USA > Vermont > Orleans County > Craftsbury > Historical celebrations in Craftsbury, Vermont, 1889-1941 > Part 4
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It is poor sportsmanship and poor politics to be merely a dog in the manger and decry what the other fellow is doing, and honestly believes to be right, without offering constructive sug- gestions to take the place of the policies one opposes. Plenty of such suggestions have come from individual republicans, but nothing with any party unity behind it. Even old Vermont, through its governor whom we all admire, has warned the pow- ers that be in present day republicanism and voiced valuable sug- gestions for party welfare and success, but no party declaration in tune with the times comes to the light of day on this eve of a general election which is so vital in the pending evolution to a higher plane of living.
Do our people want a change in the experimenting of gov- ernment? Plenty of straws in recent months point that way. Have our people now come to believe that a wise application of old time thrift to some of the new ideas and an abandonment of other new notions, would provide us with an experiment possess- ing better possibilities of success than the one now in vogue? Plenty of straws so indicate. How, then, can we best insure that the will of the people shall prevail ?
First, by offering the people a truly progressive, sound, economical code of ideas, popularly known as a party platform.
Secondly, by finding or creating a party which will whole- heartedly and honestly do its best, if elected, to enact its party pledges into law.
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First, then, as to the platform. Among many other things it might well promise the people a really and truly balanced budg- et ; a curtailment of bureaucracies ; restoration to state and indi- viduals of many rights and privileges usurped by the government in recent years; a new declaration of faith in and allegiance to our constitution, that effective guaranty of state's rights and freedom of the individual; a continuation of old age assis- tance and other social security features, but upon an early self sustaining basis, supported by capital and labor alike, and ad- ministered on the basis of need; a revamping of labor legislation to define the rights and privileges of both employer and em- ployee, and to provide a non partisan, non political federal labor court, instead of the N L R B, empowered to settle all disputes between labor and capital, to the end that peace may prevail in- stead of John L. Lewis warfare, and the recognizing of labor as an equal partner with capital in all business; a fair and reason- able attitude toward business and a recognition of industry as the factor in our system which can and will provide for the work- ing man, and, above all, will provide, through the wages it pays, an adequate and profitable market for agricultural production ; and last a guaranty of a "square deal" to all, playing no favorites and holding no grouches. The enactment into law of such a platform would revive confidence, cheer the hearts of industry, agriculture and labor, and provide the incentive through and by which this great country of ours would pull itself up by its boot straps from the slough of depression and thrust forward with courage toward the higher plane we would then be sure to reach.
Secondly as to the party. I look forward to the possibility yes, the probability, of another four years of the new deal with fear. The emergency merits sacrifice, even to the extent of a realignment of so-called party affiliations. The past year has clearly shown a split in the republican ranks. There are now 'stand-patters" and the liberal wing. The same applies to the democratic party. There are now conservatives and "new-deal- ers." The liberal republicans and the conservative democrats have lately shown their strength and accomplished a great deal. Both are open to wise suggestions and they are now thinking much alike. United they could stand for great accomplishment, but divided their influence for better things is only sporadic. If these two elements could be welded into a new party and under a new name; if the leaders of each of these wings could have the courage to make an early announcement of a coalition, the small snow ball, so started, would roll itself to tremendous proportions and would, I believe, sweep through the 1940 elections like an avalanche.
So great is the power of psychology in politics and one's mental reaction that while the democratic solid south is now sub- stantially disloyal to the new deal, its dislike for the word re- publican as a party name would overcome that disloyalty and
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keep the south democratic even if it meant a continuation of our present regime. Not so if a new party came into being.
I am persuaded and almost convinced that if the present re- publican party, burdened with its past follies, prejudices and mis- takes, meets the present democratic party similarly burdened, in the next campaign, the democrats, and probably Mr. Roosevelt, will win. The prejudice of a mere name is a mighty strong fac- tor in determining a voter's allegiance. If, however, the liberal republicans and the conservative democrats can meet on the common, progressive ground they now occupy and under a new name which will indicate a changed political and economic thought, they can go far, accomplish much, and bring us back stability and confidence.
I realize, my friends, that I have stepped outside the usually expected remarks on occasions such as this, and I know I am seriously overrunning my time limit. I am retired from politics, but I cannot lose interest in those things which my thoughtful consideration prompts me to believe are for the best interest of our country as a whole. In what I feel is the danger of the present day trend, I cannot resist the temptation to pass on to you for your thoughtful consideration my convictions, nor can I resist the temptation to point out to you how far we have strayed from the concepts of those forefathers who wrested our rich realm from Great Britain and established the first republic.
Imagine, if you can, those forefathers embarking on a spend- ing spree to solidify and bring permanent prosperity to the new government they had organized! Imagine, if you can, a farmer, merchant or industrialist, in the old days or now, running his business year after year in the red! A man, a corporation, or a nation, living on more and more borrowed money all the time, faces bankruptcy when security for the mounting debt falls short, and the resources of this country are not inexhaustible.
We owe the strong, courageous, pioneering, thrifty men and women of one hundred and fifty years ago a debt of grati- tude which can never be paid, but, right now, we owe them our humble apologies for our wayward departure from the heritage of common sense which they bequeathed unto us.
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REMARKS BY DISTINGUISHED VISITORS August 24, 1939
JUDGE J. HARRY COVINGTON.
Governor Graham, Ladies and Gentlemen :
At this late time in the afternoon I would not have the te- merity even to attempt a speech. Moreover, I have been much impressed with the fact that the Vermonter always is both direct and precise in what he writes or says, and the note which I received from Governor Graham, in which he honored me by inviting me to be present on this occasion, suggested that I "say a few words." I shall respect the Governor's precision.
May I tell you an incident which illustrates the value of brevity in speech. A good many years ago, at one of the famous annual dinners of the St. Nicholas Society in New York, after there had been extended talks, from a too long list of speakers one occasionally sees at public dinners, the principal speaker was introduced and said, simply but feelingly, to the assembly : "Demosthenes is dead; Cicero is dead, and I am not feeling very well myself." He then sat down, and it was uni- versally acclaimed by his audience that he had made the great hit of the evening.
I merely wish to say to you, as one who has transplanted himself to Vermont to enjoy its quiet and its beauty, that it is an ever increasing pleasure for me to see the varied loveliness of the State. With its glorious Green Mountains, and its deep and winding valleys, it seems a peaceful sanctuary to which one may come for seclusion, reflection and happiness.
This village of Craftsbury Common, the settlement of which you are gathered today to commemorate, is typical of what Vermont has been and still is. It sprang from courage; it was nurtured in independence ; it survives in all its vigor through the spirit of self-reliance. And one may be quite satisfied that no matter what may be the varied problems which confront our country, and regardless of the temporary ascendancy of alien ideas and fruitless experiments, the courage, comprehension and patriotism which the Vermonter has possessed from the begin- ning will be a vital force in keeping America in the path of lib- erty, security of individual rights, and that freedom which the fathers so dearly bought.
HON. CHARLES H. PLUMLEY.
Governor Graham, ladies and gentlemen, I have held almost as many offices in the State of Vermont as did Samuel Chandler Crafts. We have omitted here today to hear from any of the
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speakers something about him which I know. In 1908, as Clerk of the House, I happened to take up the list of names of those who had preceded me in that office and the name of Samuel Chandler Crafts stuck out like a sore thumb. He was Clerk of the House of Representatives in 1798 and 1799. Prior to that time he had been a member of the House. He was the United States delegate to the Constitutional Convention. You do well to honor your distinguished citizen. His life was effective, it was an influence for good. He was elected to Congress, he didn't like it, he stayed as long as his duties seemed to compel him. He came back here to Craftsbury. Upon the death of a certain Senator, he was appointed to fill out the unexpired term, and he served from something like April '42, to March '43, and then came back to Craftsbury to live. He was an integral part of this stubborn soil and he came back here and is buried on this hill with its New England high horizon.
I can sympathize with the last speaker. I received a note from Horace Graham and now I know as of old what to do when I get a note from Horace Graham. I am something in the situa- tion of the man in my Town who was called the town fool. A man lost a cow there and the neighbors all turned out and hunted about a week to find the cow and the cow was not found. One day in came George, the town fool, leading the cow. "Well, George," he was asked, "how did you happen to find the cow?" "Well," he says, "you know I thought what I would do if I was a cow, and I did it, and there she was." So when I got this let- ter from Horace Graham and a notice by Cy Searles that I was in debt for my dues, I knew what to do-and I thank you very much.
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CELEBRATION OF THE VERMONT SESQUICENTEN-
NIAL IN CRAFTSBURY 1941
In accordance with an article in the Warning for the Town Meeting of 1940, the Selectmen appointed a committee to ar- range for the celebration of the Vermont Sesquicentennial throughout the year 1941, in Craftsbury, as in many other towns of the State. The members of this Committee were: Jean W. Simpson, Chairman; William Tillotson; Henry Clapp, and Ver- non Dunn.
The first Vermont Sesquicentennial Celebration in Crafts- bury was held on Town Meeting Day, March 4th, 1941. At nine o'clock in the morning the song "Jubilee," written especially for the occasion by Judge Wendell P. Stafford, was sung in all the schools in Town. This song was sung again, in the afternoon by a large gathering of citizens in the Town Hall, following the presentation of a scene entitled: "The First Town Meeting in Craftsbury." This was a dramatization, prepared by the Com- mittee, from the records of the first three Town Meetings, held in 1792, 1793, and 1794. An historical address, written for the occasion by Hon. Horace F. Graham, was read by Ray Talbert, Principal of Craftsbury Academy, Mr. Graham being absent due to illness.
At the 1941 Town Meeting it was resolved to hold a Ver- mont Sesquicentennial Celebration in August, in place of the usual Craftsbury Community Fair. The Town also voted to purchase a national flag, and a State flag, to be flown at either side of the Soldiers' Monument on Craftsbury Common. These flags were raised for the first time on Memorial Day.
In the early spring, the Committee sponsored an essay con- test on Vermont history in Craftsbury Academy, and another in the graded schools of the Town. The winners, whose names were announced at the Memorial Day exercises in Academy Hall, were as follows: in the Academy, 1st and 2nd prizes, Irene Urie and Lucille Lussier ; in the graded schools, 1st and 2nd prizes, Dean Urie and Ronald Daniels.
At the suggestion of the Committee, various organizations in Town presented special Sesquicentennial programs through- out the spring and summer. Also six permanent signs reading : "Craftsbury-Settled 1789" were placed on the Town Line at the side of the principal roads leading into the Town.
The Town Celebration, held in accordance with the resolu- tion passed at Town Meeting, took place on Thursday and Fri- day, August 21 and 22. Thursday evening, in the Town Hall, there was an entertainment which included the dramatization of the First Town Meeting; singing by the Craftsbury Male
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Quartet comprised of Rev. Herbert Schulze, Alden Twiss, Henry Clapp and Alex Harper ; singing by the Girls' "Sesqui Chorus"; tap-dancing by Jean Galgano, a young summer visitor from New York; and moving-pictures of the Pageant celebrating the Cen- tennial of Craftsbury Academy in 1929. Dancing followed the program.
Friday forenoon there was a baseball game on Craftsbury Common between the Town Teams of Craftsbury and Hardwick, resulting in a score of 6 to 5 in favor of Craftsbury. During the day many holiday-makers enjoyed an exhibition of antique furni- ture and utensils in the Academy Gymnasium. There were also demonstrations of old-time industries : candle-dipping, weaving, etc. Artistic flower arrangements were on display at the en- trance.
In Academy Hall, paintings by local artists were on exhibi- tion, also about fifty photographs of fine old Vermont buildings loaned by the Fleming Museum in Burlington.
After a basket lunch, supplemented by light refreshments sold at booths opposite the Academy, the Grand Parade took place. This was led by members of the American Legion, pre- ceded by a marshal on horseback, and followed by the Crafts- bury Band. Next came the "State Ladies," a group of fourteen young ladies dressed in flowing robes of red, white and blue, representing the thirteen original States, and Vermont. Groups of children from the six district schools also marched. A series of automobile and horse-drawn floats followed, representing the John Woodruff Simpson Memorial Library ; the Craftsbury Pub- lic Library ; the Hosmer Lake, Goose Peak, Greensboro Sun- beams and Caspian Lake 4-H Clubs; the Patmos Peak Patrol of Girl Scouts; Craftsbury Community Grange; the Fin Fur, and Feather Club; the East Hill Players; Far Horizons Summer Camp. The Town fire-truck followed, and the Craftsbury Garage wrecker; then came a group of young pepole from the Greensboro Summer Colony, on horseback. and the Parade wound up with an imitation Calliope contrived by the Mueller Family of Montclair, New Jersey, and of Craftsbury.
An amplifying system was installed at the Band Stand by John P. King, a young member of the Craftsbury Summer Colo- ny ; and announcements, including descriptions of the floats as they passed in the Parade, were made through the microphone by Durward Gebbie. At 2.30 P. M. Governor W. H. Wills spoke from the Band Stand, followed by Professor Leon Dean of the University of Vermont. Both speakers were introduced by Dean Mary Jean Simpson. Seated on the platform near the speakers were Mrs. Delia Honey, ninety-four years of age, the oldest resident of Albany, and Deacon N. B. Williams, ninety- two years of age, the oldest resident of Craftsbury.
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The Craftsbury Band, under the direction of Alden Twiss, furnished music for the speaking program, and at other times during the day. At eight o'clock in the evening the Band gave a concert on Craftsbury Common during which, in spite of show- ery weather, a good number of young people carrying burning cat-tails formed an old-fashioned torchlight procession around the Common, thus ending in the grand old style Craftsbury's celebration of the Vermont Sesqui-centennial of 1941.
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Historical sketch written for the Vermont Sesquicentennial Celebration in Craftsbury at Town Meeting, March 4, 1941,
by Horace F. Graham
We are all aware that today marks the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the admission of our state to the Union, the United States of America, as the fourteenth state and the first to be admitted after the adoption of the Constitution.
The chairman of your committee told me that ten or fifteen minutes would be all the time that could be given to this histori- cal sketch. As I am not inclined to be longwinded I will try and obey cheerfully these instructions but to do so I can only touch upon a few of the high points of our early history.
It may be well in the first instance to say a few words as to how the present territory of Vermont came to be determined.
The northern boundary of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay was fixed in her charter and the eastern boundary of New York by her charter, as thirty miles east of the Hudson River. After the Seven Years' War in Europe, known to us on this continent as the French and Indian War, Great Britain came into the pos- session of substantially what is now the dominion of Canada so that as she was possessed of all of North America from the At- lantic to the Mississippi River, it became necessary for her to es- tablish a boundary between the provinces of New Hampshire and New York and the province of Quebec. This was done by the Quebec Act of the British Parliament and fixed at the forty- fifth parallel of north latitude. This was probably fair, as it was half way between the equator and the north pole. Two noted surveyors of those days, Valentine and Collins were employed to mark this parallel on the ground. This they did by running a blazed line and marking the trees from the Connecticut to the St. Lawrence Rivers. The line was re-run after the Ashburton- Webster Treaty of the 1840's, when the old line was found on the trees in many places and re-marked by monuments. It was again re-run some twenty years ago. In some places it varies from the forty-fifth parallel, but has been lived up to till the present time.
In 1764 the King in Council fixed this boundary of New Hampshire as the west bank of the Connecticut River. The west boundary of what is now Vermont remained undetermined, or agreed to between New York and Vermont, until Vermont was admitted to the Union.
Before the French and Indian War, and until 1764, the Gov- ernor of New Hampshire chartered many towns in what is now Vermont up and back from the Connecticut River as far north as Lemington, and on the west side of the mountains all the way
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from Pownal to Highgate. After the New Hampshire bound- ary was established the Colonial Governor of New York began to issue charters for towns in Vermont. The settlers in Ver- mont objected on the ground that they had received their char- ters in good faith from New Hampshire and paid for them. About this time along came Ethan Allen and drove off the "Yorkers" and a sort of partisan warfare began which lasted until the Revolution.
The settlers on the New Hampshire grants soon found after 1764 that they were without any government, and the different towns that had been settled began to meet by delegates at Ben- nington, Dorset, Windsor and Westminster to adopt measures for their protection. I can only touch upon a few of these meet- ings in the time allowed me. At Dorset in July 1776 the con- vention adopted a resolution that the inhabitants of the New Hampshire Grants form a separate district, and in September, 1776, again at Dorset, voted that "the district of land commonly called and known by the name of the New Hampshire Grants be formed into a separate district and that this fact be published in the newspapers and that a declaration be drawn up." This was done, and it appeared in the Connecticut Courant of March 17, 1777. Among other facts set forth in the declaration was "The inhabitants on said tract of land are at present without law or government, and may be truly said to be in a state of nature ; consequently a right remains to the people of said grants to form a government best suited to secure their property, wellbeing and happiness. We, the delegates from the several counties and towns on said tract of land, bounded as follows: South on the North line of Massachusetts Bay; East on Connecticut River ; North on Canada line; West as far as the New Hamp- shire grant extends."
"That the said State be called by the name of New Connecti- cut." (In the original report were the words, "Alias Ver- mont")
On the fourth of June, 1777, the delegates from forty-eight towns met at Windsor, changed the name of the new state to Vermont, and added a series of reasons for the separation from New York.
On July 2, 1777, a convention of delegates met at Windsor to form a Constitution for the new State. The Constitution of Pennsylvania, then recently adopted, and amended, was pre- sented to the Convention as a model, and adopted with few changes some of which however were important, especially the one forbidding slavery within the state.
While the Convention was in session, Ticonderoga was evacuated, and the battles of Hubbardton, Bennington and Sara- toga fought, in which battles Vermont bore her full share. Be-
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cause of the disturbed condition of the country the Convention was called together again by the Council of Safety and the Con- stitution was amended by providing for an election on March 3, 1778, and for the meeting of the Assembly on March 12, at Wind- sor.
An election was held, the Legislature met and the new state was organized with Thomas Chittenden as Governor, a Secre- tary of State and a State Treasurer.
Vermont was not formed in a time of peace nor with the consent of all men. There had been enemies without and foes within, and so it continued for several years more. The ship of state was built in a tempestuous season and was launched on a stormy sea.
From this time forth until she was admitted to the Union Vermont maintained her independence, coined money, estab- lished a postal system with a Postmaster General, maintained five Post Offices of her own, while at the same time the thirteen colonies, the United States, only had seventy-five. The two systems made connection at Albany, New York.
Matters continued in about the same condition until 1784 when a committee reported to Congress that the district of ter- ritory lying on the west side of the Connecticut River, called Vermont, and the people inhabiting the same be and hereby are recognized and declared to be a free sovereign and independent state by the name of Vermont. This report was never acted up- on and matters continued as they were until 1789 when a law was enacted by New York providing for a commission to nego- tiate with Vermont and "declared the consent of the Legislature" to the erection of Vermont into a state. To this overture of New York, Vermont responded by the appointment of commis- sioners to treat with those to be appointed by New York pro- vided they should not diminish the limits of the state as then ex- isting, nor oblige any person holding lands under grants from New Hampshire, or Vermont, nor subject to the state of Ver- mont, to make any compensation to any persons claiming pos- session of land under grants made by the late province and now state of New York. The Legislature of New York finally granted authority to the Commissioners to relinquish the juris- diction of New York over the territory of Vermont and that no claim should be brought against the holders of Vermont lands by reason of grants of land in Vermont by New York and fur- ther that Vermont should pay to New York the sum of thirty thousand dollars. This payment was provided for by the Legis- lature of Vermont in October 1790. The Constitution of the United States was adopted for Vermont January 10, 1791 by a Convention called at Bennington for that purpose. On Febru- ary 18, 1791 George Washington approved the bill which de- clared that "on the fourth day of March 1791 the said state by the
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name and style of Vermont shall be received into this Union as a new and entire member of the United States of America and that until the representatives in Congress shall be apportioned ac- cording to an actual enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States, Vermont shall be entitled to chose two representatives." The state was further constituted a judicial district.
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