, he
knows that he is right
He was member OF the committee on
temperance, and of the subcommittee
thereof, that framed the present license
local option law and he went to the
bottom of that question
He not only studied all the works
bearing on the question and the way the
different systems worked in this country
and Europe, but he personally visited
many places in Massachusetts and
studied the actual working of the law
there.
1t was due to that personal study, of
the law in actual operation, that caused
him to have engrafted into our law the
provision that the revenue from licenses
should be divided and not all go to the
town or city voting for license.
lie found that in many towns in Mas
sachusetts that he visited, the fact that
new school houses could be built and the
rate OF general taxation reduced, was in
effect bribery of the voters. That it was
corrupting the suffrage by making it an
object to vote for license.
he therefore favored giving only
small part to the town and the larger
part to the state.
During all that session. one of the most
important in the history Of the state he
worked in his quiet, unobtrusive way
to secure the very best legislation for the
people OF the whole state, not for favored
communities. In this his record is very
similar to Gov. Hughes, who has
worked IN the same quiet, straightfor-
ward manner to benefit the people of his
whole state instead of few favored
corporations or cities.
Those who were in close touch with
Mr. Fletcher and knew the work he did
on committees, etc, during the last legis-
lature tell us that he rendered the state
invaluable service.
He is not a man who appeals to the
galleries or INDUCES in grand eloquent
speeches, but when he has anything to
say, it is right to the point and born of
conviction that he is right.
This is our personal estimate of Allen
M. Fletcher, and we reiterate that from
our view point, no man in Vermont in
public lie, more closely resembles Gov.
Hughes in his ability to determine what
should be done, and in his method of
accomplishing anything that he Under
takes.
Like GOV. Hughes, he believes in being
sure be IS right and then going straight
ahead, no matter what happens or where
the chips fall.
That our estimate of him is shared by
the people of his town and county his
almost unanimous election to both House
and Senate attest
To begin with the CALEDoNIAN has no
contention with Mr.. Fletcher of Cayen-
dish either as citizen, banker, legislator
or candidate for governor, if he is one
The CALIFORNIAN believes him a clean.
upright man, and able, too, in his chosen
and honorable profession, banking. We
believe him as upright, clean and able as
a hundred other Vermonters in public
lie today, and that he compares favor
ably with thousand other Vermonters
less known in public life,-no more. no
less Read each one of the Clippers
speciheations--stop, think, analyze, and
see how accurately and exactly they fit
INTO the character and the record of
Vermont citizens in general and
hundreds of legislators in particular.
Mr. Fletcher was member of the 1902
legislative committee on temperance that
promulgated the License Local Option