The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-11-13
FRANK B. HOWE, Editor and Publisher
cOndoning Conspiracy?

The committee on claims, to which
was committed the bill to pay certain
printers unpaid balances, has voted
with practical unanimity to report the
claim fayorably, and unless a fight is
made upon the floor of the House to
prevent it, the payments will accord
ingly be made This, too comes in the
face of the auditors refusal to allow
the bill, the protest of the printing
commissioner against it and the assur-
ance of the attorney general that the
agreement under which these printers
operated was illegal and against pub
lie policy.
This, it seems to the Herald is
fairly serious situation. The legislat-
ure has voted with a great deal of
cackling exclamation to abolish the
court of claims and a bill has become
law which requires the auditor to re-
ceiye and pass upon such claims as
would properly come before such
court, and yet, in an absolutely typical
case, the committee on claims of the
House of Representatives deliberately
over-rides the veto of the auditor the
warning of the printing commissioner
and the legal opinion of the attorney
general.
The entire proceeding is extraordin-
airy. If the state of Vermont actually
owes the futile company, the Free
Press company and the Messenger
company the sums claimed, they
should be paid If, however, as would
appear from the statements of the Of
ficials named above the bills were bas-
ed upon an improper and unlawful
agreement to maintain prices at the
expense of the state treasury, the re-
port of the committee on claims should
be ignored and the bill to pay these
claims voted down.
Further than that the attorney gen
eral should prosecute every surviving
member of the famous agreement for
conspiracy On second thoughts the
prosecution should take place in any
event II the statements OF the attor-
ney general amount TO anything there
remains a duty TO be performed. The
allegations of Horace r. Graham,
Frank e Langley and Clarke C. Fits
before this committee ON claims. de-
liyered i'm the seclusion of the COM
mittee room have given rise To-
scandal whose breadth and depth viii
receive but little publicity owing 10
the distinguished character of the as.
sailed Unless this affair gets further
than the committee room the public
will never know The facts The bills
may be paid and the scandal condouod
but no decently alert citizen of the
state win ever believe that exact jus
tice has been done or that the com
mouWealth has been given fair
chance for the defense of its treasury.
IT the defeat OF the bin To pay these
sums were likely TO involve serious
hardship. the Herald would hesitate 10
urge &C. bur there remains always he
recourse of the courts III these claims
are legally collectable. they may be
recovered at law with very slight exc
pense but If they are Illegal and Inn
proper they would not only be defeat
ed, but the claimants would certainly
run a serious risk. In appearing be-
fore a Vermont court with claims that
date back to an alleged agreement in
restraint of trade these exemplary
firms would appear but badly, In a leg
islature not always swayed by the prin
ciples of exact law they may possibly
succeed.
The House OF 1905 should yindicate
itself by voting against this bill. II.
179, then turn the matter over TO the
attorney general for legal ADJUSTMENT.
Rutland Herald