The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1914-05-23
wneRe rhE MoNeY COS

Include also personal expense and
YOU have told about the whole story
Things don't cost any more than
they did forty years ago-in fact
more of them have gone down in
price than have gone up-but We an
have more things. right down
through from the United States gov
eminent to the high school boy who
wants 10 wear silk socks and have a
tango shirt
There Is a LOT OF talk always about
increased expense but the average
man often forgets his own response
bility. This man. and practically
that includes an OF as. wants
as good home as his neighbors.
wants as good food as he can get
wants his wife and children 20 be
well dressed and to take their part
in the social life OF the community
wants them 10 have vacation trips oc
casionally. and all these increase his
expense.
When IL comes 10 his town or city,
hc wants as good as other commuui-
tics and better IL possible. lie wants
schools. fire department. roads sew
crs, lights. sidewalks. and other pub
lie advantages as good as possible
and so he goes to town meeting and
votes money knowing full well that
Il will increase his taxes.
With the state a similar process is
always going on. No man Who has
not been at Montpelier during a SEES
sion OF the Legislature realizes the
tremendous and increasing pressure
always going on for new and more
and larger appropriation The FAR
mers are there demanding more
money for agriculture for forestry
and horticulture: the automobiles
and others who use the highways arc
insistcnt on having moro money for
roads; the working men arc iboro
| with an earnest plea for factory in.
| spcotiuu. workmen's compensation,
better sanitary conditions where !ah-
CT is employed, safety device laws
and scores of other things that cost
money; the public elementary
| schools are always claiming that they
| must have more money IN their great
work OF educating the young the
state colleges point 20 the splendid
records they have made and ask the
state TO aid them in increasing their
facilities: the lawyers are there In
full force with plans for improved
courts and better administration Of
justice that cost more money. pa
triotic bodies like boards OF trade.
the Grand Army, etc, etc. want
money TO advertise the state, 10 aid
the veterans, to provide for the or
phaned and homeless, to care Tor the
sick and incurable. to educate the
blind and defective, and other wor-
thy and pressing needs.
There isn't man. woman. or child
in Vermont that isn't personally in
terested in some of these demands
on the state treasury. None of the
groups are strong enough alone to
| ee what they want but by com
promise and working together they
often succeed in carrying through
their appropriation bills. II is like
wise these greatly increasing efforts
for appropriations that are one OF the
leading causes of much longer SEES
sions.
This steadily increasing state,
municipal and individual expense is
the great problem of the age. Whole
sale denuIciation does no good, and
the individual who cannot keep his
own expenses down isn't really in a
position to criticise his town and
state.
There is a remedy, but it is not in
elccting any particular man to Office
on his extravagant promises 10
bring reform; it is not in putting any
party into power because its platform
and candidates promise economy, for
experience the world over has shown
that in ninty-nine cases out Of hun
dred this results in increased
expense; it is not in Gripping good
work already in progress by i'll timed
parsimony: it is not in mere knock
ing and grumbling.
The real remedy lies in better ef-
ilcicncy in all branches of govern
ment: in not taking on new expenses
until money enough can be saved in
some other direction to meet The
bill: in avoiding the demagcguc who
with sounding brass and clever
! phrases makes great claims and
promises that his record shows he is
not competent TO carry out; in
putting into public Office men of hon
csty, experience in affairs, frugality
without narrowness and patriotism
without bigotry-:non whom you
would trust with your own pocket
book, and men free from entanglc-
ment with selfish business that may
pull the string a. a critical time: and
above all in educating ourselves to