Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1909-09-29
WHAT THE PAPERS SAY.

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY.
The hunters license law, which was
adopted by he most recent Vermont
legislature and which went into effect
with considerable eclat on the first day
of the present month of September,
is curiously botched job of legisla-
ton. In the first place the attorney
general disagreed with the state fish
and game commissioner as to the in
depreciation of the words PRESIDENT
and "alien.' Now comes the Informal
ton that there is no uniformity in the
charge for fees for the licenses, At
torney General Sargent stating that
some town clerks are charging ten
cents, some twenty-five cents. and
others perhaps more. This is mani
testify unjust and liable to bring about
great deal of confusion and misun-
Outstanding. Moreover. there is no
binding oath required in connection
with the issuance Of the license to the
hunter, which will inevitably result in
more confusion and evasion of the law
through the transferring of licenses,
since the person taking out the licenses
is not required to give an accurate
description of himself as the questions
would seem to Indicate. Attorney
General Sargent says On this point,
"Of course, you will see by eXamina-
tion of the statute that no oath to
the facts stated in the application is
required by law, and from that you
will at once conclude that any oath ad-
m nstered to the maker of such ap-
plication is of no effect and that the
person administering such oath be-
comes liable. to prosecution under the
provisions of P. S. 5917." 1t is evil
lent from the above that one of the
duties of the next legislature of the
state will be the amending or actual
repeal of the law. That course which
would seem to be the most satisfac-
tory would be the repeal of the law so
far as it imposes license registration
on resident hunters of the state of
Vermont. That section looks like an
extraordinary curtailment of individ-
ual rights in the first place. Barre
Times.
This much is true. Of no candidacy
whose impetus comes from a Vermont
Fish and Game League banquet can it
. be fairly said that cit does not bear
the hallmark of organized politics,
nor. indeed the footprint of the politi
cian.' Knowing as most of US do
that the rank and file of voters in this
. state never think of attending this po
lit CO sporting function across Lake
Champlain, it is with considerable por.
tion of salt that we take the story
} that one of the surprising disclosures
of the meeting was the evidence of a
strong, spontaneous and far-reaching
sentiment in favor of Charles w.
Gates of Franklin for governor. Such
stories can have but one interpreta.
ton. The present state highway com.
missioner has been picked as stan
dard-bearer by the organization, the
political powers that-be, the machine
r The rank and file of the state 8 voters
: its bone and sinew, so to speak, are
. never present at the Fish and Game
banquet to express their sentiments
But the gathering always includes the
? political book-makers who attend tt
get the correct dope" on the next
event, and whatever they distribute i:
known to bear the organizations Off
cial 0. K. We have the highest re
. spect for Mr.. Gates personally anc
D consider him an excellent state high
way commissioner SO good a one, ir
fact, that we dislike extremely to SET
8 him waive his opportunity for service
. in that capacity for the sake of serv
;, ing those who made him politically
and are anxious to retain the power tt
j make and unmake others. In the cir
j cumstances, however, there is no can
did view of the situation. The organ
ization. finding Olin Merrill an unwil
ling or perhaps inexpedient candidate
has decided on Mr.. Gates as an oppon
ent of Lieutenant Governor Mead
with Fleetwood in the race for the pur
S pose of pocketing the man from Rut
land if possible. We hold no brief TO
DR.. Mead, but we doubt very much i
this alleged popular uprising on behal
f of Mr.. Gates will greatly damage tn
4, doctors chances providing there ar
: enough Independent newspapers in tn
y state to show just how much politica
e benzoate is being used to preserve tn
machines supremacy. - Brattlebor
Reformer.