The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1910-05-26
Quite Out of the Ordinary

The Rutland Herald i'm its report of
Lieutenant Governor Meads speech
following the organization of a Mead
Club in the Marble City, says:
'Dr Mead stated that he intended
to propose legislation along certain
lines. He wanted to attempt several
things that were out of the ordinary
The work of personally reviewing all
bills was too much for one man o do
properly and in the best interests Of
the state as the governor is now ex-
pected to do If elected the doctor
would have at his right hand as adj
wiser in these matters one who has
helped him greatly by his advice thus
far in his campaign. Senator j. l..
Lewis would be with him at Montpel-
Ter to help him. He would also sur
round himself with other capable
men"
In this announcement he is giving
striking illustration of his state
ment that he wants to attempt things
out of the ordinary. This suggestion
is decidedly out of the ordinary 1t
is a proposal to establish an extra
constitutional adviser to whom he
shall delegate some of his duties as
governor. Apparently he would as
sign to Mr.. Lewis the task of passing
judgment upon certain bills. The in
ference would be that if Mr.. Lewis ap
proved of the bills, Dr. Mead~as gov
ernor would sign them, while If he
disapproved, they would be vetoed.
Whether Doctor Mead would pay for
such service, or whether Mr.. Lewis
would give his time and services as
a further evidence of his great friend
ship for the Rutland man. is not an
nounced Certainly there is no le-
gal provision for payment by the
state for such services.
In defining the duties of the Attor-
ney General the Public Statutes de-
clare that Said Attorney General
shall advise the elective and appoint
i've state officers on questions Of law
relating to their official duties and
shall advise the elective and appoin-
tive officers on such matters when so
requested The law would indicate
that the governor shall ask advice
] vi AtN aAtVAlNg AifAlhi al Mlltn It 10
in doubt as to any legal question. If
he does not seek such advice then, ac
cording TO the program of Doctor
/ Mead, he sets up a sort of Deputy
| governor, not chosen by the people or
responsible to anyone bur himself to
pass upon the measures enacted by
/ the representatives of the people Of
Vermont LOCALLY choean
The asst phrase, that he would sur
round himself with other capable
men" is delightfully."- indefinite, but
APPARENTLY points to more advisers of
a similar nature to Mr.. Lewis. though
perhaps of lesser influence.
Surely this attempt is out Of the
ordinary. Whether the people OF the
state will think more highly of the
Mead candidacy because of this pro
posal may well be doubted The pro-
liability is that the other gubernator-
ial candidates will feel equal to the
consideration of all bills passed by
the House and Senate, as provided by
law. The Mead papers have been
very active In resenting the sugges-
ton that their candidate was too old
to perform the duties OF the Office and
have cited instances to show with
what vigor he performed the most
difficult tasks and yet it is admitted
by Doctor Mead himself that the work
Of reviewing these bills Is too great
task for one man to attend to per
sonally. Is this an evidence OF wear.
mess on the part of the Doctor? Is
he incapable OF doing the same
amount of work that his predecessors
have done, or does he hold that they
have not performed their task thor
oughly and weu9 n Doctor Mead
proposes II elected governor to dele.
gate any other powers 10 persons OF
his own choosing, whom the Senate
need not confirm. let us know the
facts row and the persons whom he
proposes to appoint This proposal
Is, indeed, most extraordinary.-Mont
pelier Journal.