Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1921-02-09
HARTNESS WOULD DROP BATES
Governor Brings Wrath of Legisla-
ture Down upon His Head.

state House, Montpelier, at which
! the name OF T.. w. brooks of keene,
N. H., was proposed as the new ap-
| pOlntee to take the place OF Stoddard
baJes as state highway commissioner.
The conference was neIu III Jne eX-
| ecutive chamber and was the result
OF message sent to the senate that
morning by Governor Hartness in
|! which, it is understood, there were
several new appointments, including
that of Capt. Harold P. Sheldon of
Fair Haven, one of Vermont's prom
inent World war veterans, as state
fish and game commissioner to sue
ceed Linus Leavens, who has occupied
that office for the last four years.
Senator Sherburne was the only
member of the upper body of the leg
islature who refused the governors
call to the executive chamber. The
senator from Orange county sat
quietly in his seat and refused to
bulge, when first Lieut.-Gov. Foote
and later, the secretary of civil and
military affairs, Julius Wilcox, came
to him and requested him to visit the
executive chamber.
81 am here in my seat" said Sen
a'tor Sherburne, eff Gov. Hartness
wants to talk to me he can come
here"
The message from the governor ar
rived in the senate the first thing in
the morning, but it was not taken up
in executive session until the reg
ular business of that morning had
been disposed of. Then the senate
held a very short executive session
and followed this by trouping the
length of the hall to the executive
chamber. When the senators were
inside, the doors were closed and the
senators were closeted with the gov
ernor for about an hour.
The first intimation that Bates
would not be reappointed came when
Governor Hartness addressed a joint
assembly Thursday afternoon. Since
that time the unpopularity of Gov.
Hartness has increased apace and a
bill appeared in the house Monday
making the state highway commits
sioner an officer elected by the general
assembly instead of appointed by the
governor.
Governor Hartness also touched
upon the subject of the budget, urg-
ing an increase of $40 900 for increas-
ed publicity in connection with the
"human resources" of the State, and
warning against extravagant expen-
ditures in what he characterized as
'the serious depression in the coun-
try" The governor said that he ex-
pected that 20 cent State tax for
1921 and possibly 40 cent tax for
1922 will be necessary to meet the
needs of the State, although that is
not definitely decided upon.
In speaking of Commissioner Bates
Governor Hartness said:
"Second only to Governor Gates, /
know Of no man who has been so
valuable a man to the State of Ver-
mont in the highway department as
the present commissioner of high |
ways (applause.) He is honest; he
knows his job; and he is going over
these hills at night when most of us
are asleep; he is worker (more ap-
plause)"
The chief fault that Governor Hart |
ness appears to have found with Com
missioner Bates is that he is not a
of having trouble when he first came
to Springfield with friction among his
men. He said that he had looked over
the highway work, using the exper-
ience which he had gained in his |
business, and he had decided that /
man was needed at the head of the |
who had the power of
a trait essential in a |
position of this kind, but a trait |
which many of the best men do not !
possess.
Governor Hartness said that he had
talked with Mr.. Bates about the mat
ter.
81 want to keep Mr.. Bates con-
nected with the highway department."
said the governor. 81 want to have |
the department go ahead smoothly.
want to find some one with Mr.. Bates
high qualities and some one who can
have become convinced
that there is need of a change tn ere.
If you trust me, l will try to get a
man for this department who is
who can work with
other men,"
The governor was greeted with ap-
plause by the large crowd which filled
the gallery and the floor of the hall
as he came before the joint assembly
He said at the beginning that he had
come to talk to the legislators very
He said that he had not
come to dictate, for he realized that
the General Assembly is supreme.
Taking up the matter of the budget
Governor Hartness said that he would
not have much to say about it at this
time, but he wanted to say word
about publicity which he considered
most important matter. He declared
that the present publicity work. is
"The publicity as now handled re-
ates to natural resources. / wish
to have it extended to include human
The young men and wo-
men of the State should have the op-
oortunity to know of it's opportunities
The human appeal is the most eff
fective. Heretofore the publicity has
gone out bulkily and not in inviting
shape. There has been too much un-
ler one cover. We should have cheap
er publications and more of them."
Governor Hartness explained his
idea of publicity, comparing it with
advertising in a business. He urged
the sending out of pamphlets TO the
merchant, the workman, the executive,
telling them about the things. that
hey are interested in and that they
should know He said that he had re-
to the budget committee
hat $4,000 extra be added to the bud