The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-08-16
Somerset-What It Means.
(St. Adams Messenger

When the clerk of the house at Mont
pelier calls the roll for a decision
whether some bill shall be made law
or not, he comes to the town of Somer
set which then casts its vote That
vote is equal to the one east by the
gentleman from st. Adams, or from
Rutland, or Burlington, or any other
town or city in the state In the ease
of tight squeeze the Importance of
the Somerset vote may be supreme, it
may pass or kill measure of great
vote in similar situation.
When the gentleman from st. Al
bans votes, he is speaking for some
| 1000 persons. When the gentleman
from Burlington lets his preference be
| known, he is in effect voeing the pref
erence of some 10000 The gentleman
| from Rutland has Il 900 behind him.
And so on down the diminishing scale
until one reaches the gentleman from
Somerset, and ii is found that instead
of representing thousands he represents
only himself plus the members of his
family
For that IS all there is to Somerset
ut this time. At The very height Of
the town s prosperity IN our day il
boosted of some - voting inhabitants.
Then the population dwindled until on
| April / of this year, there We're only
two legal voters in the town, who di-
vided all the town Offices, including the
Montpelier representativeship, up
among themselves and Somerset posed
to the world as being going govern
mental concern. Each man labored un
der the load of a multiplicity of titles
but of actual work there was nothing
alarming.
Then the population dropped exact
~ 80 per cent all in one day by the de
: parture of one man for New York. TIL,
population of Somerset stands suprem,
today; he is the whole show, and If Il,
should happen TO die or leave town
there would be created what would per
. haps be the first instance of govern
mental vacuum known to modern days
| One resident legal voter. Such is tn
situation.
If conditions remain unchanged thi
man viii represent the town of Somer
set in the legislature at the next SEES
sion. An ideal job for him, if he eal
! only agree with himself No irate con
stituents getting on his neck for dom
this and not doing that. No fear o
defeat at the polls; no thought of ad
verse comment among the home folks
He is the boss; monarch, and non
to say him nay.
II But when he votes for himself he
also voting for the rest of the stat
With not single constituent back q
home, he can rob of effect the vot
cast by Burlington's representative
they happen to disagree on projec
| That is the effect of the system tha
permits the existence of Somerset
II Vermont.
OF course, Somerset is the extren
| case. There is none other quite so ba
but there are others which approximate
it. Is it not time for Vermont to COZ
slider whether this is a healthful sta
of affairs; whether it is truly democra
ic2 The Messenger would not go |
the extreme suggested by some in r
adjusting the representative system, f,
it can see much good coming from
generous representation from the 81
called rural districts, and it is al.
mindful that the senate is based {
proportional population, but it is id
to say that a system which permits
Somersets is designed to articulate vii
the modern conception of governmen
Some place between the extremist pro
ositions and the doctrine OF leave
alone, q safe and proper middle groui
| should be found.