The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-03-09
FRANK 3. HOWE, Esilor asd Prblistsr
Results Versus Extravagant Abus,

believe the half was never told"
Your editorial on The Tact of the
Late Legislature in my opinion is
the best that has yet been written by
any paper in the state" says another
member And yet Governor Prouty.
Chairman Williams, and the Benning-
ton Banner continue to defend the in
defensible.-Rutland Herald.
AS rule selfrespecting newspap-
ers refuse to print anonymous attacks
but the Herald is so ready to lend its
aid to anything tending to defame
the legislature of 1908 that It jumps
at anything no matter how fantastic
and absurd If the Herald will give
the name of his informant the state
can judge as to whether his opinion is
to be taken seriously At any rate he
is mistaken. No man can look over
the printed acts of the legislature of
1908 and say honestly what the Her
aid claims to quote. In fairness to
the much abused legislature of 1908
the Banner asks it's readers to glance
over the following list of the more
important laws enacted at the recent
session:
No Z. Providing for the proper
ventilation of the statehouse, the
need of which has been recognized
for twenty years.
No. H. Creating the state board
Of agriculture and forestry. The
most important act OF any Vermont
Legislature in many years, in the opin-
ion of many Provides plan and
establishes a way to add millions of
dollars to the value and productive
ness Of Vermont real estate during
the next fifty years.
No. 3. Providing for the inspection
of nursery stock brought into the
state. Had the act been in force earl
Ter it might have kept out the San
Jose scale In the future there will
be other pests just as dangerous and
the time to guard against them is in
advance.
No, % to 40. Doing away the
expensive county examiner system
and putting the examination Of teach
ers in control Of the state superin
tendent of education Providing for
an efficient state board of education
Providing for more and better trained
teachers through the establishment OF
a department of pedagogy for Middle
bury college and by increasing the
appropriation for the normal schools
providing they raise the standard OF
their work Making a start TOWARD
manual training schools, one of the
great needs of modern education En-
larging and extending the opportuni
ty to secure expert supervision of oul
country schools Making the chile
labor laws simpler and more easil!
enforced
No so. Appropriating $4,000 an
nually for the State Medical college
This college, now one of the best il
the country, was faced by the neces
sity Of lowering its standard or shut
ting its doors had not the state come
TO its aid.
No. 81. Further helping the towns
in securing Libraries and adding tC
those already in existence.
No 81. Increasing the appropri
alton for permanent state highway
building from $4,000 to $4,000 q
year.
No. 80 Providing a uniform sys
tenn of taxing automobiles for the
benefit of the roads which they in
| mre The law Is faulty in that i
does not assess enough tax on the
high priced cars but it is a long stel
in the right direction.
No l15. TO prevent fire insurance
companies taking advantage of in
sured persons in settling fire losses
No l16. The Public service com
mission law This provides a trbu
nal to whom any person or communit!
wronged by a railroad. express, tele
phone, telegraph, electric light, powel
or gas company can appeal, anC
is designed to protect the public from
the greedness of corporations.
took the better part of an entire leg
isatiye session in the great state o
| New York and all the strength Gov
ernor Hughes and his friends coulC
muster to get through a law there
not as good as this one.
No lis. Giving cities and villages
the power to compel pure milk sup
ply. This act is second to none eyel
passed in Vermont in Importance
Where enforced in other states anC
cities it has reduced the death rate
among infants from ten to twenty
per cent. This act alone is worth al
and more than the recent session O
the legislature cost the state of Yer
mont.
No. 119. To prevent the spread o
tuberculosis by creameries through
mixing tuberculous milk with pure
milk and then using it -promiscuousll
in feeding Young stock, pigs, etc, The
act compels sterilizing all this mill
| through heating Il before 1t goes bach
to be fed. This act is of the highes
| importance but has been lost sigh
of through the attention paid to less
important things.
No. 1913. To prevent the adultor
alton Of paints. This act will be o.
thousands of dollars benefit annually
to Vermont property owners.
No. 1876. To increase the efficiency
Of the Vermont National guard ant
giving this state as good a system as
any in the country
No. 1877 to 147 Simplifying the
trout fishing laws so as to make then
much more capable of enforcement as
yiolators are likely to find when the
season opens.
No. 1911 Regulating the practlc,
of medicine and surgery so as to cur
tail the dangers from quacks ant
swindlers.
No. 159 to 16l. Increasing the of
fectiveness Of the pure food laws.