The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-06-12

above all what he has made Of him !
self, because from such knowledge !
best forecast can be had Of the sort OF |
service he Is likely to give the state. !
With this general principle In mind, |
the following sketch OF the Hon. Geo.
II. Prouty of Newport, at present lieu |
tenant governor OF Vermont, and the |
leading candidate for nomination to
the governorship at the hands OF the
Republican party, has been prepared.
1t has been drawn largely from the tes-
timony of persons who have known
him as a neighbor and as an associate
all his life, and who may be presumed
to be thoroughly acquainted with his
personality and character. His rec
ord In public affairs Ii recent and al
ready under the lime light. and al
though II Is one Of his best assets, II
ia used here somewhat In supple
mentary way rather than otherwise
that the scheme of this writing to
show the man as a man may be Torch
bly, maintained.
A Successful Business Man.
At the outset, the reader should
place himself In readiness to be intro
duced to successful man Of business
in the prime of life, (Mr. Prouty is 48
years DID, whose positiveness Of pur-
pose, character and action stick out
all over him. His personality steps
forth not as that of receptive. walt
ing-list lingerer upon honors and bene-
fits, but as that of an aggressive man
of affairs who has done things, who
can do things, who will do things. who
has the habit of undertaking and, best
of all. of accomplishing tasks set by
an unrelenting master and that mas
ter, himself. A man OF the present he
Is, whose blood circulates with the
virility of the hour and whose activt
ties are all along the lines Of present
day accomplishment. for, both person
ally and officially, he Is no unimpor-
tant factor In the moving events which
day by day are making for a buster
and better Vermont. In very gen.
eral sense this Is George II. Prouty
who is candidate for the governor
ship. More specifically he Is -hat his
neighbors say of him and what his
record makes him. Now. as to what
his neighbOrs say.
They say that his grandfather was
a pioneer In the very beginnings Of
Newport, having cleared from It's Or
iginal forest one of the valuable farms
on the west shore Of Lake Memphre-
magog.-that both his grandfather and
his father represented the sturdiest
form Of citizenship, all Of which he has
inherited. His father had large lum.
Der interests and early adopted the
policy OF acquiring spruce timberland
within easy reach Of Lake Memphre
magog, so far as the same was avail
able for purchase, a policy which the
subject of this sketch has continued.
His fathers firm bore the same
name as that now so well known In
all lumber markets, that Of Prouty &
Miller. AS a boy, George H. Prouty
entered the firms lumber camps 30
learn the entire business from the log
ging stage upward, and soon after
reaching his majority he secured q
sixth interest. Upon the retirement
Of brother he acquired another sixth
interest which make altogether third
This has been his holding ever since,
Meantime, he has been managing
partner a period covering nearly q
quarter Of century.
In this time the business Of Prouty
& Miller has more than quadrupled
The firm has three mills In the vicin
ity Of Newport besides q large dress
ing mill, with others In Canada and
also In Maine. About 300 men are In
the firms employ, $50 Of whom are
. heads of families. Under Mr. Prou
TVS management his policy has been
the retention of the same men as hell
in all departments Of the business a.
long as possible, and many Of the mer
have been with the firm for more thar
thirty years. The fact that Mr.. Prou
ty has nowhere any better friends Of
more earnest supporters than among
the employees Of his firm 10 very sig
nifcant.
Mr.. Prouty's Is years OF manage
ment have been characterized by 9
singular devotion to the duties belong
ing thereto. His practice has been Il
be at his office at the same hour hi!
help reach their work-seven O'CLOCK
In the morning-and his working da,
has been, as to length, not MATERIAL!
different from theirs. In this devotion
to his firms business nothing has beer
allowed to intervene or distract. Al
a successful man who has found finan
cial reward In his success, and which
is by no means the rule, the allure
ments Of other businesses, or of seem
ingly profitable investment oppOrtun
tiles, have not appealed to him. BE
yond being director and an infuen
tial one, too, In the Orleans Trust Co
Newport banking institution. and ,
director OF the Passumpsic Telephcn
Co., he has no business interests apar
from those Of his firm. This fact oil
CUES strongly for wholesome cor
servatism that Is by no means useles
in states chief executive. ANON
his associates in his two directorship
he ranks as the pOssessor OF yer
high degree Of foresight on all ma
tiers wherein the future of bushes
propositions Is involved. This Is ar
other good quality for governor I
possess.
Mr.. Prouty's Homo Life.
At home Mr.. Prouty Is counted 1
the very front rank Of Newports pull
lie spirited men. Local Offices he ha
never sought, and has never accepte
but one, membership in the Newpol
village water board. In that he mad
his duties Just as exacting as his ow
business engagements through tn
lifelong practice Of attending to tn
limit upon whatever he undertakes
do. or his honestly acquired NEAR
he Is a generous giver to every wo
thy charity, although In that his met
cd Is unobtrusive and always prefe
ably unheralded and unannounced. G,
tain II is that no appeal for help whel
help is needed ever fails OF materi
response from him.
In his church relations, Mr.. Prou,
is regular attendant at the First Co
xra0af inn nj church Of Nawnort md I