The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1911-05-19
The MeddIer
IN tbs coal fiiy yOs. pai II on

m, Neldler Is triAe disappointed a.
,hs attitude al the bailiils on the pfoPosl'
,;"n N a safe and sane Fourth oil Iuly,
A. NJ understands il, the village officials
helicyc in a thorough enforcement " w
law prohibiting the sale and Use OF e1 ,;,'J
siycs and are fully convinced that w h'ilu
nj Independence day that bIatt,vi,''. ~
cnioyed last July is greatly preferable 20
,be old-fashionea kind, but ~ long - the
authority for making the holiday safe anu
Sanr 4 founded on state laws instean OF
village regulations they do moi feel IN duty
homnd to take any action or issue any
notice regarding what viii be alloNeu ~
I,o NOV m noise. No doubt Il Is true
that The bailiIs have no more power to
enforce the laws regarding explosives thah
ony nrivate citizen who sees III 10 report
violations to the town grand jurors W
state : attorney, but Il would almost seem
MS If then desire 10 preserve law anu oiu.l
would lead them 20 take the initiative III
The matter The Meddlcr does not I'M
drrstand that the bailiiIs OF a veal. ago
brought about a safe and sane Fourth by
means Of any special regulations They
merely insisted upon absolute compliance
with the state laws relating TO the sale
and use of explosives, and m that way ac-
romplishcd their purpose without STRAIN
ING their authority in the slightest. How
ever. If the present board is not sufficiently
interested in this matter TO take steps
there are probably other organizations 10
town that will. The Meddler doeesn
believe that Brattleboro wants 10 go back
to the senseless so-callcd celebrations OF
former years,
II some Of the numerous folks who have
been attributing their recent Ills to the
condition Of the Chestnut Hill reservoir
could have seen the basin when the water
was drawn from il last Saturday they
doubtless would have been grieyously dis
appointed The reservoir was sirprs-
ingly clean II contained no skeletons,
no refuse, no great amount OF vegetable /
matter There was, OF course, a eonsld-
cradle accumulation of sediment, most OF /
which probably came through the pipe |
from the West river pumping station, |
but the worst thing The Meddler discov-
cred. after a careful inspection OF the |
basin, was the remains OF an old shoe and |
one or two tin cans. After the reservoir
had been emptied OF its five million gal
Ions Of water-a supply, by the way for
which many municipalities would pay |
almost any'price Just at PRESENT. was
thoroughly washed by means Of a hose
attached to a hydrant so that now It Is as
clean as a porcelain bath tub, Hereafter,
as for several months past, the reservoir
will be served entirely by the Pleasant
Valley source and there ought TO be no
further occasion for a scrubbing for years
10 come.
Dumping rubbish on the banks Of the
river at any point within the limits OF the
own ought to be prohibited for the sake
IF preserving the appearance Of the stream,
which is one OF BrattleboroS valuable
assets during the summer season. Papers,
boxes and other similar refuse thrown
nto the river below the village need only
/ south wind to spread them over the sur
ace of the water in way that emphasizes
'iyic shiitleSsneSS. Now that the river
las reached point where there is likely |
o be practically no current in il during
he remainder of the summer the practice
Dught to be stopped
Now, when many people are thinking
bout the fortunate outcome of the boat
ng accident on the river Sunday, is per-
laps a good time for The Meddler to re-
,eat what he has often said about the
iuty OF parents to provide a way for their
mldren to learn to swim. No boy or ,
.irl should be allowed to grow up without
mastering this simple art. There is no
when it may be the means of
aving life
An automobile ride through Main {
treet Eat speed well within the law
lakes The Meddler believe that the select j
len are likely before long 10 have an
to test the working of the
ew law which gives them authority to
ompel all who dig up the highways to
ave them IN as good condition as they :
ere in the first place, e
S
Charitably inclined persons with n
lothing, shoes and other articles ia d
I'VE away will be interested TO hear 5
ow one philanthropist got stung a few q
eeks ago. The philanthropist was a n
oman and she had tailor.made suit is
nat she had outgrown. She also had a =
ar of pretty nifty shoes that pinched
er toes. In fact, she had pretty much
lie whole of woman Is outfit and it .,
as IN tirst-class condition. A woman :.
lth a hard luck story about friend
as presented with the outfit with the v
'mpliments of the woman who was t
citing feshy A few days ago the a
and her husband COW tbo ri