The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1914-08-27
CALLS DILLINGHAM;
A REACTIONARY
Charles A. Prouty Attacks the Senior
Senator in an Address at st.
Johnsbury.

Charles y Prouty scored United States
Senator W p. Dillingham; severely in an
address before the st. Johnsbury Non
saying in part:
Senator Dillingham; is by nature and
by association a hopeless reactonary.
He belongs to that band Of senators, in
the ascendant when he entered the Sen
ate, which for many years delivered over
that body to the dictates of the interests.
Most of these men have disappeared from
public life, sometimes because retired by
their constituents, sometimes retiring vol
unfairly because they understood that
their day had gone. | recently stated that
these men. including Senator Dillingham;,
had opposed the measure of railroad
legislation which | had advocated and
which had been i'll large measure adopted.
Mr.. Dillingham; refers to certain votes
of his in refutaton OF the statement. The
contest which finally resulted in the pas
sage of the Hepburn bill was the longest
and most bitterly waged in recent times
I was in that fight from start to finish,
and believe | know who was for me and
who against me- Senator Dillingham; was
against me. Upon some future occasion
when there Is sufficient time | will tell
that story Tonight | simply call atten-
ton to this-in every instance to which
Mr.. Dillingham; refers he voted with Sena-
tor Elkins, who was coufesscdly the arch
consprator against all effective railroad
regulation If those votes prove him to
he in sympathy with those measures. they
prove by the same token that Mr. EIkins
was in sympathy with them, which is an
Iabsurdity
l.
Senator Dillingham; uniformly acted OPP
posed these measures until further oppusi-
ton would have been political suicide.
| The Hepburn bill passed the House 10y a
vote of 346 to I. 1t passed the Senate
II to ,. After II years the time had
come when further opposition was politi-
cal suicide. The fact that senator finally
votes for a particular bill by no means
shows that he has not been antagouistic
To the principle OF the enactment.
Let Mr. Dillingham; point the people
of Vermont to some one instance when
/ he advocated or championed these meas
ures of reform " | do not say
that in attempting to retain Senator Lori
mer as a member of that body lac acted
from corrupt motives; but ] do say thai
| Vermont should not be represented il
that important place by a man of that
mental habit which uniformly leads to tn,
formation Of such conclusions The mos
essential thing today in public servant
is that his disposition, which colors al
his acts and finally controls them, shall b,
right.
1T may be that a majority of the vot
ers of Vermont think as Mr. Dillingham;
does. 1t may be they are not in sympathy
with this modern upGft tendency-wit
this effort to elevate society and beneh
humanity Ii they are not, then he ough
to be returned. for he would fairly repre-
sent the majority. If the fact be other
wise, as | believe it i, then he ought no
to be returned But, say our opponents
admitting that Mr.. Dillingham; ought no
to be returned still we are not proccedin
to defeat him in the proper way, We ar
| pirates upon the sea of politics and ough
| to be scuttlcd and sunk at sight"