The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-04-08

!
Thursday, April 8, 1915.
! Marshall J. Hapgood of Peru ID still
in the city and spends much time a
the State House. He intends to leay,
| within a few months on an automo
bile trip for California TO attend the
exposition. He will camp out during
the trip-Montpelier News Item.
He will find it a long, long way to
San Francisco, but his training al
Montpelier the past three months has
been so strenuous that he proba d.
needs a rest.
The Bennington Banner says it is
not fair to blame the present legislat
ure if it has to assess direct state
tax, and adds that 1.-The growing ap-
preparations of the past ten year,
have brought TO this legislature bur
den of expense that it can meet only
by leyying a direct state tax or by q
direct inheritance tax" During all
that time the Republican party has
been in absolute control of the legis-
lative machinery and all the state de-
partments Can The Banner say that
it would be unfair to hold the G. o. p.
responsible for the present e&trava
giant expenditure of the public funds.
Burlington Clipper.
Party responsibility in the Vermont
legislature is not very marked for the
reason that party lines are almost new
er drawn there, as The Banner has
frequently remarked. In fact the lie
publican party organization has pract
ically no control over the House o.
Representatives inasmuch as mai
ority of the men elected to the House
are nominated on filed papers instead
of by party caucus. 1t is only because
there is such a preponderance of Re-
publicans in the state that the House
is so strongly Republican. 1t Is not
due to the Republican organization.
Ii Is more nearly correct to say that
Republicans are responsible in d great
Or degree than those of other political
faith for the expenditures of the state
of Vermont rather than that that the
Republican party is responsible. The
distinction may not be very clear but
it exists, though it is not very import
ant. The real question is wheth-
er the expenditures OF the state o:
Vermont have been "extrava-
CANT The Banner thinks not
in the main Some cases OF
extravaganza can be pointed
out and The Clipper and other aai
Republican papers naturally hold
these up for inspection and forget the
other and vastly greater number Jf
wise and benefcent appropriation.
made by the state of Vermont We
have argued this question before with
the Clipper and do not expect it to "a
convinced but we do believe that the
people of Vermont cordially indorse
the greater part of these expenditures.
Lest they may be forgotten it can do
no harm TO mention few OF the
things that have strained the Vermont
treasury: $65,000 for home for men
tally deficient children of the state
$55 900 for school for the deaf, dunno
and blind children: 100000, more or
less, TO rebuild and enlarge the state
industrial school 10 take care OF child
rem delinquent and often homeless:
$4,000 to enlarge the state hospital
at Waterbury, compelled by increas-
ing number Of patients; 100000
year to improve roads; $1,000 a year
extra to help the rural schools and 10
aid in pay Of country school
teachers decent wages. $4,000
to aid poor victims of tu-
berculosis; $4,000 to aid old
soldiers in addition to $4,000 for
the soldiers home; $4,000 to enforc,
honest weights and measures; $780,
600 for the publicity department
which is proving one of the best in
vestments ever made by the state;
$50, 900 for agricultural schools TO help
develop the great agricultural oppcr-
tunity in this state; S25, 900 year Tor
forestry and agriculture; $4,000 toi
a new state building that is absolute
ly needed because of the increasing
business of the state; $4,000 for 4
factory inspector and to put the
workmen's compensation law in oper.
alton for the benefit OF the working
people and employers of Vermont;
$780, 600 for teacher training courses;
$25, 1000 extra to aid poor towns in
building roads and bridges. And
these are only a few which occur to
us without investigation Til.
given indeed are only ap-
correct 1t is a long list
of splendidly ereditable expenditures
and many times offsets the few fool
ish appropriations of which the state
has been guilty. We are proud OF
the. Republicans, the Democrats and
the Progressives in the legislature
during the past ten years who have
stood up against carping criticism
and petty selishness and have made
these things possible without infict-
ing a serious burden on the people.
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