The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-02-27
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY q, 1919
A PATRIOTIC BODY.

When the history of Vermont in the
world war is written one interesting
chapter should be record of what the
Vermont committee on Public Safety
has done, 1t will be remembered that
two years ago Governor Graham APP
pointed such a committee consisting of
about seventy members and created an
executive committee of that body con
sisting of seven members The bulk of
the work has fallen upon the execu
tive committee and with very little pub
LEFTY these men have accomplished
great things for the state and the boys
tof Vermont who volunteered their serv-
lice in-the army
The first accomplishment was the in,
auguration of the movement for the
Legislature of 1917 to pass bill ap-
propriating s 100000 for use i'll equip
ping and paying the volunteers from
/ Vermont i'll the national army. The
securing of wooden blankets for Yer
mont soldiers, something the regular
military authorities were unable to do,
was next accomplished hy member of
this committee connected with the
American Wooden Co. Then the com
mittee got back of the move for school
gardens throughout the state, pledging
the necessary financial support to the
state department of education which
undertook the work Of developing them.
Nine thousand dollars was raised by
the committee and turned over to the
department of education and the re
suit was the production of over $780,
600 worth of food products by the
school children Of Vermont
When the Ist Vermont Regiment
was mustered into federal service the
treasurer placed in the hands of an
officer of that body 81 900 to be used
for the relief of members of the regi-
mcnt who were in actual suffering from
lack of finances, full report with
vouchers for all expenditures to be sub
mittcd to the executive committee on
! the return of the Vermont boys from
France. None of these things were
done with the state appropriation but
with funds raised by the committee
itself.
The public meetings of the commit
tee are probably ended but its work is
not. For months the secretary of the
executive committee, Joseph G. Brown
of Montpelier, has been effectively aid
ing the dependents of the Vermont sol
diers in the army in securing the allot
ments of pay the soldiers had made fol
these dependents previous to their de
parture for France; and by vote of tn,
executive committee at its last meeting
he was instructed to continue the work
until the boys have returned and are
able TO look out for themselves.
The seriousness of this situation il
not understood by the public Tn,
boys made their assignments of pay
for dependents to the war insuranc,
board which essayed to forward tn
payments to the dependents After tn
boys reached France the war depart
:, ment announced it would attend to pay
II ing the dependents for the boys bu
II the insurance board refused to turn ov
II er the assignments registered with i
II and the department had no instruction
II who or how much to pay. New assign
II ments have been almost impossible t
: secure with the boys scattered on tn
e battlefield and their dependents wer
left without any money for their sur
r port In some cases these dependent