The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-08-21
OPENING RALLY BY
PUBL|CANS
LAST NIGHT
Large Crowd Assembled at Put.
nam House Square
WO VERMONT SPEAKERS
Thomas E. OBrien of Bellows Falls
And Clarke c. Fits of Brattle-
boro Discuss the Issues.

Inc nrSt hepuDuCdu IdilS VI INC
present campaign was held from the
stand in Putnam House square last
evening before a large and appre-
ciative audience. The speakers were
Thomas T.. O'Brien of Bellows Falls
and Former Attorney General Clarke
C. Fits of Brattleboro Edward C..
Bennett presided but made no re-
marks further than to brify intro
duce the speakers. The Bennington
City Band was in ATTENDANCE and
gave an excellent concert before the
speakers were announced.
II was evident that there was
large progressive element in the au-
dience, references to Colonel Roose-
welt and the new party being receiv-
ed with enthusiastic applause.
Mr.. O'Brien confined himself ex-
cusively TO state issues and in
logical way explained a number or
features of the present taxation sys-
TEN in this state. The present sys-
TEN. which the speaker said, was
formulated and carried into effect by
the Republican party in this state,
is being vigorously attacked by Har-
land b. Howe, the Democratic can
didate for governor. Not only is the
Democratic leader attacking the sys-
TEN, said the speaker, but he is go
ing up and down the state declaring
that i'm the enactment of our taxa
ton laws the people have been fool
ed by the bosses in the employ of the
trusts. The Democratic leader,
said Mr. O'Brien. is not max
ing any specific charges for the rea-
son that he is unable to prove any
thing OF the kind.
Mr.. OBrien showed the fallacy OF
Mr. Howe's argument that the prop
erty of corporations should be taxed
in the towns in which it existed for
the benefit of the individual town
treasures by inquiring what would
happen in the 100 towns in the state
in which there are no railroads. He
likewise showed the impossibility Of
taxing the property of other corpo-
rations.
The speaker called attention to the
record of the Republican party in
Vermont which had been responsible
for all the progressive legislation of
RECENT NtulSs Ilt NiACu Ah0 SOth
roads movement through which our
highways have been so improved that
Vermont has a record with tourists
of having made the greatest progress
in his direction of any eastern state
He also spoke of the manner in
which the party had met one of the
big problems of the day by the ere
alton of the public service commits
sion which has the power to protect
the people against exorbitant rates.
He admitted the Democratic charge
that the cost of operating the state
government had increased but he
held that the increase had been more
than warranted by the benefits that
the people had received.
He called to the attention of his au-
dience the facts that the Republican
party of Vermont stands pledged to
the enactment of so exemption law
and an employers liability law that
would protect both the interests of
the workingman and the employer.
He spoke of Mr.. Fletcher, the can
didate for governor, as a man who
was in every way qualified to fill the
office and urged upon his hearers to
vote the state Republican ticket and
to send a Republican to the legisla-
ture.
Mr.. Fits went into the field of
national politics. In opening his ad-
dress he stated that he had been a
woman suffragist all his life and
that the Republican candidate for
governor Mr.. Fletcher, likewise had
for years favored the granting OF the
suffrage to women. This announce
ment was enthusiastically applauded
by the large number of women in the
audience and by many Of the men.
The speaker went into the history
of the Chicago convention and ex-
planned in detail the attitude Of the
organization which supported Presi-
dent Taft. He told his audience that
the Republican party in 1850 had es-
tablished the precedent that the unit
rule of voting delegates in a Republi-
can convention should not prevail,
that each district in every state
should be entitled TO vote its dele
gates according to the preference of
the people in that district. This was
the law Of the convention and could
not be broken by the action Of any
individual state as was attempted
by California In maintaining this
rule at Chicago he declared that ev-
cry one had been treated with the ut
most fairness.
Mr.. Fits went after Frank
A. Munsey. one Of the leading
progressives. with considerable vigor.
He declared that Mr.. Munsey. who Is
a publisher Of magazines has a per
sonal grievance against President