Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1914-02-11
The Meddler
eff the coat fits you, put 1t on"

/ ~
The Monitor has had this column in
mind for some months and from now
on this department will appear from
time to time. 1t is intended to tell
some truths and pass remarks that
may or may not always be pleasant to
hear, but it is frankly a column devot.
ed to just what the heading suggests
So don't get ''sore" for if you should
we shall know you're ''hit".
The Meddler wonders who is break
ing the cigarette law in Barton. 1t is
not at all uncommon to see minors
what we term youngsters" in fact
pulling at cigarettes. The law ex-
plicitly states that "a person who
sells, gives away, or furnishes to a
person under twenty-one years of age,
| cigarettes, cigarette papers or wrappers
shall be imprisoned not more than two
months o. fined not more than fifty
dollars, or BOTH" How can any minor
smoke a cigarette unless someone
"sells, gives away or furnishes him
the cigarette? The Meddler observes
this offense about certain place of
business in this village more than at
any other place and naturally suspects
|
getting their cigarettes. Need we call
names?
| Since the announcement of the
| fact that Barton is to have a nightly
moving picture show The Meddler
has heard considerable discussion on
the streets as to whether such an enter
prise on the whole is beneficial or not
| n ic hof ho
dimes given up for admissions will
usually come out of the people least
able to afford it and that the class of
| pictures usually shown in town of this
size are not educational. but merely
entertaining and sometimes far from
elevating to the youth. The meat of
the matter is in the question of the
class of pictures shown. What kind of
pictures shall we get?
The Duck Pond Road Philosopher
says "There's two kinds O. sin: sin
an gossip, an so near s [ kin learn
the latter kind O sinners s gettin'
in some toll'able good licks in
Barton''
"Guess the folks in Glover are so
busy attending their community
church they don't have time to roll
their roads," said a traveller to the
Meddler
It's said on good authority that our
village lookup is not suitable place
in which to retain prisoners and that
officers have testified to this fact under
; oath and give this as reason for not
apprehendlng certain offenders of the
law. What?
The Meddler has never lived in a
town so much ''solicited" as this
l village of Barton. He doesn't pretend
to know how to overcome it or how
other towns get along with so much
less of it but this is what might have
recently happened in one house in this
village. The independent telephone
rang: "Hellop' "Yes." ga cake
t for the grange supper did you say?''
3 Certainly" The next morning the
j Passumpsic telephone rang: "Hello'
"Good morning, cold ISM t?''ftWhat?''
"Candy for the C. E. sale tomorrow
eyes, I'll try to get it there" Good
bye". That afternoon on the street
l"Mrs. -- will you furnish two
n soft pies for the church entertainment
De
vowed she could not do another thing
s with her children to look after, house
work and social duties to attend to but
meekly promised two soft pies and at
II the appointed time with one on either
e hand got them to the church. The
next day the man of the house stayed
at home from his work to care for a
q sick wife and paid the doctor 81 fol
y professional services. Uf course this
woman didn't belong to all the things
:, in town, or else these other organiza-
!. tions didn't happen to hold forth that
week such as the women's clubs, w. C.
T. u, Eastern Star, Rebekahs, League,
= V. I. S.. organized Sunday school
: classes. Opportunity Circle, Missionary
societies, ct cetera.
S It's none of my particular business
but it makes me wonder just what
credit the Barton merchants who did
q absolutely nothing to draw that big
I Saturdays crowd to town, take to
themselves. when they announce that
they did more business on that day
a than any other single day in their his.
: tory. It's sort of case of Letting
Z father do the work" isn't it? Did any
of you fellows who don't believe in
advertising refuse to take the cash
: of the people who came to town as a
' result of advertising? Of course not!
:, If the energy some men right here
! in Barton spend in grumbling about
: things they can't help, were put into
2 real work they would be in danger of
actual prosperity.