The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-09-21
BENNINGTOh COUNTY
VERMONT IMPROVEMENT
ASSOCIATION NEWS
School Union


School Union
The school union for the purpose
of expert supervision between Airing
ton, Sandgate, and SALISBURY was
completed Saturday and Mr.. John T.
Whittier of Brattleboro, Vermont,
now District Superintendent of the
Connecticut Valley union was engag-
ed as supervisor This is another
decided step in advance for Benning
ton County. Only a little over
month ago Bennington County was
at the foot of the ladder of the lead
ing counties of the State as far as
expert supervision was concerned.
Since then six towns have been
brought together through the untiring
efforts of one of the prime movers of
the Bennington County Vermont I'm
provement Association and the
School directors and have formed two
unions This means that Bennington
County is urging into the front rank
as far as expert supervision is con-
cerned. Let the agitation now con-
tinue regarding the introduction of
practical subjects in our schools I'M
| til we shall have the number of eX-
perts paralleling less superintendent
and will bring Bennington county in
| to the front rank not only in Vermont
| but in the entire United States as far
as its public education is concerned.
Roads
The following towns have failed to
work out their full ratio of the State
maintenance money up to Sept. /,
| 1912:
Glastonbury, r. B. Young, s2O.50
Manchester, Fred Bourne $500
Pownal, VIM. Russell, 1900
| Peru, NJ. ]. Hapgood, $500
Rupert, H. ~ Moore. SO 90
Readsboro, j. F.. Carrier $500
! This means these towns can draw
extra money for filling ruts, remov-
| culverts and bitches.
September is one of the hardest
months on a road and the selected
roads must be carefully maintained
until snow flys or else no part of the
maintenance money can be paid to a
town by the Highway Commissioner.
A little working together on the
part of the Village people for the vii
| lage roads and the farmers for the
| farming districts could soon put the
roads in condition, as Mr.. Strout says
| in the Atlantic Monthly, to save at
least fifty per cent of waste in the
wear and tear of teams
Sources
| There are two sources from which
the Bennington County Vermont Ina
provement Association must obtain
| its support and receive its encourage
ment One is from the business men
and the city people The other is
from the farmers. and the laboring
men.
In a conversation with one of the
wealthy city men. Mr.. Scheuerle. the
Secretary of the Association was told
that the wealthy men who come to
the County for the summer will be
glad to help and help literally for
such a movement as that of the AS
ISOLATION providing everyone who is
| a permanent resident in the County
| will do what he or she can whether II
is one dollar or ten dollars or one
uOlidIS. Ills iIldu Sdiu lndt
he would be willing to do his share
| and give very literally If he felt that
everybody was doing what they could
and that it was absolutely necessary
| in order that the work should sue
ced that the permanent residents
should get in and pull.
This is Just the kind of co-opera-
| ton that the Bennington County Yer
mont Improvement stands for. We
are convinced that Joseph Woodbury.
Strout in the article in the Atlantic
Monthly for September. is right when
he says mo solution of so great a
problem can che from outside the
rural life itself Any amount of
money poured into the country in the
form of renovating the abandoned
farms, gifts of public libraries,
churches, what not, can never save
the country. No one is helped by
conditions that impoverish him That
is equally true of communities. The
country must find its own soul IL
must think its own thoughts. II must
renovate its own abandoned farms,
build its own public Libraries,
churches, and all the rest In a
word, il must become responsible for
its own life, or il is bound to lose that
| life utterly"
Neither the city, nor any other
power outside, can redeem the rural
community. The rural community
redeem itself The deepest call to-
day is for a rural consciousness;
sense of life in the fields and forests;
passion for the life of the country"
On the other hand IL must also be
remembered that the cities and larg-
er villages as wei as the men of
large fortunes are dependent upon
the farmers Every consumer in
our cities" says Prof. A. $. Cook OF
Yale University, lis. whether he real
ICES il or not, interested in every far
mer who has a surplus product to
dispose of-concerned that such sur
plus shall be as large as possible.
and that IL shall reach him al the
lowest practicable cost
"Everybody-the exceptions are
negligible-uses butter. milk and
meat, and therefore everybody is
concerned that the grass and hay
eaten by cattle shall be produced
cheaply-that is. that the yield of
these products per acre shall be
doubled or trebled, provided this can
be done in such a way as TO enhance
the farmers profits. and thus make