The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-01-22
SHALL BOOTHBAY Be TWO TOWNS ?
Beginning OF the Contest Before the
Legislative Committee.
The Necessities of an Enterprising
Maine Village Explained.
A coodIy Array Of Roothbay People
Present.
especial to the Ptess.1


fight began this afternoon before the COM
mittee on Towns. Senator E. Dudley Free
man Of Yarmouth, chairman of the commit
tee, presiding. The other members of the
committee are Senators Kendall OF York,
and Hinckley of Sagadahec, and Represen-
tatives Eels of Camden, Dame of Eliot,
Achorn Of Whitefield, Closson of Randolph,
Jordan Of Webster, Allen of Mercer and
Tilton of Cape Elizabeth. There was a
large audience assembled, there being very
large number of interested men from Booth
bay. There was also large audience of in
terested members of the Legislature.
Among the Boothbay people were: Luther
Moddocks, A. r. Nickerson, NJ. B. .,Green, G.
b. Remission, NJ. r. White. Thomas Boyd,
ID. H. Moody, K. Fl. Richards, j. e. knight,
w. j. Winslow, G. j. Marr, j. X. Corey, N.
s. Baker, Joseph Nickerson, Eliphalet Tib-
belts. w. T. Marr, J. L. McCobb, j. C.
Poole. j. d. Richards, Charles Sherman, j.
81. Blair, ]. Ross Remission. VIM. e. Reed,
Willard jackson, Albert Murray, N. S. Hus-
sey, Leonard McC.intock, S. Boyd, F. B
Huff, j. E. Kelley, E. E. Race, DR.. Alden
Blossom, Herman Harding. j. R. McDougall,
William Sawyer, Freeman Boynton, C. E.
Kendrick, w. G. Lewis, w. o. Seavey and
etbers.
The attorneys for the petitioners, the peo-
pie of the Harbor Village. are Baker and
Cornish of Augusta, and for the remon-
strants, the town people. True P. Pierce,
Esq, of Rockland.
About three o'clock Leslie G. Cornish
opened the case for the petitioners. He sal l
shat the petitioners, numbering about 800
citizens Of Boothbay. come and ask the d.
vision Of that town. They make it as a mat
ters Of justice and right, and in no spirit of
revenge or hate. From large map Mr.. Cor
nish explained the situation of the town, the
location of Boothbay harbor, and the vii
lagos of East and North BoothDay. He
pointed out the line running from Indian
town Island across to Linneken Bay on
which it is proposed to divide
the town. Mr.. Cornish explained
how the portion represented by
the petitioners was business district
while the rest was farming community. The
the valuation of the town but have but about
a third of the voters. On questions where
there has been an issue they have been uni
formly voted down. In 1878, for instance,
the town refused TO appropriate money for
them. So the village people bought an en-
gine out of their own pockets. In 1886 came
the great FIRE. Not having proper appliances
for coping with 1t. great loss was suffered;
and the insurance companies became fright
rned. They now charge four per cent year
for Insurance In that village. Mr.. Cornish
then went on to explain the contract made
between the Bo0thbay Water Co. and the
town. Eight meetings had been held. in all
but one of which the town was against wat
er. A new Boothbay Water Co., of which
Hon. Herbert Heath is president and Arthur
Sewall is one of the corporators, have been
ready to make reliable contract for supply
ing the town with water, but the town au-
thorities have repulsed their overtures.
Now these petitioners pay 5-12 of the tax
Of the town, bur with only a quarter to a
third Of the voters they are voted down.
The condition there now is that the business
men are carrying insurance at four per cent.
and are deferred from getting any insurance
at all People who would come into the
place are frightened and some in think Of
going out.
But water is but one element of a whole.
The two parts of the town are diverse.
Water Is but one link in the chain. Booth
bay has interests now that make the two
parts of the town antagonistic. The village
is looking to the future as summer resort.
Various Improvements are needed, and will
be needed, which can only be obtained after
a division. For the. country part of the
town will not favor improvements. At the
last town meeting they summarily voted
down proposition to exempt proposed
hotel from taxation for term Of years.
The Boothbay Land Company are ready to
build large hotel when they can be con-.
vinced that the town will pursue liberal
policy.
Now the petitioners only asked that they
be allowed to separate and each manage its
own affairs in the future. They intend to
hurt no one, The old town will not be Grip
old 2250; in the new 1850; Of polls, in the old
568; In the new 43S; of real estate, iu the old
1896, ,950i in the new $456, 1896; Of personal
property, OF ,23e in the old; and $167,3l3 in
the new. Of the burdens. there are more
the new are the most expensive and the fu-
ture roads will be in the new; as, for in
stance. the Isle of Springs, where five miles
Of road must be built soon. AS for bridges,
the burdens would be about equal. A char
ter is asked for a bridge from Southport to
B0othbay, from the Legislature, and for this
the new town must pay. As for paupers,
there are fortunately not many to be pr0vid-
ed for. All the town property would go to
the old town; the town house, the hearse
house, the soldiers monument, the poor
farm, the common-all this, aggregating in
value nearly $4,000, is left to the old town.
When Mr.. Cornish had finished his oLen-
ing argument, which was very clear, able
and entertaining explanation Of the interest
ing case, he prepared to examine the witness
es. II was decided to administer the oath to
all the village witnesses together. There
were about thirty 0f them, and when they
arose and held up their right hands there
was sensation in the hall.
The first witness was Mr.. F. B. Green, the
young editor Of the Boothbay Register. Mr..
Green was the statistician Of the petitioners
and made very clear and able statement of
the population, valuation, ETC.. Of the town:
In 1880, Boothbay had about 5000 people and
posed new town are 43s polls, which means
population Of about 1,750, while In the limits
left to the old town would be 568 polls and a
population of 1850. Here Mr.. Green
introduced some. facts tending to
sn3vr shSy that sd The TIE v.ssan Of had tsa
Of the village folks, From 1887 to
1888 the valuation of the town was increased
S43, ,9S7. or this increase the assessors put
$39, ,9S9, or about 81 per cent of the whole,
small buildings had been built in the year,
and the same property substantially was ap-
praised in 1888 as in 1887. The actual in
crease, in Mr.. Green's opinion, could not be
much over $4,000. The same selectmen made
the valuation in both years. Mr.. Green
showed that the size Of each town after di-
vision would be above the average Of other
Maine and of other Lincoln county towns,
both In population and valuation. OF the Ala
Maine towns the average p0pulatl0n is llo9
each. asd Of the Lincoln county towns the
average population Is 1459 each. Now after
division the new town would have 1850 and
the other about double that number AT the
close of his testimony Mr.. Green was vigor-
ously cross examined by the counsel for the
town, True p. Pierce, Esq.
The next witness was Luther Maddoc ks
Esq, the well known authority on the fish
cries. Mr. Maddocks said he had lived In
Boothbay twenty years. He had been pres
ent at most of the town meetings where
water was denied. BE believed that the best
interests of the town would be advanced by
division, as the village absolutely needed i'm
pr0vements, which, as it had been thorough
iy demonstrated, could not be obtained while
the village and the town people were under
the same government. Mr.. Maddocks said
that within twenty years the industries OF
Boothbay had entirely changed.
In 1866 the menhaden oil industry was be-
gun there, but that has disappeared with the
porgies. The village managed to keep along
five buildings had been built, and one at
least Of those had been built with the expec-
tation that water would be put in. Only one
OF the buildings built replaced building
lost by the fire. In the future BoOthbay
must depend, in Mr.. Maddocks's opinion, on
industries that can be induced to come In
and on Its popularity as a summer resort.
There are, In his opinion, industries that will
come In when there can be assurance of rea-
sonable protection against fire and reasona-
BILE insurance rates. Mr.. Maddocks, In clos
Ing his direct testimony, renewed his express
sion OF opinion that the best interests of the
At the conclusion of the direct testimonv
MY Ma00Ocka axa 81 -