The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-12-11
MUCH WORK
WAS DONE
Legislature Put in a Busy
Afternoon
STATE FAIR BILL PASSES
There Was Almost No Opposition 70
the Measure to Appropriate
Money for the Ex-
hibition.


1AhiF AhheNf R''f 80
The House and Senate did lot Of
work yesterday afternoon The HOUSE
passed to third reading a bill proyid
ing for the division Of the town OF Paw
let which came TO that body on an un'
favorable majority committee report
That eHtailcd an interesting debate and
il took yea and nay vote TO satisfy
everyone. The vote was l45 20 %. II
the bill becomes law it will mean that
there win be another town in the state
known as West Pawlet.
The House passed the so.ealled state
fair bill BY an overwhelming majority,
Il appropriatcs $4,000 in 1909 and the
same amount In 1910. The bill was the
pet measure OF Mr. Bacon OF Hartford.
he bill abolishing offsets came up for
third reading and was ordered 70 lie
pending the printing OF an amendment.
The same disposition was made OF the
automobile registration tax bill.
The Senate passed with but four dis
senting votes the bill which takes the
license fee money from the cities voting
license and turns II into the school fund
after the local expenses of the admins.
tration Of the license is paid. A yea
and nay vote was taken on this measure,
which il signed by the governor, viii
add several thousands OF dollars to the
school fund each year.
One of the most interesting features
of the afternoon session was the discus
sion OF House bill 10, an act 10 divide
the town OF Pawlet into two separate
towns. one TO be known as the town OF
Pawlet and the other as the town Of
West Pawlet The committee on town
lines has been wrestling with the qnes-
ton in committee room practically since
the first Of the session. There was a
majority report from the committee un.
favorable to the passage of the bill and
a minority report in which Mr.. Rowe OF
Topsham stood alone.
Mr.. Roberts, the representative from
Pawlet, was for the bill, and was very
FAIR in his explanation OF the case. II
was about his first speech but ii was
good one and saved the day for him. He
gave description OF the town andahe
conditions which brought about the
move on the part OF the west side for a
divorce. II seems that the town is diyid-
ed by steep mountain and when the
people from the west side who are in
the majority as far as numbers are con-
eerned set out for the east side where
the town hall and other buildings are
located, they have to drive about five
miles by the mountain road and six or
seven by the other road
Mr.. Roberts said that the feeling be,
tween the towns was not OF the pleasant
est variety and once in while when
the people from the west side decided to
go to the town meeting they found when
they arrived that it had been held Also
once in while they wanted an officer
or two and sometimes they found them
all elected before they got there. He
said the east side had the majority Of
the town officers and among them the
road commissioner, who forgets to give
the west side its apportionment of the
money for road repairs by several hun
bred dollars. He said he had come to
the only place in the country where he
could hope for relief.
He said the town was not heavily in
NE9t anu tnT HAANHNtaA HNLtAEtufHt NphiA3
easily be arranged in the manner provid
ed in the bill. He said the argument
that the town hall was almost la the
center of the town reminded him OF the
short distance from the western part of
the state TO Montpelier geographically,
but it took some time to make the
distance.
Mr.. Cook OF Derby made concise
statement of the geographical conditions
OF the town and said that the conditions
were such that it would be impossible
to join the warning factions to other
adjoining towns and therefore do away
with the necessity of making a new town.
He believed the question for the legis
lature to decide was whether on not The
feeling between til two parts Of the
town was belligerent enough to warrant
allowing new town. Mr. Barber Of
Brattleboro made a few remarks, In
which he expressed the opinion that a
separation was necessary.
Then the chairman OF the committee |
on town lines, MIR. Williams Of Leicester, /
was Intercepted and asked why the /
committee reported the bill unfavorably. |
He said they did not place much stock in |
the petitions; he believed the roads were /
good between the two towns, although |
Mr.. Roberts had Just stated that IN the I
winter time they were practically impas /
sable. He thought the quarries Of the
west side were dying out, He mumbed /
of few other vague reasons and finally /
said, 1--WE weren't paid or anything like /
that
Mr.. Williams Of Newport said that in /
a divorce case, the first thing he always /
considered was whether or not It was
possible 10 bring about a reconciliation /
between the two parties, and ii this was
impossible he recommended divorce.
Mr.. Ripley of Poultney said he knew
the people in both parts Of the town and
that the feeling WAS such that it WOULD /
be impossible to bring the fighting fac
tions together. Mr.. Hitchcock of Pitts
ford favored the separation because he
said he thought he could foresee the re.
suit II things were allowed to 20 along.
Some time the west side would get the
balance Of the power. being a growing
on account OF the quarries
opening up. Then the town hall would
be moved to the west side and the west
side and the west side would be getting
al the officers. and finally the east side
would appear before the legislature ask
ing for q separation from The west side L
Others spoke and then the yea and nav
vote was taken and resulted in a great
victory for Mr.. Roberts and the west
side.
The state fair bin, q which Mr.. Bacon
Is the author, went through with