The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1909-06-18
A GOOD SAMARITAN.

There seems but small chance to gain
say the statement that Lieutenant-Gov
ernor Mead has an eye for the main
chance. While he will doubtless ascribe
his recent action in putting up the money
to meet the emergency which confronts
the state treasurer to purely philanthropie
motives there is just shadow of ulteriol
purpose and the reason for discovering
such a shadow is obvious.
Mr.. Mead has never played his record al
a philanthropist to any great extent, ant
Just at this chapter in his career to opel
up his heart and loan money to the STATE
of Vermont without security will have q
tendency to make friends for him rather
than enemies.
In stating that he makes this loan with
out security it is to be assumed that he
does, for there being no precedent per-
hitting the state treasurer to raise funds
in such an emergency it is hard to under
stand how Doctor Mead got any more sub
stantial promise of repayment than kind
word with a promise of more when the
time comes for dealing in such commodities.
1t would seem that the Rutland county
man has started to play trumps right off
the reel If he makes one or two more
moves along the line of his recent action
he is quite likely to add an ashen COM
plexion to the aspirations of quite num-
Der of the elgibles who are scoring up to
succeed Governor Prouty.
In passing it may be remarked that it
seems strange that DIN Merrill, with his
boundless love for Vermont backed by the
knowledge that he has drawn more than
the per capita allotment of money from
the state treasury during his public career,
being wealthy man, should not have
rushed into the breach at time when he
might really have done the state Of Yer
monet some good.
Whether Mr. Merrills offer of succor
would have been accepted is not known,
but in view of the fact that the various
officials to whose care is given the funds
of the state and their disbursement are
children of the old regime, it is a good
guess that for once the fundamental prin-
cipal of the machine has been disarranged.
Lieutenant G overnor Mead got in his bid
before such a scheme occurred to Mr..
Merrill or to Charles 2. Smith of Burling
ton, another aspirant for the governor
ship. While a certain section of Rutland
county has engineered the political des
tiny of the state for a number of years it
has never been charged with an insane
desire to further the political interests of
Doctor Mead This time it got caught in |
corner. 1t would be disastrous for the |
machine to tell acknowledgements |
Mead to take his money and go to blazes
Yet it is a secret from the throne room
that DIN Merrill was dense not to have |
thought of such scheme as did Mr..
Mead and foretsalled the latter
Doctor Mead will pass out rain checks,
and in addition to getting drawback
from the next legislature he has no reason
to believe that he has jeopardized his
chances of being elected the next governor
of Vermont. Those that have been in
clined to place the grizzled old doctor on
the shelf are now rubbing their eyes, and
how it happened.
Mr.. Smith, Burlington's contribution to 1
the bevy of openeyed ones, is fnancier.
1t j. more than a good guess that he
would not entertain for a moment such a |
plan as Doctor Mead has done. When :
one gets money from Mr.. Smith or of
bis bank they have got to have collateral /
and it has got to be of the ls-carat vari- i
Ety. Then, too, Mr.. Smith does not loan S
money for fun. Oh, no, he gets a rate i
If interest just as high as the law permits. t
he might have thought of such a scheme a
Is originated with Mr.. Mead, but If he c
lid it is safe to say that he put it aside as t
wholly unfeasible. +
In the political and financial annals of t
Vermont the action Of Lieut. Governor n
lead in putting up a small fortune to a