Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1870-01-18
A Burlesque OF Olden Times.

To the Editor of the Kenne5ec Journal:
I have noticed from time to time that you
have instructed and amused your readers by
certain commercial and other extracts from
the first volume of the JOURNAL, published in
1926. Such old news sometimes, is more inter-
esting than much of the nen new of the present
day. Will you allow me to offer you some
Constitutional extracts which l make from the
HALLowELL GAZETTE of May -, 1Sl9-more
than fifty years ago? The burlesque-for it is
such-may need first sober explanation.
In 1916 the Legislature of Massachusetts
the ballot box, whether they would or
not have the District separated from the
parent commonwealth and enacted into an
independent State. At the same time, the
towns were to elect delegates to a convention
to be holden in September of the same year,
at Brunswick which should count and declare
the votes thus cast; and if it should be found
that fre-niaths were in favor of separation,
said Convention should proceed to form State
Convention. On the assembling of the Con-
vention, it was found that the whole num-
Der of votes cast was 223lG, of which there
were 1869 ayes, and l03+7 nays. Five ninths
of these would be l239s-a figure wanting
i23 of the requisite majority. But JOHN
| HOLMES of Alfred who had been Senator in
the Massachusetts Legislature, was an ingeni-
Gus man, and being the leader of the convention,
applied his ingenuity to prove, automatically,
that | 1869 were five -ninths of 223l6. His fgur-
ing was original and so complex that many
members were so confused by it as not to ven
ture to dissent from his wished for result. A
majority, however, could not stultify them
selves, and, so John Holmes Arithmetic
as it was called for many years, failed in the
house of his friends No constitution was
formed, but report was made to the Legisla-
ture, which served to endorse Holmes Arith-
metic so far as to pray that the Legislature
would aHow the vote to be legal majority
which it of course refused These facts will
explain the Arithmetical part of the article
below.
1t is needless to say that the Editor of the
Gazette who wrote the burlesque, was opposed
advantages into disrepute. Let me add for the
sake of filling out this history, that in July
1919 the question Of separation was again
submitted to the District, when the whole
number of votes cast was 2i223 of which
l709l were for separation and 1892 against it.
Then the fre-ninh question was settled with
out the aid of John Holmes Arithmetic. The
convention met in Portland in Oct. 1919, and
favored the present constitution, somewhat
different from Ezekiel Goodale's below. John
Holmes was in this convention also, and hav.
ing accomplished his object of making State
of Maine, succeeded in obtaining from the first
legislature the point of his ambition; viz an
election to the U. S. Senate, when as report
long had it, league was formed consisting OF
s'John Holmes, Felix Grundy and the Devil. .
In 1910 Mr.. Holmes published respectable
volume, entitled 'sThe Statesman, principle
of Legislation and Law" He died believe
in Thomaston, where he married his second