St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1916-08-23


neighbor's necessity was his own.
Is it any wonder that under these
circumstances the Mountain Rule"
was esta blished, stronger than law,
and as long as the descendants of the
Green Mountain Boys inhabit YER
mont, will prevail?
Divided Into Counties.
At Vermont's first general assembly
held at Windsor March II, 1878, the
state was divided into two counties,
Bennington on the west and Cumber-
land on the east side of the mountain,
making the dividing line the height
of land; but this division proving un-l
satisfactory, at the session of the
legislature held at Bennington, Feb
ruary II, 1879, an act was passed
providing for a survey of the line
between the counties, as follows:
Commencing at a point on the south
line of the Province of Quebec, SO
miles east of the center of the deep
est channel of Lake Champlain; ex-
tending south to the northeast corner
of the town of Worcester, and along
the east side of Worcester, Middlesex
and Berlin to the southeast corner of
the latter town; thence in a straight
line to the northwest corner of Tun-
DTlQS6, anu Oh the West llllS VI I'LL
bridge to the southwest corner of
that town; thence in a straight line
to the northwest corner of Barnard
and Bridgewater; and the, east line Of
Shrewsbury, to the southeast corner
thereof; thence west to the northeast
corner of Wallingford; thence south
on the east lines of Wallingford,
Mount Tabor, Peru, Winhall and
Stratton to the southeast corner of
the latter town, and west on the south
line of Stratton to the northwest cor
ner Of Somerset, to the southwest
corner thereof; thence east to the
northwest corner of Wilmington and
Nottingham to the north line of
Massachusetts,"
The legislature at it's March session
holden at Rutland, 1897 divided the
state into IL counties, Addison, Ben
nington, Chittenden, Franklin and
Rutland, on the west side, and Gale
donia, Essex, Orleans, Orange, Wind
ham and Windsor on the east side of
the Green Mountains. In 1902,
Grand Isle was carved out; in 1914,
Washington; in 1885, Lamoille, MAX
ing IA counties, seven on the west
side and seven on the east side, the
mountain range being substantially
the line dividing these counties, with
the exception of the last organized,
Lamoille. This county is divided by
the mountain range.
Division of Officers.
Since Vermont was admitted into
the Union, or for the past 125 years,
so different men have been elected
governor of Vermont, % from the
west side, and % from the east side
of the mountain, and since 1861. or
for the past "a years, 27 governors
have resided upon the west side and
81 upon the east side of the mountain,
for the past 90 years % of Vermont's
governors have resided on the west
side, and 20 to the east side of the
mountains.
From 1871 to 1926, "a years, YER
mont's governors were elected from
the west side and the lieutenant gov
ernors from the east side. Since
1926, of the 4 3 lieutenant governors
elected, % have resided on the west
and 20 on the east side. Since BIZ
ennial elections have been esta blished
the positions of governor and heuten-
ant governor have alternated between
the sides of the mountains.
Since 1871, to the present time,
there have been % different persons
elected to the office of United States
senator, and one has been elected
from the west side and the other from
the east side. with but two exceptions.
Exceptions to the Rule.
The first exception was upon the
death of Senator William Upham of
Montpelier, when former Senator
Samuel S. Phelps Of Middlebury was
appointed to fill the vacancy. The
reason for the failure to observe the
rule is explained by Hon. E. P. Wal
ton in (Vol. 8, p. 4, Governor and
| CounciD as follows, according to
the rule, always accepted from the
| admission of Vermont into the Union,
some citizen of eastern Vermont
| should have received this appoint
ment, but the nomination of a Wing
! as judge of the supreme court, was
pending before the senate, with a
prospect of a close vote. Judge
Phelps was in Washington, and it was
| doubtful whether a new appointee,
then residing in Vermont, could reach
Washington in time. In this peculiar
| situation, the Vermont delegation in
congress urged Governor Erastus
Fairbanks to appoint Judge Phelps,
and the appointment was made"
| The second exception was in 1853,
when Lawrence Brainard of st. AL
bans, was elected by the people to fill
| Senator Upham's place, and was
caused by the mix-up of political
parties.
In 1910 Brainard was a Wing. In
1916 he was the Liberty party's can
| d1date for governor. In 184S, he was
F'ree-Soiler. In 1853 the Republi-
can party was formed and he joined
| that. He was the presiding officer of
its first state convention, was nomi-
mated by that party for senator, and
was elected by a large majority, re-
CARELESS of the Mountain Rule
History tells US he was the first man
to be sent to the senate on purely
! abolitionist principles
Election of Congress.