The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-06-04
LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR
MIGHT BE BETTER SPENT.
Money Proposed to Be Put Into Sol
diers' Monument.

|
diers' Monument.
Editor, Barre Daily Times: | was an
| interested and attentive listener at our
| Board Of Trade meeting on last Friday
evening and, while the opportunity was
afforded me, the same as everyone else,
of stating my views on the subjects I'M
dor discussion, | refrained from doing
so because | do not believe | am gifted
with the faculty of expressing myself
| in public in the manner that / would
| like, or, if | am SO gifted, | have not
developed it to that point where | can
successfully do SO. Therefore, | ask for
the space necessary to publish these few
! lines, giving an expression of opinion
upon one or two OF the subjects that
were under discussion there that even
ing.
was very much impressed by the
very able and scholarly presentation Of
| the argument for a soldiers monument
by that capable and worthy citizen,
| John w. Gordon, but, candor compels me
| to say that | believe the money that
| would necessarily need to be raised for
an object of this kind could be used to
much better advantage at this time in
another direction. | am willing to con.
cede that we owe duty to the dead, es-
pecally those brave men who fought
and died that the country might live,
| but / also contend that we owe a duty
| to the liyinga duty OF more eonse-
quence to my mind than our duty to
the dead and, while | am willing to give
as literally as my means will allow, to
| the end that the old soldier may be
| honored, / could with good grace take
| the same money that | would give for
such a purpose and donate 1t to the
city OF Barre or the state of Vermont,
if need be, for the purpose of building
sanatorium on one of our outlying
hills for the benefit OF our citizens, who
are at present and are certain to be in
the future, afflicted with that scourge
of the white race and especially the city
of Barre tuberculosis.
/ have no desire to be misunderstood
in this matter, for there is not man
in the city of Barre to-day who has
any more respect for those brave men
than | have | respect them; | honor
| them as | do any man that has ever by
voice, pen or sword, struck blow for
the cause of liberty and the uplft of
the human race. and, to my mind, the
very fact that these men fought and
died for such a cause is better monu-
ment than any that can ever be cut out
of Barre granite.
If it is true, as / have heard stated
that there are at the present time forty
cases of advanced tuberculosis in our
city and God only knows how many
cases that are not 50 far advanced as
to be detected, what a condition, and
what are we going to do about it
The cause everyone knows and SO long
as granite is cut in the manner and at
the pace that it is to-day, there can be
no prevention unless there can be found
practical dust remover or the medical
profession can find some way to graft
new lungs into a man who is unfor-
tunate enough to contract this terrible
disease. Fresh air and sunshine are
the only cure known, at least the only
one / have heard advanced up to the
present time, and if this be true, why
not let us provide suitable place for
these cases so that they will not be
obliged to use our streets and parks
to get the necessary air and sunshine,
and, at the same time, relieve their
wives and children from the necessity
OF their being intimately associated with
them.
My opinion is so positive in this mat
ter that cannot conceive of how the
voters of the city OF Barre could vote
to appropriate the amount of money
that they did to purchase an auto fire
truck for the protection Of the granite
plants at either end Of our city, for by
50 doing, they have put themselves
squarely on record as fayoring prop
erty rights" above human rights !
an, willing to admit that il would be
loss to the various owners of our large
plants at either end of our city If they
were TO lose them by fire; also a loss
to certain extent in wages to the men
who we're employed there. At the same
time ] contend that it is loss to the
community when man contracts this
disease at middle age land lots of them
dol and dies when he could he saved by
proper care and treatment in an insti
tuition built for that purpose to take up
lighter" occupation and be saved for
a useful life for many years to come.
Carl S. Mute.
Barre, VT. June /, 1912.