St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1910-08-31
The Vermont Campaign.


On Tuesday next the voters of Yer
mont will elect their state ana
county officers and town representa-
tives and justices of the peace, VINO
will serve them for the next TWO
wears. The campaign previous 10
this freemen's meeting has been
a unite unusual one in some ways
and a very familiar one in Others
but taken as a whole may prove,
history making epoch in vermont
politics.
The unusual feature has been the
refusal of several staunch republican
papers to support the republican
nominee for governor. This move
ment as is we'll known was started
nv THE CALIFORNIAN followed by
the Enosburg Standard, the North
fold News. the Barre Times and TO
a limited extent by the M1ddIeDury
Register, the Bellows Falls Times
and the Randolph Herald and News
The reasons for this detection OF
sunnort are too we'll known to need
reneating here. The charge has been
before DR.. Mead in the public print
for several weeks that he had USED
money in a way and to an extent
that he dare not make public and
he. by his persistent silence, has
admitted the truth of the charge.
Therefore the original cause for the
refusal of these papers to support
him has been constantly increasing
as the lapse of time enforced the
truth of the charges made against
him,
Use of Money in Politics.-It has
been urged by some of Mr.. Mead
supporters that the above charge
was not definite enough. Several
have claimed that DR.. Mead has not
used more money than other can
didates for governor, a very lew
claim that he has not used money in
any illegitimate way. THE GALE
DOMAIN admits that it is not ready
to name the persons to whom DR..
Mead has paid money nor give in<de-
tail the manner in which such money
has been used 1t win state, how
ever, that there are persistent rum
ors that a considerable amount OF
money and some intoxicating liquor
has been distributed in ST. Johnsbury
and Caledonia county by an agent OF
DIR. Mead. The editor of this paper
has found several voters in this vii
lage charged with receiving money,
who say they know people who have
received Mead money, but deny that
they have received any themselves.
AS a result of the investigation, THE
CALIFORNIAN believes that the
charges of illegitimate use of money,
that is the use of money contrary to
law, is we'll founded. For these
reasons it still advocates that every
self respecting person should not only
refuse to vote for DR.. Mead for gov
ernor. but they should vote for some
law abiding citizen in opposition to
DR.. Mead.
The Meaning of This.-The cleo
ton of DR.. Mead to the governorship
means that while it has been gener-
ally believed and openly charged that
money has been unlawfully used by
him in securing the nomination the
people of Vermont either do not care
enough about the disgrace it brings
to them to prevent the sale of the
republican voters of the state or else
we are living under an election sys-
tenn that makes it impossible fol
them to correct such an evil. With
the Mead men claiming that the
governorship has been bought before
and their open methods in the pur
chase of it this year the state Of Yer
mont can no longer maintain it:
reputation for political honesty. L
will become too widely known as {
pocket borough for sale to any am
bilious man with money enough tt
buy up its political workers. L
will mean that no man unwilling t.
pay political tribute to the loves
and most undesirable class of poll
teal workers can aspire to the gov
ernorship 1t will mean that th'
political life of the state can not b,
controlled by respectable citizens
but they will be repeatedly over
whelmed by a class of men the.