Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1910-02-23
Fleetwood's Platform.

t. VI. El00LWoOU Ol MOTEISVllI6 mas
given the press statement regard
ing his candidacy for the Republican
nomination for Governor of Vermont.
He is very emphatic in the position
he takes, saying he has no campaign
manager. no money with which to
hire halls, or to pay for brass bands
or printing, and has no literary bu
reau. He puts himself before the
people on the statement he gives
herewith and says that he has no de-
sire to force his candidacy upon them,
but after March 1st, he will be ready
| to discuss Sta issues upon invita-
tion from any place in the State.
Here is his statement:
PARTY PLATFORMS.
A party platform is party pledge
to carry out measures favored there
in. The promises of a party should
be as sacred as the promise of per-
son. The first business of party
convention after organization should
be the reading of the report of the
committee on resolutions before NOM
nations to Office are made. The
standard should precede the standard
| bearer. The usual method postpones
the reading of such report until the
other business of the convention is
completed. Consequently such read
! ing meets with scant attention and
report is perfunctory, in the nature
of benedicrion instead of the utter
ance of matured conviction.
DIRECT NOMINATIONS.
The people should directly select
candidates whom they directly elect.
| The caucus and delegate conventions
are largely discreditRd as representa-
tives of the popular will. Direct
nominations make candidates. spring
from the people. In State like
| Vermont, the nomination is generally
equivalent to an election. Hence,
popular interest should be fully CEN
tered on the first choice of candidates
through direct primaries and this
choice should not be left to the mer-
cenary manipulation of caucus or
the interested combinations of 1.-THE
night before" the convention.
CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT.
A corrupt practices act should be
passed by the legislature. Such act
should limit the amount which candi-
dates for Office may expend in obtain
ing both nomination and election ;
should define the purposes of all eX
penditures; should compel all candi-
dates to file in the office of the secre-
tary of state an itemized statement
under oath of the amount and nature
of all expenses; should provide that
if any false statement is made in such
affidavit that the pers on making tt {
same shall be punished as in a case 81
perjury.
DISTRICT COURTS.
Believing that the pressure of eX
pense in judicial proceedings comes
largely in the initial stages of litiga
ton, | would favor the establisnn en-
of district courts with final jurisdic
ton in civil cases of at least two hun
dred dollars and appellate jurisdiction
! of at least $500. The nucleus of sucl
J a system is found in the mnnicipa
courts. This system would tend t
] relieve the congestion of small case
in the superior court, would haste
trial and decrease the cost of obtain
7 ing justice.
HIGHWAYS.
: Good roads decrease the expense @
) the farmer in hauling the products o
> his farm, attract travel and increas
values. A trunk line system of high
. ways, state controlled and maintained
would tend to further develop tn
. state and would improve the cross
roads come citing with such main line
: and such a system should be estat
lished.
5 SCHOOLS.
Greater eYnpt asis should be place
on the mastery of the fundaments
elements in education, reading, writ
/, ing, spelling and arithmetic and in
of naiI 10 bo 70 ",
p, CT agriculture in schools and indus
trial, manual and commercial training
a FOREST RESERVES.
4 State forest reserves should
created in each county. Such re
5 serves aside from the value of tn
timber would be educational center
3 for the people of the vicinity wher
? they could learn the methods and re
I suits of good forestry.
, TAXATION.
! Believing that the faithful admins
: tration of the existing tax law woul
reveal wherein changes should b
: made, I would favor the establish
. ment of state tax commission @
. which the commissioner of state take
should be chairman, as recommends
! by the report of the special committe
) on taxation. Such a committee woul
: greatly si1 in making the administra
tion of the present law uniforr
throughout the state.
| REFERENDUM.
Direct nominations and reTere ndum
supplement each other. The frs
pass upon men. the second upon meas
ures. The state grange has unani
mously passed resolutions favoring
referendum of the act relating to tn,
traffic of Intoxicating liquors. Will,
referendum is contrary to the theor,
of our representative form of govern
ment, yet when a wide, general senti