The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-01-05

| elective and appointive officers, be
| lieving that the state should pay @
| fair remuneration for service rem
dered, taking into consideration the
fact that the cost of living has in
creased and is not likely to decrease
The salaries OF certain ether officers
should be raised and adequate com
pensation given the new officials
have recommended.
Education-The present education
al law and system should be con
tinued in force. The direct appropri
alton made by the state of S13,OO0.00
should be increased to $225,000.OO but
there should also be charged against
this appropriation the support OF the
normal schools now costing $25,
10000 and the higher instruction now
costing 100000 and the expense OF
all the vocational courses and of the
junior high schools.
Highways.-The appropriation for
the support of highways should be in
creased to S225,000.00 and should be
available to incorporated villages un
der proper statutory regulations
Some plan should be adopted for ex
tending state aid under state super
vision to roads other than selected
highways. Since many owners OF au
tomobiles do not reside upon selected
highways and as our automobile traf
fic is not confined to such highways
some part of the automobile fund
should be available for the improve
ment of roads that have not been
made selected highways.
All the expense of the highways de
partment including the pay of the
commissioner and his Office force, the
district highway commissioners and
the maintenance of draw bridges and
the Sand Bar bridge should be
charged against the highway funds.
Revision of the Statutes.-No. PAP
of the acts of 1915 provided for a
general revision of the entire body of
the public statute law of the state.
The work of the commissioner having
this matter in charge will soon be
submitted to the general assembly
under the title General Laws Of Yer
mont AS hundreds of changes have
been recommended by the commits
sioner, it will be impracticable for
any committee to undertake to so
over the work without outside assist
ance and | recommend that by joint
resolution the attendance and service
of the commissioner before the legis-
lative committee having this revision
in charge be provided for during the
session and that adequate stenograp-
hic assistance be at once authorized.
Courts believe that there should
be elected by the board of civil au-
thority in each town in the state and
the city of Vergennes a trial justice
for criminal causes who should have
authority to bind up to the proper
court persons charged with any of
fence but should only have a limited
criminal jurisdiction and should not
at any time sit with jury, This of
ficer should be paid by fees and
should make quartely settlements of
his accounts with the auditor Of &C
counts | further recommend that
the civil jurisdiction of justices OF the
peace be limited TO $4,000.
recommend that the municipal
and city courts be re organized into
twelve district courts covering the
whole state and located with regard
TO business centers; be given en-
larged criminal jurisdiction and final
civil jurisdiction up to $4,000; that
they be empowered to sit with the
jury at least once every two months
and be permitted to hold court at any
place in the district where the bust
ness demands. | recommend that the
superior court be done away with and
that the number of justices of the SUI
preme court be increased to nine, the
chief Justice and the first and second
associate justices not to sit at nisi
prius unless the business demands it.
The chief and first and second associ-
ate justices should so arrange the cir
cults that each justice may remain at
least one year in circuit. There
should be two jury terms of county
court. The court should be open at
all times for the trial of issues of fact
by the court, under rules to be formu-
lated by the justices. There should
be only three terms of the supreme
court, in February. May and Novem-
Der, at Montpelier. Only five of the
supreme court justices should sit at