The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-04-09
What the Small Towns Lose by Re-
duced Representation.

The small towns, which are largely
in the majority, are asked to surren-
der their representative. They are
expected to depart from the time hon
ored custom of a century of electing
one of their number to represent them
in their law-making body.
Is matter of sentiment and deep
personal pride of any account in this
connection We believe ii is and a
thing that cannot be easily overlook
ed. But by those bent on reducing
the representation this will be receiv-
ed in q spirit of ridicule.
However, one of the best guaran-
tees of what the small towns would
lose in the future, would be to show
what they have gained in the past,
purely through the weight of numbers.
In 1890 the 5 per cent. state school
tax law was passed In 1900 this was
raised to per cent. This takes from
the larger towns and apportions to
the smaller a larger tax than they
the smaller towns-pay into the state
treasury.
IL will bother the most ardent ad-
vocate of reduced representation to
show how this law could have been
passed, IL about two-thirds of the
small towns had been denied repres-
entation at that time.
This assistance is a great boon to
the poorer towns where the schools
are not the best and the increasing
cost OF maintenance is growing heav-
Ter each year. This law has been de-
cried, ever since its passage, by every
town that has paid in more than it
has received back.
Two years later the small towns
looted the larger towns again by the
passage of the per cent. State
Highway tax. Many of the small
towns have a larger highway mileage
TO MAINTAIN than the large towns.
This act was modelled after the school
law, and is equally beneficial to the
small towns. 1t was fought by the
large towns with the utmost intensity.
What is true of these two laws is
true Of numberless others which the
socalled farmers have caused to be
placed on the statute books
II is observed that the small towns
are not pushing this question but it
comes from the larger places which
would not lose by it. Indeed, we are
not surprised at the attitude OF our
esteemed contemporaries, the Free
Press, the Messenger and Rutland
Herald. But we are a little surprised
that the Mortified News should be
swerved in the slightest from the path
which 1t had rather timidly taken.
The leading men of any state, as a
rule, locate in the larger places where
there is greater opportunity to make
use of their abilities. With the small
er communities denied their present
numerical weight in the Assembly,
they would be no match for the more
astute members which the larger
towns would be able TO send. This
point will be called a mere bogy and
in reply II will be said that by COM
bining. the smaller towns will send
better men. We do not believe that
is true to any extent, as the towns
generally try to send their best men
now and we fail to see how any better
men can get the election IL they go
only once In four or six years. than II
they go every two.
The day the small towns in Yer
mont give up their biennial represen-
tation in the legislature that day they
lose their most potent weapon for
accomplishing many of their much
needed betterments.-Wa Waterbury Re-
cord