Vermont, the Green mountain state (Volume 4) online

Piatt of Shoreham and E. M. Brown of Sheldon. The
Second district delegates were W. H. H. Slack of
Springfield and E. M. Bartlett of Island Pond. The
Vermont delegates voted for the renomination of Presi-
dent McKinley and for the nomination of Gov. Theodore
Roosevelt of New York for Vice President.

Early in February William J. Bryan visited Vermont
and delivered a speech at Montpelier.

The Democratic State Convention elected as delegates-
at-large, Thomas W. Moloney of Rutland, Felix W.
McGettrick of St. Albans, Rollin S. Childs of Brattle-
boro and George Atkins of Montpelier. Delegates
elected from the First district were: John W.
McGeary of Burlington and Richard M. Houghton of
Bennington ; and from the Second district, O. C. Sawyer
of Sharon and A. B. Perry of Mclndoe Falls. A
motion to instruct the delegates to support William J.
Bryan as a Presidential candidate was tabled. The



CROSBY P. mim,i:k

Born in Pumfrct, Vt., October 20, 1S4; At the ajje of
eighteen he enlisted in the Sixteenth Vermont Volunteers
and served through a part of the Civil War, being discharged
to accept an apf)ointment as a cadet in the United State*
Milttar)' Academy, from which he graduated in 1867. He
served in the Artillery several years and later was assigned
to the Quartermaster's department. He had charge of the
construction of buildings and the installation of water and
sewer systems at army posts for a considerable period During
the Spanish-American War he was in charge of the supply
of all animals, wagons, etc., for the army. He was Chief
Quartermaster of the Eighth Corps and at the request of
Gen. E. S. Otis he was sent to the Philippines as Chief Quarter-
master. He served on the General Staff at Washington
from 1903 to 1906, being retired with the rank of Brigadier
General. After his retirement he served as Constructing
Officer at the Soldiers' Home at Washington from 1907-
to 1912. At the present time ^1921) he resides at Burlington,
Vt.



. ' - . -.' â– ...,1.,: .1 ) . ,,, ,,, .::



i/i| ^o noilooiJeri






')j jopl rnw;



BEGINNING OF A NEW CENTURY 331

national free silver platform of 1896 was endorsed. At
the Democratic National Convention, Thomas \V.
Moloney, for the Vermont delegation, seconded the
nomination of William j. Bryan as a Presidential can-
didate. For second place on the national ticket, the Ver-
mont delegates voted for former Vice President Adlai
E. Stevenson of Illinois, who was nominated, F. \V.
McGettrick was a member of the sub-committee that
drafted the platform. There was a bitter contest over
the inclusion or exclusion of a plank endorsing the free
coinage of silver, and Mr. McGettrick made a speech for
free silver which is said to have turned the scale in favor
of Mr. Bryan's doctrine, which won in committee by a
majority of two votes.

John H. Senter of Montpelier was the Democratic
candidate for Governor.

The Republican State Convention for the nomination
of State officers nominated William W. Stickney of Lud-
low for Governor without opposition. Martin F. Allen
of Ferrisburg defeated Elihu B. Taft of Burlington
for the nomination for Lieutenant Governor, by a vote
of 454 to 118. What the State Convention lacked in
excitement was abundantly made up in the Congres-
sional contests. In the Republican Convention in the
Second district the first ballot resulted as follows:
Kittredge Haskins, 149; Frank Plumley of Northfield,
142; Wendell P. Stafford of St. Johnsbury, 70; Porter
H. Dale of Island Pond, 42. Mr. Plumley's name was
withdrawn at the end of the eleventh ballot and Mr.
Haskins was nominated, the final vote standing as fol-



332 HISTORY OF VERMONT

lows: Haskins, 229; Stafford, 109; Dale, 26; Plumley,
9; Lavant M. Read of Bellows Falls, 1.

The First District Republican Convention was one
of the most exciting ever held in Vermont. Ex-Gov.
Carroll S. Page entered the contest early and candidates
in opposition were brought out in almost every county
in the district. The convention was held in the Bur-
lington Armory on June 28. The day was intensely
hot and the large auditorium was crowded with delegates
and interested spectators. Fletcher D. Proctor of Proc-
tor was elected chairman, and the convention was so
tumultuous that he soon discarded the ordinary gavel for
a stout piece of scantling.

The first ballot resulted as follows: C. S. Page of
Hyde Park, 105; D. J. Foster of Burlington, 89; J. C.
Baker of Rutland, 65; J. K. Batchelder of Arlington,
50; H. H. Powers -of Morrisville, 49; A. A. Hall of
St. Albans, 32.

Foster gained on the second ballot, which resulted as
follows: Foster, 176; Page, 127; Baker, 38; Batch-
elder, 37; Hall, 7; O. M. Barber of Bennington, 1.
Foster was nominated on the third ballot, the vote being:
Foster, 216; Page, 162; Batchelder, 7. The chief in-
terest in the campaign, following the Congressional nom-
inations, was in the choice of a United States Senator.
Seldom has the State been more actively canvassed.
The principal contest lay between Ex-Gov. William P.
Dillingham and Congressman William W. Grout of
Barton. Charles A. Prouty of Newport, Interstate
Commerce Commissioner, and Senator Jonathan Ross of
St. Johnsbury were also candidates. United States



BKGINXIXG OF A x\EVV CENTURY 33^

Senators were then chosen by the Legislature, and the
lines were drawn closely in county conventions, which
nominated State Senators and in caucuses for Town
Representatives.

The vote for Governor was as follows : William VV.
Stickney (Rep.), 48,441; John H. Senter (Uem.),
17,129; Henry C. Barnes (Pro.), 950; James Pirie
(Social Dem.), 567; scattering, 12. Stickney 's majority
was 29,783.

William W. Stickney was born in Plymouth, V't.,
March 21, 1853. He graduated from Phillips Exeter
Academy in 1877, studied law, was admitted to the bar
in 1878 and opened an office in Ludlow. He is senior
member of the law firm of Stickney, Sargent and Skeels.
He is president of the Ludlow Savings Bank and Trust
Company. He has been president of the Vermont Bar
Association and is now (1921) president of the Ver-
mont Historical Society. He was State's Attorney of
Windsor county from 1882 to 1884 and 1890 to 1892.
In 1882 he was elected Clerk of the House of Repre-
sentatives, a position w^hich he held for ten years. He
represented Ludlow in the Legislature in 1892 and
1894, being elected Speaker each year.

David Johnson Foster, one of the new Congressmen,
was born in Barnet, June 27, 1857. He graduated from
St. Johnsbury Academy in 1876 and from Dartmouth
College in 1880. He studied law and was admitted to
the Vermont bar in 1883. He opened an office in Bur-
lington and practiced law in that city until 1901. He
was State's Attorney of Chittenden county from 1886
to 1890; was State Senator, 1892-94; Commissioner of



334 HISTORY OF VERMONT

State Taxes, 1894-98; and chairman of the Board of
Railroad Commissioners, 1898-1900. He represented
the United States at the Mexican Centennial in 1910
and in 1911 was chairman of the United States delega-
tion to the general assembly of the International Institute
of Agriculture at Rome. He died March 21, 1912.

Kittredge Haskins, elected to Congress from the Sec-
ond district, was born at Dover, April 8, 1836. He was
educated in the common schools, studied law and was ad-
mitted to the bar in 1858. He served in the Sixteenth
Vermont regiment during a portion of the Civil War,
was commissioned First Lieutenant and resigned on
account of disabilities. He served on the staff of Gov-
ernor Washburn in 1869. He was State's Attorney of
Windham county, 1870-72; United States District Attor-
ney, 1880-87. He represented Brattleboro in the Legis-
lature in 1872, 1896 and 1898. He was elected Speaker
at the special war session in 1898 and was reelected at
the regular fall session. He was a Senator from Wind-
ham county in 1892. He was active in the Masonic
fraternity. He died, at his home in Brattleboro, August
6, 1916.

Fletcher D. Proctor of Proctor was elected Speaker
of the House when the Legislature organized in 1900.
In his retiring message Governor Smith discussed in a
vigorous manner the State's system of accounting,
which, he asserted, was "wanting in every essential
element of accuracy." It was physically impossible for
one man to do all the work required. He said: "The
State for years has been in the position of merely
accepting what has been paid to it without knowing



REGINNING OF A NEW CENTURY 335

that it has received what actually belongs to it." The
Auditor was not blamed for existing conditions. It
was recommended that the Governor, Lieutenant Gov-
ernor, Auditor and Treasurer, and perhaps the Speaker
of the House, be constituted a board with jurisdiction
over the accounting and financial departments of the
State. In regard to "double taxation," Governor Smith
found an unjust discrimination between real and per-
sonal property. He would give to real estate the right
to offset for debts or take away that right from per-
sonal property. He suggested as a possible method of
increasing revenue the policy of charging a fair price for
the granting of franchises. He found that during the
two years preceding, the merits of the prohibitory liquor
law had been debated with greater fairness and in a
spirit of toleration not shown before.

In his inaugural address Governor Stickney recom-
mended that the office of brigade commander of militia
be abolished, and that the law providing for a brigade
organization be repealed. He favored abolishing the
office of Tax Commissioner and assigning the duties of
the office to the State Treasurer. He favored the greater
development of the work of the Library Commission
and the removal of the restriction which permitted pro-
posals of amendment to the Constitution only once in
ten years. He also advocated a constitutional amend-
ment changing the date of the State election from Sep-
tember to November and the convening of the Legis-
lature from October to January.

The Legislature apportioned Senators by counties as
follows: Addison, 2; Bennington, 2; Caledonia, 2;



336 HISTORY OF VERMONT

Chittenden, 3; Essex, 1; Franklin, 2; Grand Isle, 1;
Lamoille, 1; Orange, 2; Orleans, 2; Rutland, 4; Wash-
ington, 3; Windham, 2; Windsor, 3. A law was en-
acted providing that any town might, and every town
having a population of two thousand, five hundred or
more, must maintain a high school, or provide instruc-
tion in some other high school, seminary or academy.
A State Laboratory of Hygiene was established under
the direction of the State Board of Health. The estab-
lishment of the boundary line between Vermont and
Massachusetts was authorized. The sum of four hun-
dred dollars was voted for a memorial tablet to mark the
birthplace of President Chester A. Arthur at Fairfield.
The Governor was commissioned to inform Capt.
Charles E. Clark of the desire of the General Assembly
that he should sit for a portrait to be placed in the State
Capitol. It was also voted that there should be secured
for the State House a portrait of Gen. Emerson H. Lis-
cum of the Ninth United States Infantry, "who gave his
life for the flag in the assault at the siege of Tien Tsin,
China, July 13, 1900." Emerson H. Liscum was a
native of Huntington, Vt., who spent a part of his boy-
hood in Burlington. Although very young, he was one
of the first to enlist when Fort Sumter was fired upon
in 1861, going out as a Corporal in the First Vermont
Volunteers. In 1862 he enlisted in the Twelfth Infantry
in the Regular Army. He was promoted through the
non-commissioned grades and in March, 1863, was com-
missioned a Second Lieutenant. He was made a First
Lieutenant, was severely wounded at Gettysburg and
was brevetted as Captain for gallantry in various battles.



BEGIXXIXi; Ol' A XKW CEXTURV lOT

In July, 1866, he was appointed Captain in the Twenty-
fifth Infantry and served through several Indian cam-
paigns. In 1892 he was advanced to the rank of Major
and in 1896 was made a Lieutenant Colonel. He com-
manded his regiment in Cuba and was severely wounded
in the assault on San Juan Hill. After nine months
of sick leave he was ordered to the Philippines and was
appointed a Brigadier General of Volunteers. When
the volunteer appointment lapsed he became Colonel of
the X'inth Infantry. When troops were needed in China
for the rescue of the American Minister and others in
Pekin Colonel Liscum was selected on account of "his
ability, cool judgment and experience," and because his
district in Luzon was so thoroughly pacified that he
could be spared.

Calvin P. Titus, who served as a bugler for the Ben-
nington company of the First Vermont regiment in the
War with Spain, enlisted later in the Regular Army and
was the first man of the Allied forces to scale the walls
of Pekin. He was decorated for bravery and was given
an appointment at large at the United States Military
Academy.

The Legislature adopted joint resolutions relating to
the death of John Sherman and providing for a special
commission to which should be referred that part of
Governor Smith's retiring message relating to the State's
system of accounting.

Four proposals of amendment to the State Constitu-
tion were ofifered to the Senate. The first proposing
a change in the date of elections for State and county
officers from September to X^ovember, beginning in



338 HISTORY OF VERMONT

1906, and changing the date of the convening of the
General Assembly from October to January, was re-
jected by a vote of 6 to 22.

The second, enabling the Senate to propose constitu-
tional amendments at any session, was defeated by a
vote of 13 to 16.

The third, apportioning Senators according to popu-
lation, was lost by a vote of 5 to 25.

The fourth proposal, providing for the filling of
vacancies in the Senate and House of Representatives,
was adopted by the Senate, reported adversely to the
House, but approved by a vote of 146 to 24. The Legis-
lature of 1902 did not approve this proposal.

The great event of the session of 1900 was the
election of a United States Senator for the unexpired
portion of the term of Senator Justin S. Morrill. The
first ballot, taken in joint assembly on October 17,
demonstrated the fact that no candidate had a sufficient
number of supporters to ensure election. The vote was
as follows: William P. Dillingham, 108; William W.
Grout, 82; Seneca Haselton (Dem.), 48; C. A. Prouty,
20; Jonathan Ross, 13. On the following day most of
the followers of the three candidates receiving the
fewest votes left them, and Dillingham benefited largely
by this break, receiving a majority of fifty-four on joint
ballot. The vote on the second ballot was as follows:
Dillingham, 162; Grout, 96; Haselton, 6; Ross, 5;
Prouty, 1.

The Presidential Electors chosen in 1900 were
Truman C. Fletcher of St. Johnsbury, Horace F.



BEGINNINC; 01^^ A NEW CENTURY :V^9

Graham of Craf tsbury, George E. Fisher of Lyndon and
Frederick G. Fleetwood of Morristown.

The total vote for Presidential Electors was 56,216,
compared with a total of 63,845 in the Presidential
election of 1896 and a total vote of 67,099 in the State
election of 1900. The Republican Electors had a
majority of 28,920. The total vote in the November
election usually was less than that cast in September,
when local contests helped to bring out a large vote.

The result of the Presidential election in 1900 by
counties is given herewith :



Rep.

Addison 3,286

Bennington .... 2,666

Caledonia 2,957

Chittenden 3,907

Essex 758

Franklin 2,737

Grand Isle 356

Lamoille 1,742

Orange 2,515

Orleans 2,749

Rutland 5,901

Washington 3,819

Windham 3,948

Windsor 5,227





Peoples


Pro.


Deui.


Party


Scat


467


25


25


871


30


8


817


25


52


1,822


53


27


358


5


2


1,316


17


57


146


6


10


418


15


26


740


22


62


441


14


21


1,874


49


80


1,622


65


35


1,014


23


11


943


19


15



Total 42,568 12,849 368 431



340 HISTORY OF VERMONT

The population of Vermont, according to the census
figures of 1900, was 343,641, a gain during the preceding
decade of 11,219, or 3.4 per cent. The population per
square mile was 37.7, compared with an average of 25.6
for the United States. There were in Vermont 175,138
males and 168,503 females, constituting the total popu-
lation. The Negro population numbered 1,621 and 2>1
persons were included under the designation, "Indian,
Chinese, Japanese and All Other." The native born in-
habitants of Vermont numbered 298,894, and there were
44,747 foreign born. The latter class constituted 13 per
cent of the total population.

The population by counties follows:

Addison 21,912

Bennington 21,705

Caledonia 24,381

Chittenden 39,600

Essex 8.056

Franklin 30,198

Grand Isle 4,462

Lamoille 12.289

Orange 19,313

Orleans 22,024

Rutland 44,209

Washington 36,607

Windham 26,660

Windsor 32,225

Eight counties, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden,
Franklin, Grand Isle, \\' ashington, Windham and Wind-
made srains. Six counties, Addison, Essex,



sor



fc)



BEGINNING OF A NEW CENTURY 341

Lamoille, Orange, Orleans and Rutland, reported losses.
The principal gains were in Washington and Chittenden
counties. The population of Barre more than doubled,
and the growth of the granite industry during the decade
accounted largely for Washington county's gain of
7,000.

The following towns and cities, having a population
in excess of 2,500, are given herewith: Burlington,
18,640; Rutland, 11,499; Barre City, 8,488; Benning-
ton, 8,033; St. Johnsbury, 7,010; Brattleboro, 6,640;
Montpelier, 6,266; St. Albans City, 6,239; Rockingham,
5,809; Colchester, 5,352; Hartford, 3,817; Swanton,
3,745; Springfield, 3,432; Barre Town, 3,346;
Derby, 3,274; Randolph, 3,141 ; Newport, 3,113; Poult-
ney, 3,108; Middlebury, 3,045; Fair Haven, 2,999; Lyn-
don, 2,956; West Rutland, 2,914; Northfield, 2,855;
Waterbury, 2,810; Barton, 2,790; Brandon, 2,759; Mor-
ristown, 2,583; Woodstock, 2,557.

Natives of Vermont residing outside the State in 1900,
numbered 169,076. A map published in The Ver-
monter, showed the numbers in the different States to be
as follows: Maine, 1,969; New Hanipshire, 19,647;
Massachusetts, 40,629; Rhode Island, 2,976; Connecti-
cut, 5,230; New York, 23,502; New Jersey, 1,682; Penn-
sylvania, 2,709 ; Delaware, 62 ; Maryland, 249 ; Virginia,
256; West Virginia, 110; North Carolina, 142; South
Carolina, 50; Georgia, 253; Florida, 393; Alabama, 150;
Mississippi, 76; Louisiana, 155; Arkansas, 301; Ten-
nessee, 375; Kentucky, 161 ; Ohio, 3,353; Indiana, 1,228;
Illinois, 9,974; Michigan, 6,759; Wisconsin, 6,908; Min-
nesota, 6,273; Iowa, 6,934; Missouri, 2,209; North



342 HISTORY OF VERMONT

Dakota, 834; South Dakota, 1,545; Nebraska, 3,077;
Kansas, 3,117; Oklahoma, 352; Indian Territory, 64;
Texas, 541; Montana, 969; Wyoming, 398; Colorado,
2,057; New Mexico, 153; Idaho, 375; Utah, 316;
Nevada, 185 ; Arizona, 202 ; Washington, 1,962 ; Oregon,
1,180; California, 5,859.

The total number of Vermont farms in 1900 was
33,104, and the acreage, 4,724,440. There were
2,126,624 acres, or 45 per cent in improved land,
and 2,597,816 acres in unimproved land. The value of
this land was $45,813,905. The average value of all
property per farm was $3,276, and the average value of
land per acre, $9.70. The value of the buildings was
$37,257,715; the value of farm products, $33,570,892;
and the value of farm implements and machinery,
$9,911,040. There were 25,982 farm owners. The
average size of a Vermont farm was 142.7 acres. There
were 101 farms of 1,000 acres or over. Windsor county
contained the largest number of farms, and Addison
county contained the greatest number of acres of im-
proved farms.

Vermont's gross farm income was $22,658,908.
There were 16,700 farms that derived their principal in-
come from dairy products, Vermont's rank being fifth
in this list. The dairy cows numbered 199,603, or an
average of twelve cows per farm. The value of dairy
products was $9,321,389. The value of live stock was
$17,841,317, the State ranking first in New England.
Vermont produced 142,042,223 gallons of milk,
57,566,012 gallons of which were sold. There were
41,288,087 pounds of butter made, Vermont ranking



BEGINNING OF A NEW CENTURY 343

first in New England. Of this amount, 22,453,381
pounds were made in factories and 18,834,706 pounds
on farms. Vermont ranked first in New England in the
production of cheese, 5,119,764 pounds being manu-
factured.

There were on Vermont farms in 1900, 510,341 neat
cattle, 105,896 horses, 297,521 sheep, 100,510 swine,
806,451 chickens, 22,689 turkeys, 8,836 ducks, 5,187
geese and 12,836 swarms of bees. There were produced
the previous year, 6,271,880 dozen of eggs, 1,334,253
pounds of wool and 182,278 pounds of honey. The
value of all poultry was $421,195, and the eggs produced
in 1899 were valued at $959,965. The value of forest
products was $2,108,518.

According to the census figures of 1900, Vermont pro-
duced the previous year, 380,940 bushels of barley,
196,010 bushels of buckwheat, 2,322,450 bushels of
corn, 2,742,140 bushels of oats, 31,950 bushels of rye,
34,650 bushels of wheat, 3,547,829 bushels of pota-
toes, 27,172 bushels of field beans, 1,329,972 tons of hay,
291,390 pounds of tobacco, 4,400 pounds of hops,
4,779,870 pounds of maple sugar and 409,953 gallons of
maple syrup. There were in the State, 1,675,131 apple
trees, which bore 1,176,822 bushels of fruit, valued at
$450,429.

Vermont produced more maple sugar than any other
State, a rank which it had held since 1870. In average
yield of staple crops per acre, Vermont ranked second
in buckw^heat and tobacco, fifth in oats and barley, eighth
in wheat and corn, ninth in potatoes and twelfth in rye.



344 HISTORY OF VERMONT

There were reported in 1900, in Vermont, 1,938 manu-
facturing establishments, employing 28,179 persons.
The gross value of the products amounted to $57,623,-
815 ; and the net value was $40,760,300. The capital in-
vested was $43,500,000, and the total horse power used
was 126,124. Burlington reported 7^ establishments,
with 2,322 wage earners and products valued at
$6,066,000. In Barre there were 146 establishments,
employing 1,875 wage earners, with products valued at
$2,671,000. Rutland had 61 establishments, employing
1,496 wage earners, and products valued at $1,959,000.

Lumber and timber products ranked first in Vermont
manufacture, with 575 establishments, employing 6,322
wage earners, and producing manufactures valued at
$8,799,000.

Other important manufactured products are given
herewith.

No. Estab- Aver. No. Value of
lishments zvage earners Products

Marble and stone work 281 4,668 $6,380,000

Butter, cheese and condensed

milk 255 522 5,656,000

Paper and wood pulp 27 1,216 3.385,000

Flour and gristmill products . . 115 170 2,770,000

Woolen, worsted and felt

goods and wool hats 23 1,484 2,573,000

Foundry and machine shop

products 67 1,429 2,372,000

Patent medicines, compounds

and druggists' prescriptions 22 279 2,124,000

Hosiery and knit goods 14 1,213 1,835,000

Car, shop and construction and

repairs by steam railroad

companies 7 779 825,000



EDWARD CURTIS SMITH

Son of John Gregory Smith, one of the Civil War Governors
of Vermont, was born in St. Albans, Januar>' $, 1855. He
>;raduated from Yale University, studied law and was ad-
mitted to the bar. He became associated with his father
in the management of the Central Vermont railroad lines, as
vice-president, general manager, and later as president. He
has served in the Vermont Legislature and in 1898 was
elected Governor of Vermont. He is now (192 1) president
of the Central \'ermont Railway Company.



1 r^^uz iJBiiAPJ






BEGINNING OF A NEW CENTURY 345

Printing and publishing 106 602 792,000

Men's clothing including shirts 7 526 729,000

Bread and bakery products. . . 50 148 417,000

Agricultural implements 17 211 370,000

Carriages and wagons 57 186 285,000

Confectionery 5 103 248.000

Canning and preserving 8 128 207,000

Women's clothing 5 202 198,000

Cooperage and wooden goods

not elsewhere specified 13 131 160,000

Copper, tin and sheet iron

products 10 78 152,000

Brick and tile 15 115 100,000

Tobacco manufactures 21 52 86,000

Gas, lighting and heating 7 15 71,000

Leather goods 3 21 55,000

All other industries 204 6,764 9,673,000

The paper industry, centered largely at Bellows Falls,
showed a large increase during the decade, 286 per cent