The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1910-03-21
Yes. aAnxthIno-AImost.s


blood. or other circulating medium
bearing the imprint Of the Mead lit
eray bureau, Senator John L. Lewis,
manager. Saturdays issue contained
two column editorial from the Ia
( cue pen of that statesman--or We are
quite mistaken II dealt with an edi
torial In our last weeks issue cap
toned. Anything 10 Beat Mead" We
reproduce the article on this page in
its Notwithstanding that the
News, with greater space at its com
shorter article, but instead picked
ont certain texts from it and attacked
them by piecemeal. leaving its read
eIs under Misrepresentation as to
what we really siad.
The Mead organ is profoundly
shocked at the bluntness of the avow-
lal. "Anything-almost--to beat
Head The author is not novice.
and aust easily have traced the
& ness Of our expression. The Mead
i1eces have repeatedly declared that
| H. he present canvass it was ANY.
thing to beat Mead We merely
accepted their assertion-adding a
qualifying adiective-and sought to
justify the situation by advancing
certain reasor why many voters are
earnestly demanding. first of all, the
defeat ii Mead That was all. The
good name and fair fame of Yer.
mont are not concerned further than
that II is quite IS important, some.
! times, that Gel tain ambitions should
be thwarted as that certain others
should be pr0n'ci d. If the result is
advantage to the state, all consider
q, that result justifes the action.
~ e do not propose to go over in
detail our objections to Doctor Mead.
as summarized last week-not now.
Every one of them holds good stlll.
in spite of the vehement denial and
defence of the News. The Doctor is
am amiable old gentleman who wants
70 round ont his career by adding the
title Of governor If elected. he will
be seventy years old when he has
been six months in Office He is old
er than any governor the state has
ever had, at the time of taking Office.
He Is Older han either of our pres
ent senators, or any high public Of
tlcials elevated to Office in recent
years The governorship is not-at
least it should not bean old mems
retreat The duties are wearing and
eXacting if properly performed, and
IL is valid objection against Doctor
Mead that he cannot, at his time of
life, give the state the active virile
administration that a younger man
could The Doctor may be the reju.
yenated person that the News pic.
lures. and equal to the stress, but he
certainly impressed impartial obser.
vers at the last legislative session as
deficient even for the creditable per
Torrance of the light duties of the
course, he has grown old not young.
since then.
Surprise deepens to amazement as
we read the practical demurrer filed
by the News writer to the objection
| that Doctor Mead has no constructive
Ideals for state betterment when, ."
1t asks, did a Vermont legislature
ever go to governor for construc-
tive ddeas? What laws are there
now on Vermont statute books from
(which state betterment has been de-
rived, that were placed there as hay-
ing originated with a Vermont COVER
nor?' Where has the News writer
been living these past few years?
Does he not know that practically
the entire program mapped out by
Governor Proctor in 1906 was written
into legislation by the general as
sembly OF that year. with undoubted
benefit to the state? Does he not
know that Governor Prouty, with an
lintractable legislature TO deal with,
yet carried through the main meas.
ures of his ante-conventiOn platform
Does he not know that the despsed
and rejected Clement won a Parthian
victory by having the issues for
which he ran as governor written in
to law? And does he not know that
such ability is the kind of which Yer.
mont stands in need today-leader
ship. not dictatorship, but wise and
progressive leadership. OF this Doc
tor Mead has given not the slightest
symptom. If elected he will be the
genial commonplace fgurehead-
that's all His platform is empty, in
definite, falterng-and such his ad
ADMINISTRATION would surely be.
We pass over other points at pres
ent and come to one wherein the
News writer has positively misstated
We did not complain because Doc
tor Mead is reputably man o
wealth. The weakness of such
position would carry its own rebuke
What we did say was that he is
rich man, with plenty of money t,
spend in promoting his canvass, an,
a manifest willingness to do so.
That is quite different from the mer
/ possession OF wealth The Mead car
vass has ample money at It's con
mand II has already used consider
able sums II has established a bul
eau, engaged n salared manager pu
5 out paid advertising, scattered san
pie newspapers and hired workers [
promote It. 1t has packed publ
o state gatherings with the latter. Flu
Their than that. 1t is generally belle,
cd that threatening opposition woul
open the foodgates. Vermont ha
seen a few money campaigns and tn
honest feeling of her citizenship doe
not favor them. The very best wa
to check the tendency of rich men I
spend that which they have in abul
= dance in politics is to beat thel
when the symptoms appear. This
condition already exists Nothin
p would be so likely to discourage tn
use of money in our canvasses as
&c render it abortive by an adverse We
is dict. .,othing else would so pave tn
way to deserving men needed by tn
|. state, who cannot or will not enter
- contest of this kind.
Under these conditions, we acceI