The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-08-16
Consider the Source.
bennington Banner. J

e thought 1T would come. The
revenue to be collected by the news
papers from candidates for direct pri
mary nominations would be rich.
While the common sense of Vermont
would naturally register a "no" to
each OF the primary projects at the |
coming referendum, hope springs eter
nal IN the breast of the human and /
hardWorklng newspaper man. Will not |
the voters temper their common sense
with mercy and give the newspapers a
chance at the pork Windsor Journal /
Not to get unduly excited over a
charge of this kind we are inclined to
think that the mentor of the Windsor
journal Is, to say the least, a tritle I'M
just. The newspapers and their pub
hshers are so different from other folks. |
Some are good, some are bad and most
OF them average up along with the
rest.
Let us look at the question fairly
and without heat or prejudice. The
! Windsor Journal is nowadays supposed
to be inspired by the Evarts family.
The head of this family is Max Evarts,
millionaire corporation lawyer, counsel
for the Hartman lines and of aristo.
cratic birth and training. From this
source, if we are correctly informed,
comes the charge that the newspapers
OF Vermont are clamoring for a pri-
mary election law because it might
bring them more business.
Now it doesn t need any evidence
from us to prove that the big corpora
tions and their attorneys and agents
are trife peevish over the tendency
Of the people lately to insist on having
some part in their own government.
Primary election laws are one of the
weapons that the rank and file are
getting hold of to manage their own
affairs. Naturally the corporations are
not friendly to primary election laws.
Owners and agents and attorneys of
corporations are Just as honest and
decent as other people, but they are
inclined to see things through their
own glasses. They have made a sue
cess in life and they cant possibly
see why anybody should want a
change. People can take their views
if they want to but some way they
are not doing it as much as they used
to.
As q matter of fact the newspapers
of Vermont are not clamoring for
primary alone The Bennington Banner
alone of Vermont newspapers has for
more than ten years urged a primary
law. During the past three or four
years half dozen or so of other papers
have joined in the agitation, but more
than half of the newspapers of Yer
mont are either opposed or are hest
tating which side to take.
Also as a matter of fact primary
election law would not add one dollar
/, to the income of Vermont newspapers
that they Will not get without it. The
editor of The Banner has introduced
two primary bills into the Vermont
legislature which, if they had become
; law would have cut off some revenue
that newspapers ,nCw receive. The
journal mistakes evolution for effect.
The gradual progress of the people
in taking the government into their
own hands and away from corporation
lawyers has resulted in more direct APP
peals to the people themselves and in
the nature of the case much of this
] is done through the columns of the
newspapers which the people read 1t
has been gradually going there without
primary election law and it Will con
e tinue to in the future either with OF
without such a law.
The paragraph from the Windsor
r. Journal printed at the head of this
/ article is simply one more man OF
V straw, one more desperate attempt tC
n scare the people from taking their
own business into their own hands
The charge is false and we believe the
motive behind it is to be selfish. Fol
p these reasons we do not believe it vii
have any effect or influence on thf
voters of Vermont
5 We do not mean by this to accuse
the Journal or Mr. Evarts, if he dic
/ inspire the article, of any conscious
Interior motive in this matter. Birth
education and environment, one or al
d of them gives to the journal and it:
mentor a wrong view. Looking fo1
the mote in the eye Of the primary al
vocatcs they fail to realize the BIZ
II beam of selfishness that dlstorts thei
own vision.