The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-02-26
Committee Reported That
House of Correction and
State Prison Ought to Be
United and That Woman's
RefOrmatOry Should Be
Erected at Windsor.

tered on II. l07, the "oleo" BILL repeating
tax on oleomargarine in the state. The
bill was reported adversely on Friday,
and the friends of the measure succeeded
in making it special order for this
morning After more than a half hours
discussion, the bill was rejected by ris
ing vote of l72 to 39
Mr.. Wheeler of Hartford opened the
debate on the bill, upholding the report
Of the committee and opposing the bill
He thought that the states revenue
should be kept up.
Mr., Austin of Waterville maintained
that the law is unjust, working a hard
ship upon small dealers who cannot af
ford to pay the state tax out of their
small sales for the year He thought it
would be fairer to put on tax by the
pound instead Of lump sum for all
dealers.
Mr. Austin Of Highgate said that he
had not heard any good reason why the
bill should be rejected He thought il
was unjust to discriminate against "oleo"
as a commodity, when there was no tax
on other such commodities. he said that
the legislature is here to represent the
interests Of the people and that the lift
ing of the tax on "oleo" would mean the
reduction of the price to the consumer.
Mr. Connal of Newport defended the
committee report at some length. He
declared that Vermont needs this extra
revenue and that taking off the tax on
"oleA" would not reduce the price to the
consumer, as had been claimed, for "oleo"
is now selling in New Hampshire, where
there is no tax, at practically the same
price as it sells in Vermont He main
tanned that, although the farmers use
"oleo" to some extent, they do not want
the tax repealed and are not asking for
it. He claimed that the sale of 'oleo" is
an injury to the sale of butter and milk
Mr. Austin of Highgate maintained
that the manufacture and sale of "oleo'
does not affect the sale of butter and
milk Mr. Belknap of Rockingham said
the gist of the matter was the revenue
of $4,000 which the state receives. He
said that the consumer would never re-
ceive the benefit if the tax were lifted,
and he thought that the bin should be
rejected, Mr.. Sleeper of Strafford said
that anything which would cheaper the
price of "oleo" would iniure the sale of
butter and he opposed the bill.
Mr., Connal, speaking for the second
time, maintained that every pound Of
"oIeo" sold displaces a pound of butter
and that in this way the butter industry
of the state is being damaged. He com
pared butter with "Oeo" as a food prod
uct, to the disadvantage of the latter.
Mr. Howard of Fairfax, who intro
duced the bill, spoke in its favor, saying
that he thought the present tax was not
fair to the small dealer Mr. Dyer of
Salisbury spoke from the standpoint of
merchant, and maintained that the
profit on "oleo" was very poor, with the
accompanying tax, but the farmers in
sisted that merchant keep "oleo," or
they would go elsewhere TO trade, for
they used it much as a substitute for
butter He thought that the tax ought
TO sbe lowered, as no other state in the
union, with the exception of Pennsylva-
mia, now carries a tax on this product,
and their tax is lower than ours. Mr..
Dyer asked if it was thought that Yer
mont could control the butter and "oIeo"
situation.
Mr.. Luce of Pomfret opposed the bill,
and Mr. Hills Of Chittendeu moved that
debate cease, which was voted.
Consolidation of Penal Institutions.
Mr., Walker of Springfield this morn
ing presented the report of the commit
tees on penal institutions for the Senate
and House, as the result of VISIT TO
both the house of correction at Rutland
and the state prison at Windsor The
ronort fovors ponsoIidn tiOD of the two
institutions, with one institution at
Windsor, which would necessitate the
building of a woman's reformatory at
Windsor. 1t is not thought best to carry
out this plan at once, however, with the
present uncertainty in regard to the
number of inmates. It is recommended
that the board of control be given au-
thority to dispose Of the state property
at Rutland, looking toward consolidation,
and that the $4,000 appropriated by the
legislature of 1917 for a woman's re
formatory at Windsor be continued, and
that an extra $4,000 be appropriated
for needed repairs.
Passed by House
H. 232. an act relative to the registra-
tion and operation of motor vehicles
owned by non-residents residing within
Is miles of the boundaries of this state.
II. 234, an act to enable Swauton vii
lage to alter its bounds by extending to
include fire district, etc.
II. 235 relating to the charter of the
city Of Barre.
Continued on eighth page)