Evening star., 1941-09-23

McLemore. come to romp
on the capitol lawn as English bull
dogs or Russian wolfhounds. In
Burlington, the States largest city,
sauerkraut is still on the restaurant
menus, and in Rutland no one has
been interned for saying "Gesund-
heit" following a friends sneeze.
In the rural districts where, as the
first war correspondent to reach
Vermont since the declaration OF
hostilities, ! have been travelling,
morale is as high as the twang of
the farmers voices. Every one feels
that even though it has a population
of only some 100000, Vermont will
be able to defend its rich store Of
maple sugar, marble and Republicans
against any enemy.
It is not the first time that Ver-
mont has stood practically alone.
In 1886 Vermont had only Maine
as an ally in its fight against Roose-
welt and the other As States in the
Union. According to my vest pocket
Encyclopaedia Britannica CVol. %
Vase to Zygo) Vermonters have been
scrapping with outsiders for a long
time. They even fought New York
in ITO, and it was Ethan Allen and
| his Green Mountain Boys who cap
tured Fort Ticonderoga, the first
really tough act on the part Of
Americans in the Revolutionary
War.
Allen and his Green Mountain
sharpshooters gave the British at
Ticonderoga no warning. They just
knocked on the front door in the
dead of night and when the British
general in command answered the
bell (wearing a cut on the bias night
shirt, I believe) they took him in
charge.
The present day Vermonters acted
with the same dispatch against
Hitler and Mussollni With little
fuss and no feathers they declared
war Just what prompted them to
I do this? Just why did Vermont,
without conferring with any of the
other Al States or the folk at WASH
ington. throw down the gantlet to
the Nazis and the Fascists?
Did Vermont feel that Hitler, with
his chief supply of maple sugar cut
off and forced to use jam or pre-
serves on his waffes and pancakes,
would be driven to his knees?
Did Vermonters believe that the
morale of the German people would
be shaken on reading that their
State, one which has never lost a
fight, was now lined up against
/ them?
AS a correspondent out to get the
facts, no matter if getting them re-
/ quired me to move in range of Ger
man guns that must be trained
toward this State right at this mo-
ment, I ran all sorts of risks.
I walked right into groups Of
whittlers on the porches of country
! stores and interrupted their discus
sions of the weather and crops to
query them on Vermont's stand.
In many places I was the first
Democrat the natives had ever seen,
and on several occasions it was
touch and go as to whether they
would tar and feather me or stuff
and mount me as museum piece
But I eventually found out why
Vermont declared war.
~
In the first place (no words de-
leted here) Vermonters haven't
been able to distinguish between a
country being at war and country
that is operating either as belliger-
ent neutral or a neutral belligerent,
or both perhaps. Their hard, COM
mon New England sense makes
them question the effort of a coun-
try to go about its business with an
olive branch in its left Cor nom
pitching) hand and a cooked shot
gu I in its right hand. They argue
that when President Roosevelt
(whom they never voted for) issued
the shoot on sight orders" to the
Navy, we got in the war right then.
So, out of honesty if nothing else,
they declared war They don't like
hypocrisy up in these parts.
In the second place-and this was
told me by one of the most promi-
nent Rutland acknowledgements
like their homes and their land.
They have deep conviction that no
one has a right to intrude on a
mans property or violate his home.
They have done a heap o. living to
make their houses homes, and they
are willing to go Edgar Guest one
better and do lot Of shooting to
keep them that way.
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