Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1913-02-28
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1913.
LETTER FROM C. l. BUTTON.


To the Editor of the Middlebury Reg
ister;
The second proposal of amendment to
our State Constitution to be voted on
March 4th. is deserving of careful con-
sideration. This amendment if ratified
will do away with the September cleo
ton. The writer cannot see why YER
monters should voluntarily consent to
this. The election comes at a convenient
time and has brought our little common
wealth into great fame. Vermont is
smaller part of this great country than
we are apt to realize, only one in every
$50 American citizen living in it; but its
proportion of the national fame and
glory is many times greater than its
proportion of the national popu-
lation. Through our September cleo
ton we have heen permitted many
history as our population alone would
have given US. The eyes of the whole
nation have been upon us and not once
from the birth of the Republican party
to the present moment has our Sep
TENDER election failed to presage cor
rectly the results of the coming No
vember election. Consequently Yer
mont has been made the national battle
ground and the great national leaders
have addressed us,-men who would
never drearo of fighting for the suf
frages of little Vermont were it not for
our September election. Consequently,
too, our people are better versed in
national affairs than are the people of
most of the other States, and as the
population of Vermont has changed less
blythe inroads of immigration than has
the population of other States, the value
of Vermont's judgments in the estima
ton of the citizens of other States
lessen. Moreover we cannot estimate
the financial saving to the nation from
the two months opportunity of discount
ing the results of the November cleo
tons given by the early Vermont cleo
ton. But we can appreciate that we
have been enabled to resume our quiet
and peace of mind as to national affairs
two months earlier and that our ADLER
men have been released to add to their
regulations ii. e. to the reputation of
VermonD through speaking in other
states. Why should we voluntarily
surrender such an advantage? Some
will say for uniformity. But the
national respect for Vermont's judg-
ments is not thing thus lightly to be
cast aside, merely for the sake of uni
formity. Uniformity as to date of
voting is not matter of reform but of
expediency and with US of hallowed
tradition. In England the general
places on different dates. With US the
September election is a distinction.
Who would expect Oberammergau to dc
to do away with its Passion Play be-
cause other cities have?
To the writer the proposed doing
away with the September election
would seem folly akin to a voluntary
surrender of our advantages of state
hood or of our two votes in the United
States Senate. There is sentiment
about this subject, of course, but the
possession of absence of sentiment has
often distinguished one people from
another, giving to the one glory anc
success and to the other mediocrity and
failure.
The writer is surprised that this pro.
posal met with approval by the General
Assembly~ Had the question been
generally debated, he would have nc
fears for the verdict of the people, but
in the general lack of public discussion
he fears mistakes may be made. The
gentlemen who sat on the commission
that reported the proposals performed &
great public service in an exceptionally
able manner, but they doubtless eX
pected general public discussion of the
proposals.
CHARLES |. BUTTON.
Middlebury, Vt. February %.