The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1911-02-24
STATE GOT MONEYS WORTH.
Speaker Howe's Estimate of the Legis
lature of 1910.

Here is what Frank f. Howe, speaker
of the house of representatives of the
legislature of 1910, has to say in hi.
paper, the Bennington Banner, abou,
the legislature s record:
| While not all the things that could
| be desired have been brought about
the legislation, as a whole, is the mos,
progressive that has been produced in
this state in more than one generation
Undoubtedly some blunders have been
made, which will be discovered later
and there are some things which not all
the people will approve, but all legisla.
ton is matter of compromise, and
majority rules in the legislature just as
1t does IN town meeting, and there are
few questions that do not have two
sides. Taken as a whole, however, that
the record is good one will not be de.
MED by anybody familiar with legisla.
ton work.
In addition to these nearly 500 bills
enacted into law there were nearly as
many more which failed of passage.
Some of these took as much or more
time than others Which were passed,
and when it is taken into consideration
, that all of these things had to be gone
over carefully, it is, in our humble opin.
ion, arrant nonsense to say that the SEES
sion took too much time. Rather, one
or two weeks more time should have
been taken and the haste of the last
week avoided. So good and unimpeach-
able man as Hon, Justus Dart of
Springfield, who has had frequent ex-
perienee in the legislature, beginning So
years ago, in 1872, says that there was
five times as much work done as by the
sessions OF 20 Years ago, and more than
double what there was even 10 years
ago. With this in mind, not too much
stock should be taken in the criticism
of men who know nothing of legislative
work, as it now is, about the length of
the session.
Never before was so little time given
to trivial matters; never before were
there so few foolish bills introduced and
rarely has there been a session with so
little friction between the members or
between the two houses as at the SEES
sion just closed.
The appropriations are considerable
but will bear investigation. The prin-
cipal new ones are: $4,000 year
more for roads; $4,000 to help found
an institution to care for defective
children; $32 600 to try to improve our
normal schools; $4,000 to build a hos
pital and other needed buildings at the !
state industrial school; about $4,000 |
to help poor towns with their highways
and bridges; $4,000 for much-needed
additions at the state insane hospital: |
$4,000 for the state fair, and $4,000 |
more to aid other agricultural fairs; |
$4,000 year for 12-teacher training
courses, to HELM improve the smaller
schools of the state; $4,000 year more
for the Soldiers home, and $4,000 a
year to aid veterans outside the home;
$4,000 to establish agricultural high
school at Randolph; $500 additional
for Middlebury college; $4,000 per year
more to be expended by state board of
agriculture.
A little money has been wasted for
,hings not really necessary, but prob
IDLY as little as at any session of any
legislature ,N'
We regret a few failures. The house
iilled the. primary election bill, and the
enate refused to allow the state to de-
ide for itself whether it wanted the
ime lock taken off the constitution.
The senate also refused to pass the bills
o compel candidates to make sworn