The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-03-13
HAPeooD AGAIN LOOSE
Tries to Distract Attention From His
Smallness Of Public Spirit.


Editor of the Banner:-It seems
that in your edition the evening be
fore election, you had a good deal to
say about me. calling me some pet
Names etc, very much TO my edifca.
ton.
In regard TO the distribution of those
circulars, | would not deny participa.
tion in the act even if could. so far
as any disrepute Is concerned in the
matter. | dare say that you naturally
suspected me remembering the fact
how | visited your Office upon my in.
spection tour and requested you to
publish the amount the proposed new
court house would cost each separate
town upon the basis of your own fig
ures-as you reckoned il IS per cent
.of the list This you refused to do
as it would be misleading" using your
own mislead" up our way /
presume
Perhaps, however, the fact that
Manchester voted sum of money to
defray the expenses Of printing and
circulating these bills may throw some
light upon the matter.
AS regards the truth of the sums
stated in the handbills | personally
know this much, that when the ques-
ton came up whether the exact
amount now called for to start opera
tons by the bill should be used or
said amount increased by a part. at
least of the inevitable "afterclap"
which always accompanied such move
ments, il was thought by the body Of
representative north shire citizens
considering the matter that Justice to
the voters demanded that something
somewhere near the true amount
should be used you can fool some
of the people all the time, and all Of
the people some Of the time, but YOU
can't fool all the people all the time"
are the words of the lamented Lincoln
apt to this occasion. All of us older
ones remember back, and when you
attempted to make us believe that you
We're going to build new court house
much better than the present, new
jail of the most improved plans. a sep
arate house for the Tailor. all in the
most desirable locations. with no other
building within forty feet for the
amount mentioned, you gave so strong
a dose for our stOmachs that il went
up rather than down, and not even a
second series of biographies would
have been able TO have kept il in
place. In fact we suspect that YOU
made as your main argument in the
Monday evening edition, that all this
was in order to scatter money and EN-
ployment to the places CONTIGUOUS, al
so as Mr.. Putnam commended, in order
to "embelish"
You say that four years ago ! made
a statement to you that | hated Ben
nington and should always do all /
could to iniure the town" | will use
no epithets, they are cheap but to
make the statement correct, it should
have been to the purport that / hate
County politics and should
do all | could to purify them. And
my acts have borne but that assertion.
How Il have hated Bennington"
let acts also speak. That same four
years ago | initiated and put through
the legislature the appointment of
for a suitable memorial
for Seth Warner the leading hero of
the Green Mountain Boys. Two years
ago | myself introduced bill appro,
priating sum of money to erect this
memorial in the town of Bennington.
twice making special visit TO the
capital after my rejection on account
Of supposed connection with the Post
Office, to attend 20 its interests. The
bill passed but, for some unexplained
reason received a pocket veto from
The Governor Now as a member of
4 commission appointed by the Yer
mont Historical society, | am using
my best effort to secure an appropria-
ion, ten times the original bill, for a
statue of Warner to be erected, so far
rs my influence can so, in the town of
Bennington. This is how ! hate Ben
lington.
AS to the Court House in Manches-
er, she still stands, and, methinks
me will stand in spite OF all machi
nations as long as you and | stand
lboye the sods which will sometime
over us.
Your charge that was UNI
ible to locate the Court House in Ben
lington after having testified to its
adequacy from personal examination,
S resented with indignation. There
5, or should be, a limit to newspaper
license, even the evening before cleo
ion.
NJ. J Hapgood,
'eru, VI, March s, 'O9.