Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1912-06-05
CONGRESSMAN PLUMLEY.

in the second district Is certainly
interesting, for it is the first time
since his election in 1908 that the
voters Of this district have been
informed of the work their Congress
man was doing in Washington. We
believe, however, if the writer of the
article had carefully examined the
Congressional Record, he would not
have been so fervent in some of his
statements.
The article says that when Mr..
Plumley was elected to Congress
much fault was found with the rules
of the house and that Mr.. Plumley
''voted for every liberal rule which
was made in the 61st Congress-
Mr.. Plumley was elected Rs an anti
Cannon representative. yet the Con-
gressional Recor3 shows that on March
18th, 1909, the day Mr.. Plumley took
his seat in the House of Representa-
tives, his first act was to vote for
Mr.. Cannon for speaker; the record
also shows that on the same day he
voted to adopt the old rules of the
House, which resolution was defeated
by four votes; the Record also shows
that on the same day on the resolu-
ton offered by Hon. Champ Clark
that the committee on rules should
consist of fifteen members, that it
should elect it's own chairman and that
bo al diroatod tO
revise, simplify and codify the rules
of procedure of the house, (Which
resolution was for the purpose of
restricting the committee-appointing
power of the speaker and to liberalize
the rules, Mr. Plumley voted "Nay."
On the resolution offered on the
same day by Mr.. Fitzgerald, which
slightly modified the old rules yet
retained to the speaker his power,
Mr.. Plumley voted YEA" but as
many remember. Mr.. Fitzgerald was
one of the few democrats who were
in the combination with the so.called
standpatters to control the house. A
year later Mr.. Plumley did vote Ito
increase the rules committee to ten
members and to eliminate the speaker
from that committee. In that matter
he voted with the progresslves, but
on the same day when the resolution
declaring the office of speaker IF the
House of Representatives vacant was
offered and which was aimed at the
dethroning of Speaker Cannon so that
progressive legislation might have
fair chance, Mr.. Plumley voted for
Mr.. Cannon. 1t seems to us that the
statement made in this editorial that
Mr.. Plumley voted for "every liberal
rule which was made in the 61st Con-
gress" does not coincide with the
official Congressional Record.
The News further says that Mr..
Plumley sis not in favor of repeating
the oleomargarine law, but on the
contrary at all times before the COM
mittee and elsewhere has stood firmly
for the purpose of trying to make the
law stronger and more vital and
helpful to the butter producers of
the country" This will be good
news to the National Dairy union, for
up to this time, Mr.. Plumley has not
been regarded as working in harmony
with it in the great work it is doing
for the dairymen.
The present law places a tax of
ten cents per pound on all oleomar-
garine colored in imitation of butter,
and a tax of one-fourth cent per
pound OH other oleomargarine. This
is the so-called Grout law and bears
the name Of the former representa-
tive from this district, the late Hon.
w. W. Grout, and was strongly sup.
ported by him, a mar from our own
county of Orleans. At the time the
GrsCt law was passed, the cleo.
margarine interests contended that it
would ruin the oleomargarine indus
try, yet the fact remains that 0,000,.
600 pounds more OF oleomargariue
was manufactured last year than the
year the Grout law was passed.
During the present session of Con.
gress bill was introduced called the
Lever Bill" which provides that
oleomargarine shall be put up ir
metal or fibre containers. ranging
from one-quarter of pound to five
pounds in size; that the same shall be
known as original packages and shall
be stamped with a revenue stamp ant
sold in the original package in man
neT similar to the way tobacco is now
stamped and sold. The Lever bill
further provides tax of one cent pei
Heund on all oleomargarine and allows
oleomargarine to be colored any color
the manufacturer chooses. The bone
of contention between the dairy inter