St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1910-07-13
The Governorship.


In another column we publish the
editorial comment of the Plattsburg
Press on the result of the republican
state convention at which DR.. Mead
was non.ins tee for the gOvernorship.
The remarks made in that editorial
show now the verdict is being received
outside of the state of Vermont and
this outside judgment is most humiliat-
ing to all anxious to preserve the good
name of Vermont. 1t brings with
new emphasis to the mind of every
man who believes that Vermont
should have not simply a good govern
ment but the best government pos
sible the question of whether he shall
endorse in it's entirety the policy of
his party or exercise his supreme
right of standing for only such parts
of it as shall aid in giving the best
government. To our mind the time
has come when a healthy independ-
ence on the part of the individual
voter at the ballot box next Septem-
Der will bring to the state very bene
fetal results.
For the most part the republican
ticket is a strong one. It's candidate
for lieutenant governor was chosen
without resort to any questionable
methods. The candidates for secre
tary of state, state treasurer, auditor
of accounts and attorney general 81
won on the successful records and the
unquestionable fidelity they have
shown in their respective positions.
They, too, were chosen without cast
ing any discredit on themselves CT the
state. For these reasons all these
candidates are entitled to and doubt
less will receive the undivided sup
port CT the party. 1t is certainly the
hope of this paper that they %ill.
With the governorship the situa-
ton is very different. DR.. Mead for
two years has been conducting a we'll
organized campaign for the nomina-
ton. He has resorted to methods
that were condemned by a majority
OF the newspapers of Vermont,
methods that he refuses and does not
dare today to make public. Notwith-
standing all this effort when the ap-
peal was made to the people through
the party caucuses a strong majority
refused to endorse him as their cam
didate. Between that time an I the
state convention he secured enough
votes from the delegates so that he
was declared the candidate at the
close of the second ballot. And his
victory has stigmatized the state of
Vermont as a small state for sale to
= the man who will spend money to
secure the nomination and election
to the highest office in the gift IF
the people. Certainly it cannot be
maintained that such result as this
obligates any self respecting citizen
to support him, no matter what the
verdict of the party convention was.
No republican can point to any other
creditable result of the nomination
of DR.. Mead outside of the state. He
is not recognized as a statesman, a
brilliant or a high principled man.
Wherever he IS known outside the
state it is as the man who put the
money in and won. This does him
some injustice because we believe he
will if elected governor try to do his
best, but the above statement is the
opinion outside of his personal sup
porters. Because we believe this to
be true it seems to us that it will be
more credftable to the republicans of
Vermont to so reduce the republican
vote Tor governor that the people IT
home and in. other states will under
stand that the citizenship of this state
is not to be sold even if man can
by questionable methods secure the
republican nomination tor Office
There is much to be said for party
regularity and for the platform OF
the party in the present campaign
that we shall give attention later
But put in its briefest form we have
stated the reason why this paper can
not urge the election of John A. Mead
at this time.