St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1914-08-26
C. A. PROUTY HERE
Opened His Campaign Last Evening
Declares Dillingham; is
Hopeless ReactiOnary.

The Hon. G. A. Prouty of Newport
made the opening speech of his ac-
tive campaign for the United States
Senatorship in the Colonial last eve
ming Music was furnished by the
band, except what Mr.. Prouty fur
nished in his incisive and fat footed
declarations.
Among other things Mr. Prouty
said:
1T has been said in certain quar-
ters that I ought not to be ranked
as liberal because of my regard for
the rights of property. If it be true
that liberal ought not to consider
or respect the rights of property,
then I freely confess that I ought
not to be here in that role. 1 be-
lieve that the rights of property
must be strictly observed for the
reason that there can be no healthy
social development otherwise. But
the rights of property are one
thing and the aggressions of prop
erty are a different thing. More
over, above the rights of property
stand the rights of man. The true
function of the progressive man of
today is not to attack the legitimate
wealth but rather to restrain its
unjust aggression and to define and
preserve the rights of humanity. This
| feel, is the progressiveness of my
fellow Vermonters. 1t is a doctrine
of cooperation and fair play, not of
hate and of jealousy.
''It is to the condition of the toll
ing masses, whether working with
hand or head, that our thought
should turn; how to make the con-
dition under which they work bet
ter; how to secure for them fairer
wage; how to bring it about that the
worker may be better fed, better
housed, better clothed, better edu
Gated, that he may live more
wholesome and self-respecting life
that is the problem. .
Protection Causes Protests.
"In recent years the friends of
progress have been insisting more
and more upon government activity,
especially in the line of protection,
and to some extent in the line of as
sistance, scarcely a move can be
made in this direction without touch |
ing the property of someone. Do |
we enact a law as to the employ
ment of child labor? The profits of |
the man who operates a factory |
may be interfered with. Is it pro- |
posed to regulate railroad rates? The /
billions invested in that industry I
are at once in arms. Should the |
government attempt to regulate big
business? Thousands protest. This
has meant in the past and will mean
in the future that money will op-
pose these efforts toward progress.
When 1 say money L do not mean
property in the moderate amount in
WI /
vast aggregations of capital which
have been accumulated by improper
methods and those men who desire
by the use of the same methods to
make other and further accumula-
tions. These forces have been prop
er1y designated as 1.-THE Interests
1t is difficult to convey any adequate
impression of this contest. / have
stood for the last Is years in the
midst of it and it has made upon (
me an unspeakable impression. There
is upon the side of money, as the
term is used, a selfishness, a re-
morseless cruelty and want of con- :
science which can only be felt and
not portrayed. The dominant issue
today is whether our government
shall develop under liberal and hu-
name leadership or whether it shall
be controlled by greed and selfish |,
ness.
Now the issue which we present :
to the voters of Vermont is this: :
Shall Vermont in this struggle for I
human uplift be aggressively upon :
the side of progress or shall she
stand in the column of the reaction
aries? Senator Dillingham; is by 7
nature and by association a hope =
ess reactionary. He belongs to that =
Il 7w,fl
when he entered the senate, which D
or many years delivered over that =
)ody to the dictates of the interests. =
dost of these men have disappeared 3
rom public life, sometimes because :,
etired by their constituents, some .
lines retiring voluntarily because =
hey understood that their day had =
-one. l recently stated that these
1en, including Senator Dillingham;
ad opposed the measures of rail-
oad legislation which 1 had advo-
ated and which had been in large
leasure adopted. Mr.. Dillingham;
efers to certain votes of his in re-
utation of this statement. The con-
est which finally resulted in the II
assage of the Hepburn Bill was the Il
)ngest and most bitterly waged in Il
ecent times. I was in that fight II
rom start to finish and believe l
now who was for me and who
gainst me. Senator Dillingham; II
as against me- Upon some future Il
ccasion when there is sufficient
me | will tell that story. Tonight n
simply call attention to this. In
very instance to which Mr.. Dilling-
am refers he voted with Senator
lkins who was confessedly the arch
'nspirator against all effective rail-
,ad regulation. If those votes prove
i'm to be in sympathy with those
easures, they prove by the same
ken that Mr.. Elkins was in SYM
lthy with them, which is an abb
Irdity.
1T may be that a majority of the
)ters of Vermont think as Mr.. Dill
ngham does. It may be they are
1t in sympathy with this modern
CONTINUED on page hve.)