The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-10-20
WILLIAM P. DILLINGHAM;.
His Meritorious Record in the National
Assembly.

| NllAhu I. Diiilhbudhli VIII was W
/ day reelected United States senator to
serve until March 4, 1915, was first
elected to the seat he has so admirably
held in Congress in 1900, filling the va
cancy caused by the death of Justin s.
Morrill,. He was reelected in 1902.
Mr.. Dillingham; was born at Water
bury, where he has always kept his resi-
dence. December u, ls43. His great
grandfather, John Dillingham;, was killed
at Quebec while serving under Wolfe,
and his grandfather served three years
in the Revolution and settled in Water
bury in 1905. He is the son of Paul and
Julia (Carpenterl Dillingham;. His fa-
ther was governor of Vermont in 1866
1867.
William p Dillingham; received his
early education in the common schools,
at Newbury academy and Kimball Union
at Meriden, n. II. He studied law in
Milwaukee with his brother-in-law, Hon
/ Matt II. Carpenter, and later in his
fathers Office, being admitted to the bar
in 1867.
He had splendid record in the state
before he was elected representative
of the state in the national government.
He was states attorney of Washington
county in 1879 and again in 1874. He
represented Waterbury in the general
assembly Of 1876 and again in 1884. He
was state senator from Washington
county, ls7S-lSs0, and was chairman OF
the committee on railroads. He was
elected governor of the state in 1858 by
the largest majority that up to that
time had ever been given to candidate
for that Office. He was for a number
of years member of the well known
law firm of Dillingham; & Huse, and
after 1894 OF the firm of Dillingham;,
Huse & Rowland.
He has held many Offices of public
trust in his state. He is a member of
the board Of trustees OF the university
Of Vermont, director in the National
Life Insurance company at Montpelier,
president Of the Waterbury National
bank, and member Of the board of
directors of Montpelier seminary.
Dillingham's Work in the Senate.
He was placed on the committee on
immigration when he entered the Senate,
and when the Chinese exclusion act,
known as the Gary law, expired by lim-
itation and new bill was drawn by
Livernash of California containing pro-
visions which were in violation OF our
treaty obligations with that country and
otherwise unjust in variety Of ways,
he attacked the bill in q two days
speech, with the result that the present
law, which was offered as a substitute
for the committees bill, was adopted.
He was subsequently made chairman Of
the committee on immigration, and as
such has had charge of legislation relat-
ing to immigration and naturalization
since that time. The exclusion act of
1906 in all the features which made it
more stringent and more perfectly ad-
mnistered, resulted from his work.
When Congress authorized the appoint
ment of commission of nine to study
the immigration problem at home and
abroad and in all Of its aspects. he was
made chairman of the commission and.
with subcommittee, visited most of
the European nations during the summer
of 1907. AT this time the commission
has large force Of Investigators whose
work covers the congested districts in |
all parts of the country engaged in
methodical study of the characteristics |
of all nationalities in the first, second
and third generations in connection with |
the question of their assimilation. He
was a member of the Committee on |
Territories and as chairman of sub |
committee appointed under authority |
of the Senate to investigate affairs in |
Alaska, he spent a summer in that dis !
trict and afterwards made report to |
Congress which mas been referred to in
connection with all proposed legislation
for that territory since that time. He |
also investigated, as member of a
New Mexico, Oklahoma and Indian Ter.
ritory with reference to their admis-
sion as states and afterwards opened I
the debate in the Senate on the state I
hood bills. Upon the death of Senator
Tloar, Mr.. Dillingham; was appointed to /
his place on the committee on the IN.
dietary as its New England member
and has also served as chairman of the
of the Committee on the
District of Columbia.