The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-02-29
Material Progress in Vermont

Maxwell Evarts of Windsor needs
no advocate as a loyal and devoted
and enthusiastic champion Of Yer
mont Burlington learned this for It.
self long ago in the days Immediately
preceding the selection Of location
for the state fair The members of
the Vermont Fish and Game league
discovered this when at Bluff Point
they joined hands across the lake"
with our New York neighbors and
gained those intimate relations with
Governor Hughes which continued SO
long as he remained executive of the
Empire state, and which won for him
an admiration and an esteem that still
endure The thinking people of all
Vermont learned this while Mr.. Ev-
arts was in the legislature, and they
have continued TO be impressed
through his splendid service TO the
cause OF agriculture in connection
with the state fair as we'll as TO in
dustrial progress in the Green Noun
tain state through his example In &C.
tablishing at Windsor great manu-
featuring Industry.
Mr. Evarts has now placed the peo-
pie OF Vermont under further debt Of
gratitude by the convincing and con-
elusive statement he has made in the
number of the Vermonter just issued
in reply to certain structures on our
state and the inhabitants thereof in
the Rossiter article distributed by the
American Statistical association.
The tributes paid to the men and
women of Vermont from its early set
tlement to the present day is shown
by Mr.. Eyarts TO be all that would
satisfy its most loyal citizens. These
include Mr. Rossiter's admission that
probably mo state in the Union was
settled by choicer immigration than
that which passed up the Connecticut
river to the Green Mountains" that
"the rare quality Of the settlers has
proved to the later generation an IN
heritance as valuable as strong
constitution to the individual" that
"the number OF present-day Vermont
ers possessing in full measure the
fine traits of the fathers Is much
greater than the number of those who
shaped the early destinies OF the
| state"
Mr. Eyarts wonders, therefore wha
II is that so disturbs the critic o
Vermont particularly as It is cleal
from the latter's own paper that "th'
population OF Vermont is steadily in
creasing" Mr.. Evarts asks; "Wh,
is it then that Vermont has been sci
ected for this gloomy jeremiad?" Al
ter diligent search he says 1T Is no
plain what causes Mr.. Rossiter I,
take such a gloomy view" He con
cludes that IL must either be the los
in the population OF the small towns
The fact that Vermont is an agricul
tural state. or the falling off IN h
lumber industry. as there is nothing
else"
One explanation is that Mr. Rossi
ter lid not have the benefit Of tn,
census return for 1910 when he wrote
and Mr., Evarts makes good this lack
Mr.. fvarts shows that when Their,
were no railroads Il made little diff
terence where In Vermont the farm
was located so long as 1t was nroduc
tive; but from 1850 to 1860 this sltu
alton changed and in order TO be neal
railroad the same population in
some OF the smaller towns Is Lot q
sign of deterioration, therefore. and
in any event the change IN question
is to be noted In all other states.
With reference 10 the position oil
Vermont as an agricultural state MI
l'varts says that The people Of Yer
mont are proud Of the fact that 5ho
opening Of the West. which DESTROYED
the agricultural interests OF The bal
ance OF New England failed TO dcs
troy the farmers OF the Green Noun
tain state" They are proud of the
fact that the farms OF their state on
January 1. 1910. had two and onchpli
times as many horses, cattle and
sheep as the farms OF New Hamp
shire. state OF substantially the same
climate and acreage. "and more than
any other New England state" From
1900 to 1910 the value OF Nerm"nts
iarm property increased from sos.
i5i.i2 to si45,399.I2S or over thirty
Tour per cent In ten years
Mr. Evarts notes the reassuring fact
that Nermonts manufactures have IN
creased In the last decade faster even
than her agricultural interests, and
this Is particularly true OF the last
FIVE years. He emphasizes the fact
that more than one.half the scales
used In the world come from Nor
mont: the first commercially success
ful turret lathe. now used In all Ia,
machine shops In Europe aud the Uni
ted States, was Invented In Vermont
The automatic turret lathe was ais,
invented In Vermont.
As regards lumber, the industry hal
more than KEEP; even though the stat,
has been settled for a century and /
half. The lumber mill produ.ts wer,
valued at SS.539,1ei In 1900 while II
1910 the value had increased to IS,
sCS.55s
MFR. E,arts finds ground for prid,
as we'll as reinsurance in the follow
Ing fscis about Vermont;
/. That ner population has lncrea
sed moro IN the last zen years than =
any oth,r decade since the Civil wac
2. That there Is an army Of lSS,
200 allies IN the Vermonters In othe
states scattered indeed all over tn
Unlcn but possessing an undimme.
love fer the iathefl6ud
9. That her people are Of the pur
o.; ANGLO Saxon stock IN America.
4 That alone of all New Enslanl