The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-02-10
DIRECT PRIMILARIES
+. G. Fleetwood Declares Himself in
Favor of Them in Statement Of
Platform.

Morrisville, Feb. S.-Hon. Freder.
ick G.. Fleetwood, the candidate from
Lamolle county for the Governor
ship, has issued statement of the
platform on which he will stand during
his campaign and if elected to office
during his incumbency. While max
ing known his ideas as to the best
methods of improving Vermont and
Vermonters, Mr.. Fleetwood asserts
chat he will have no campaign man.
ager to take charge of his campaign
as he has no money to spend for the
rental of halls, nor for printing. He
stated, however, that after March 1st
he will hold himself in readiness to
accept any invitations that may be
extended to him to speak at any place
in the State.
Mr.. Fleetwoods platform, tersely
Slated, is as follows:
A Party Platform.
A party platform is party pledge
to carry out i'm the future the me2-
sures favored therein. A promise
of a party should be as sacred as n
promise of person. The first bus
mess of a party convention after or
ganization should be the reading o.
the report of the committee on reso-
! lutions, before nominations to of
flee are made. The standard should
precede the standard bearer. The
usaul method postpones the reading
of such a report until the other bus
mess of the convention is completed.
| Consequently such reading meets with
scant attention and little interest.
The adoption of the report is per
| functory; in the nature of a benedic-
tion instead of the utterance of a ma-
tured conviction.
Direct Nominations.
| The people should directly select
candidates whom they directly elect.
The caucus and delegates to conven-
tfons are largely discredited as rep.
resentatives of the popular will.
Direct nominations make candidates
spring from the people. In State
like Vermont, a nomination is gener-
ally equivalent to an election; hence
popular interest should be fully CEN
tered on the first choice of candi~
dates through direct primaries and
this choice should not be left to the
mercenary manipulation of the cau-
Gus, or the interested combinations
of the night before the convention.
Corrupt Practices Act.
A corrupt practice act should DE
passed by the next Legislature. Such
act should limit the amount which
candidates for office may eXpend IN
obtaining both nomination and cleo
tion; should define the purpose of all
expenditures; should compel all
candidates to file in the office OF the
| Secretary of State, an itemlzed
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
person making the same shall be
punished as in case of perjury.
District Courts. De
Believing that the pressure of ex-
pense in Judicial proceedings comes
largley in the initial stages of litiga-
tion, | would favor the establishment
of district courts, with final jurisdic-
ltion in civil cases of at least 500
and appellate jurisdiction of at least
$500. The nucleus of such a system
is found in the municipal courts
This system would tend to relieve
the congestion of small cases in the
superior courts, would hasten trials
and decrease the cost of obtaining
Justice.
Highways.
Good roads decrease the expense
to the farmer in hauling the productd
of his farm, attract travel and in
crease values. A trunk line system
of highways, State controlled and
maintained, would tend to further
develop the State and would improve
the cross roads connecting with such
main lines. Such a system should be
established.
Schools.
Greater emphasis should be placed
on the mastery of the fundamental
elements in education, reading, writ
ing, spelling and arithmetic and in
creased attention paid to the teach
iing of agriculture in the schools and
Industrial, manual and commercial
Itraining.
Forest Reserves.
State forest reserves should be
created in each county. Such re-
serves, aside from the value of thl
timber, would be educational centers
for the people of the vicinity, where
they could learn the methods and
results of good forestry.
Taxation.
Believing that the faithful admin
istration of the existing tax law would
clearly reveal wherein changes
should be made, | would favor the
establishment of a State tax COM