The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1922-01-19
SAVING MONEY Is NOT
ALL THERE Is To DO
J. II. Blood Of West Windsor Calls At.
tenf,on a Sa,n. ~ The State Issues

tention 10 Some Of the State Issues
J. H. Blood. who represented West
Windsor at the last session Of the leg
islature. in q letter 10 the Woodstock
Standard, does a public service IN
calling attention 10 some Of the things
In relation to state government that
are often forgotten. The real point
made By Mr.. Blood is that IL is just
as wrong TO be penurious and penny
wise as il is 70 be careless and extrav-
agant His letter to the Standard is as
follows
Much is being said in the papers Of
the State. in the editorials as well as
by contributors, about state expens-
es,p down with public expense, "
slash our expenses" "reduce the SCI
aries Of our state officials" "econo-
mize," expenses increased 200 per
cents" etc.
Nearly all Of this propaganda is be-
ing spread broadcast TO make the COM
mon people think the state is going 10
ruin because its expenses are more
than they were forty years ago and
that when they vote for candidate
for any Office they must promise to
slash our expenses to at least forty
years ago.
Let me tell all the editors, candi-
dates for office, soreheads, and what
few ignorant kickers there ere that
the voters and the common people are
not going to do any such thing.
Although have served the past two
terms in the House of Legislature l
am not a politician, have no axe to
grind and can state frankly why the
common people are not going back
forty years for the sole purpose Of cut
ting state expenses.
| believe our state has and will keep
its expense down as low as il is econ
omy TO so do and no lower but the
common people are not all foolish even
though am one Of them and proud to
say it.
True economy does not necessarily
involve a reduction of expenses, for
example our town is small dairy
town Of small TO medium sized diaries,
our dairymen are paying thousands Of
dollars each month for grain while
forty years ago their Expense" for
grain was practically nothing and they
were selling few pounds Of butter,
some wool, lambs, turkeys and beef
cattle (oxen), today they are selling
twelve TO eighteen thousand dollars
worth OF whole milk each month in the
year. The farmers were never better
off financially, their farms were never
as productive, their buildings as good
and their wives and children as well
dressed and happy as they are today,
their expenses are much more than
forty years ago but their income much
more than offsets them so / claim they
are practising true economy and ] be-
/ lieve our State is doing the same.
For example, wish to give a few
facts which ! am personally sure Of
for | am fifty-four years old and re-
member forty years back. When
eighteen years old taught school and
boarded around" at one house they
cent me up stairs TO bed with tallow
candle for a light which ] set down on
window still, (there being no other
place., the panes Of glass were so
shaky IL blew out my electric light
1.-THE candle) and in the morning there
was two or three inches Of snow on my
bed that had blown in, but | forgot TO
say that my salary was the whole Of
three dollars per week. Next | taught
twenty eight pupils in a small room
and boarded myself and received six
dollars a week.
Does anyone want our school system
and our schools back there and it
wasn't forty years ago either. Our
school expense is many times what 1t
was then, but claim our schools and
our teachers are enough better so that
our returns for money spent dollar for
dollar, were never greater than today.
Our roads were never as good as
now and are being made better every
year. Our expenses for roads are
large yet we are getting returns and
We pay-as-we-go and are going to con-
tinue the same policy We are getting |
over six hundred thousand dollars per
year from autos that we did not get
forty years ago. We were getting /
seventy-fve thousand Of that per year
for 'back roads" but | got "onto my
job" and had that doubled at the last
legislature, which made an average OF
over six hundred dollars per town and
today il is admitted that il was right
and the people Of the State appreciate