The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-05-25
Bellows Falls Men Victims
of High Handed
Act
STATE BOUNDARY
LINE is INVOLVED
New Hampshire Officials Invite Trouble
BY Coming to This State and Reliev-
ing Vermont Residentsof their Prop
erty-Legal Steps Taken.

ing vermont ReSidentsof their Prop
erty-Legal Steps Taken.
Facts concerning what appears to be
a highhanded proceeding on the part
of New Hampshire fish and game au-
thorities toward Vermont fishermen
have just been laid before Attorney
General Frank C. Archibald of Man
chester by States Attorney E. w. Glib
son of Brattleboro, who is waiting for
instructions as to what course to pur-
sue. They also have been laid before
State Fish and Game Commissioner
Linus Leavens of Cambridge bv Town
Clerk L. S. Hayes of Bellows Falls and
County Fish and Game Warden E. H.
Metealf of Brattleboro, and it is antici-
pated that there will be something
doing' before long
Involved in the proceeding is the
disputed boundary line between Ver-
mont and New Hampshire, which has
been before the courts several years,
and in fact it may be the desire on the
part of somebody to have the bound
ary line controversy brought to head
that is at the bottom of the trouble.
1t appears that few days ago two
Polish residents of Bellows Falls took
out fishing licenses in that village and
fished in the Connecticut river, stand
ing on the Vermont shore. The loca-
tion was south of the eddy below the
mills at Bellows Falls and north of
where Saxtons River empties into the
Connecticut.
The men were Tony Irishkeivicz of
| A. Bridge street and Harry Marcus of
| 80 Old Terrace, and as they are aliens
| they took out nonresident licenses as
the law provides.
While they were fishing in the eddy,
standing on the Vermont bank, an au-
| tomobile with three occupants crossed
| the bridge from New Hampshire, was
| driven down toward where the men
were fishing and one of the occupants
went down to the men and asked to see
| their licenses, which were shown him.
| He asked for New Hampshire licenses,
which they did not have, and then he
| took the Vermont licenses into New
Hampshire, telling them to go to the
| licensing officer in Walpole, \. H., and
| get New Hampshire licenses and their
| Vermont licenses would be returned to
!
| them.
Town Clerk Hayes was notified and
/ he called up w. ]. Corbett of North
| Walpole, a deputy warden, who said
he had the Vermont licenses and that
| the owners must come for them and
take New Hampshire licenses.
MIR. Hayes notified County Warden
Metcalf and State Commissioner Leav-
| ems. Mr.. Metcalf communicated with
the state commissioner. who said he
would take up the matter with the New
| Hampshire department. Mr.. Metcalf
| also laid the facts before States At
| torney Gibson, and the latter reported
the facts to the attorney general of
INermont stating also the recent at
tempt of County Worden William Cal
lahan of Keene, n. H., to exercise au-
thority over Vermonters fishing on the
| Hunt and other meadows south of this
village on land overfowed after the
dam at Vernon was built
1t is believed by all Vermont Off
cials concerned that the talk about the
Polish fishermen going to North Wal
pole after their licenses is simply a ruse
| to get them into New Hampshire and
then arrest them on the charge of fish
ing in New Hampshire waters without
licenses. 1t is also agreed that whether
licenses in that state were required or
not the New Hampshire officials had nc
| right to take the Vermont licenses
away from the fishermen any more than
they would have a right to take any
other property belonging to them. The
whole performance savors too much OF
Mexican banditry to be allowed to &c
unnoticed.