The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-03-10
HOUSE WOULD ABOLISH JOB.
Continued from Page -

taxes. lie did not think that men who
had lied about their intangible proper
ty Tor the last ten years would put il
the list even on flat rate basis He
thought there was considerable merit
IN the present law and that it had not
as yet had fair trial, but that people
seemed to be hungry for offsets, but
that five per cent money would 90 a
long way toward taking the place of
offsets, but if offsets were good, full
offsets should be allowed
Mr.. Fairchild of Fairfield opposed
the bill because he thought il would
reduce the grand list and tax rate rev
enue more than five per cent moner
and that salaried men and workingmen
would receive no benefit under the act
as there was no hope for them to be
able to borrow at low rate of inter
est. He thought it would promote the |
spirit of discord and discomfort among
poor people and would not help the
farmers and business men as much as
the present law.
! Mr. Demeritt put up a hard fight for
| the committee bill and stated at the
close of his argument that he was glad
/ that no amendments had been allowed
and that if the bill was to be killed
the committee would meet defeat with
colors nailed to the masthead and on
the principles of the bill they had pre-
pared instead of some hybrid affairs.
! In the course of his somewhat
lengthy argument Mr.. Demeritt made
t a plea for the flat rate on intangibles
as Just because intangible property
goes into the list at its full value when
it goes in at all while real estate does
10 -. Eli ~ L.
it was not just TO exempt entirely from
taxation the loaners of money at FIVE
per cent and asked who was going to
make up the necessary amount of taxes
if you exempted such money. He thong
that the present tax law discouraged
Vermont development and that Yer
mont should not he the last state to
adopt the fiat rate policy. At the con
cluSiOn of Nh. Demeritt : speech the
question was debated pro and con for
a short time, but the members had
evidently made mp their minds TO Kill
the bill and it was accomplished swift
" and painlesslv. Mr.. Perry OF Bra title
boro and Mr.. Melendy Of Londonderry
were the only Windham county mem
/, bers voting in favor of the bill. McsSrs
Newton of Vernon and Thurbcr of Hal
flax did not vote.
So much time mad been consumed in
debating the taxation measure that
little was left for other work a Joint
resolution was introduced bv Mr.. Jones
! of Shrewsbury ma king the mileage fo9
messengers. doorkcepers and all other
employees of the various departments
of the state government the same IS
: for members.
The senate ordered five bills to q
) third reading, made b to make uni
r form the law for bills of lading q spe-
a cial order for 1915 o clock TODAY and
. passed in concurrence house bill $40
:. providing a uniform law for the grad
3 ing of apples.
d Home for Feeble Minded.
Il At a hearing in the interest OF the
f proposed school for the feeble-mindcd
for which an appropriation Of $25,0oa
Q by the legislature of 1912, DR.. Walter
= +. Fernald, in charge of the state in
stitution fer the feeble-minded az
Waverly, Mass, appeared and gave 4
very interesting talk on the work ae
complis she'd at his institution which wa:
illustrated by stereopticon views Of
the buildings and of the inmates, show
5 ing the methods of training in vogue
He also showed group pictures of tht
different classes of feeble minded rang
- ing from those of just below the nor
T NAL individual to the imbecile &nl
N idiot. DR.. Fernald prcfaccd his re
d marks by showing charts illustratin;
Is the hereditary transmission Of feeble
d, mindedness through several genera
IS tons lie cited an instance of a fami
" by the name of Webster in whiel
A. tho nine Predetermined children dc
n, seended from Predetermined parent
n had cost the state of MasSachugctt
OF &16,693 He stated that thore wer
~ probably 10000 Predetermined childre
q in Massachusetts, an average OF froT
n two to five per thousand. and IN Nel
ar mont he venturcd an estimate that o
ut the 100000 population four IN ever
or thousand were feeble minded, maxim
probable total of / 200. 'Fhe state
he of Vermont" he said. is the only on
which has made no institutional pre-
Ill vision for its Predetermined. and tha
al the old fashioned New England paupe
Fe ism was due to nothing 50 much as ii
In bringing into the world of feeble min,
all ed children The most corrupting il
q fuences in small villages comes fro
the presence of these degenerate type
and if they could be removed TO son
institution where they could be prope
" cared for it would soon result in
great decrease in the number of fe
nd hlc-minded owing to the fact that tn,
would thus be prevented from prop
eating their kind. He thought tn
IS while the notion that immigration h;
raj something to do with the increase
ra- the defective had some force it W
7a> true that this failing was more prey
eX lent among the Anglo Saxon populate
has than the foreign population.
uT He cited as one reason for the inerea
in this class in Massachusetts was t
OF fact that the most enterprising, ambi
TT Gus and vigorous of the younger gene
fol alton bad gone to populate the stat
of Illinois, Minnesota. Oregon and OF
mt err western states He stated that
ere his institution there were over GOO II
mt, ble-minded women. the cost of housi
ori- and caring for whom had been I
- :. IL -. u