The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1921-04-20
HOUSE LEADERS

tIOOS- A--NDE Emo
Il is a fact that when a body of men
get together Tor deliberation and action
upon matters of legislation, seldom
over ten per cent of them are ever
heard from. The other 80 per cent
listen, are swayed in their opinions by
argument and cast their vote as nearly
las they can ascertain upon the right
locus side So with a Vermont house
of representatives and the last one in
. particular, only about twenty mem
hers of that body spoke in debate upon
he floor in such way that any weight
was put upon their utterances. These
same twenty, or perharps twenty-five,
likewise ruled committee action. But
the fact that these twenty or SO are
never brought into complete accord and
as yet have never acknowledged any
one as better than any other is the
salvation Of Vermont general assem-
blies from boss rule.
During the past session with the ex-
ception of Speaker Franklin S. Billings,
whose potentiaIity as a house leader
had no means of expression, but whose
qualifications as a speaker were dem
onstratcd to be among the best Yer
mont has ever known, the only man
| to attain even the proximity OF being a
director of house action was Charles
Pr. Stearns Of Johnson, who carried
| that body behind him in practically
Iall he undertook and whose hold grew
stronger as the session neared its end
/ Perhaps it was Mr. Stearns geniality,
perhaps it was his rough-and ready
methods, or perhaps he correctly sens
ed and represented the sentiment Of
the house body. Whatever it was, he
needed only to hold out his hand and
the house gave its acquescenec. He
was the only man in the lower body
who overturned unfavorable committee
reports and put bills through the
house notwithstand ng.
Others who dealt strong blows in the
house for or against pending measures
lin the recent session were Hale X
Darling, Of Chelsea chairman of the
judiciary committee, and sponsor for
the sediment of the highway contro-
'yersy; Park H. Pollard, of Cayendish, |
chairman Of the committee on claims. !
Democrat and strong opponent of bills
that did not meet with his approval; !
William II, Dyer, chairman of the com.
.mittee on ways and means not an I
orator but a powerful custodian of the I
purse strings Horatio E. Luce, OF
Pomfret, chairan of the committee on I
agriculture, who went after and got .
several things for the farming inter
ests; Frank r, Barber of Brattlebofo, |
chairman OF the committee on appro-
priations, a man with a mind OF his 1
own and the gamest Of fighters, even
though often on the minority side Of .
the issue, and Charles /. Button of .
Middlebury who split about even on .
the missions lie undertook, losing heay-
lily toward the end of the session.
X r. y. Flint, Of Mortified proved /
the most polished speaker and .
probably the most effective pro-
"0undef Of reasoning in the I
ho .. His attack on the meas
urc Intended to repeal the pri- .
mary law was little short of classic /
Herbert II. Cushman, Of Rochester, +
often brought the house to an uproar |
with his satirical but glossy rhetoric /
His last speech OF the session relative !
TO the pocket veto promised by his eX.
cellency of the campaign expense bill .
was in our opinion his hest and most Z
convincing effort. MI Cushman broke (
all traditions by speaking frequently /
on many measures without boring the
house. He was always heard with at
tenton and interest
The names Of William Wishart, OF
Barre Wade Keyes, T. D. Field. Of
Montpelier S. G. Dorsey, OF RutIand,M
f. Barber Of Wilmington Henry Chase. [
of Bennington. and E. r. Braley. of
Swantou, should also appear as mould. |
ers Of opinion and guides to legisla |
tive action
Miss Edna Beard, Orange, though /!
not often heard on the floor of the
house, commanded the respect and at
tention of every member present ON
those instances, Her remarks were al
ways circumspect and to the point She
neither made her presence embarrass
ing nor distractng In our opinion she
ranks high among the real Legislators
Of that body.
randolph Herald and News)