The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1891-03-25
IS TO so.
The House Experiences a Great
Change Of Heart.
The Australian Ballot Bill Passed To
Be EBgOssed.
Only Waiting Now for Governor
BurIeigh's Signature.
Opponents Of the Bill Descend to
Personalities.

Especial to the Press,l
AUGUSTA. March 24.-The House today
set Itself right on the Australian ballot ant
voted 76 to 60 to accept the majority report
Immediately after the bill was given Its frs
reading and the House voted to concur with
the Senate In tia adoption 4. The substitute
offered by Mr.. Spear. The substitute II
practically the original bill introduced By
MIR. Clason, making the application Of the
measure include all the state, except unor
ganized plantations. The substitute retains
the provision by which party tickets will be
! so grouped that an entire ticket may be vot'
ed by making only one mark.
While all the friends of the bill here de-
| serve credit for the result Of today's vote,
Mr.. Payson of Portland is entitled to the
thanks of his constituents and all who have
desired to see the Australian system success
full. Since the first battle over the measure
in the House, Mr. Payson has been indefati.
gable in its behalf and has been one Of the
leaders of the friends of the bill. His efforts
had much to do In helping to bring about the
| final result.
The debate today touched very lightly
upon the Australian system, the opponents
of the measure devoting most Of their time
to assaults on various newspapers. by which
they say they have been abused. The news
papers having been dealt with, they attacked
Governor Burleigh. When the part of the
speeches against the bill devoted to these
complaints is taken out, there is little left.
The House was crowded as it always has
been upon the days when the bill has been
under discussion and the result of the vote
was greeted with long. continued applause.
This is the vote by which the House receded
from its former action and adopted the ma
jority report:
Yeas-Messrs. Allen Of Denmark, Archibald,
Bracket, Buchanan, Burgess, Callahan, Chad
men, Dickey of Lewiston. Eastman, Ervine, Far
rand, Fuller. of Hall0well, Cannon, Gentleman,
Clifford, Glidden, of Newcastle, Glidden Of Yiua.
haven, Graves, Gray, Guptill, Gushee, Ham OF
Dresden. Ham Of Lisbon, Herrlck, Hill, Hiscock,
Jones Of Brighton, Kaler, Keegan, Kendall, Lamb,
Marston, Martin, Maxim, Merrill Of Eddington,
Miller, Moore, Monroe, Morse, Mullen, Nelson,
Newell, Nickerson, Noble, Orcutt Osgood, Pay
of Bath, Shaw of Portland, smith Of Portland
Smith of Turner Stone, Thayer TiltOn, Titcomb,
Totman; TOT Trussel, Vaughan, Waterhouse, Weeks,
Nays-Messrs. Adams, Allen Of Presque ISLE
Bradford, Brainard, Brown, Coolidge. Crocker,
w.
mond, Dunn, Edgeriy, Fisher, Gilmore, Gould,
greeley, Hargrayes, Hartman, Harrington,
HaWss aawe aFse e
pe6lSIs, Lewis Mc4lilsser, MerriII Of St. Aisans,
Packard Of Oorinna, Packard Of ssarspoEt Pat
Gap s5oR dsS
Wescott, Wiswell, Wyman.-60.
Paired-Messrs. Aver and Bird. Plummer and
Fort % Kent, Fuller Of fremont and @ Leighton q q
Absent-Messrs. Hunt, Knight, Parker Roberts,
Rollins. Webb.
The House refused to suspend the rules
after the bill had been given Its two read
ings and the Senate substitute adopted in
order that it might pass to be engrossed,
and 1t was assigned for the afternoon ses-
sion.
at the afternoon session the bill was
passed to be engrossed without a struggle.
Messrs. Peaks and Stearns announced that
they should not offer any amendments to the
bill. believing such course to be useless.
The following gentlemen who were among
the opposition to the bill before voted for it
today; Messrs Bracket. Ervine, Farrand,
Gray, Kaler, Littlefeld. Kicker, Smith of
Turner. Totman and Weeks. There were
no changes from the yes to the no column.
Messrs. Clason. Payson, Savage, Herrick.
and the other leaders of the supporters OF
the bill received many deserved compliments
| on the result.
Some of the days speeches follow:
Points from the Debate.
1t was about quarter to eleven when Mr.
Clason OF Gardiner, moved to take from the
table House document No. 297, the Austria
lian ballot bill, and that the House recedt
and concur with the Senate In the adoption
OF the minority report of the committee.
Mr.. Stearns Of Caribou said that this mat
ter had been so thoroughly discussed that hi
did not propose to speak at length upon II
but he did protest against the movement tt
reverse the action of the House in this mat
ter. MIR. Stearns used up considerable tim
In talking about what he declared to be tn
insult and abuse which had been heaped up
on the "a Republicans In the House VIII
had voted for the bill. He said that intimi
dation had been used In efforts to pass th
Dill by individuals. corporations and person
high In Office. The IA Republicans had beel
abused, inshlted and vilifed. When ma
was known to be against the bill he ha
been at once subjected to long tirad'
There was paper In Portland called th
Eastern Argus, paper which had borne tn
envlable reputation Of being called the LII
Ing Argus" paper which had lent itself !
treason and had tried to fill tn
House with men who ma
no rights here. This pape
also had taken occasion TO rake from th
past story affecting the youth Of the men
member who now addressed the House NJ
Stearns7. a story which had no connectio
with this question. But worse than that, th
Kennebec Journal, paper which owed II
existence to the state government, whic
lived off the state by the taxes ON the peopl
has copied from paper printed in anotht
state an article gravely rejecting upon thos
members of the Republican party who vote
against the measure This article, publishe
without word of comment or denial, ha
bv implication, the endorsement of the d
per which reprinted 1t. Members had bee
spokan of as they never should have bee
and as they never deserved to have been.
There had been pressure brought to be,
iu favor of this bill, such as the speaker hs
never seen before; pressure that had n
come entirely from persons not in office, tn
had not been entirely in the nature of frien
ly advice. II had come from source and
a way that made him bound to weigh 1t VIC
before he allowed 1t to infuen
his vote. Mr.. Stearns read fro
Bangor paper an article i
sinuating that the Governor had used his /
fluence against the bill. Mr.. Stearns wish,
to state to the House, with candor and fai
ness. that while no member had greater 7
spect for the office of chief magistrate tbs
did he. still he must insist that he and all ii
members had the right to discharge their d
Ties without interference from the chief exc
utiye of the state. BE deprecated the actic
of the Governor aud was sorry that tie Chi
Magistrate had thought 1t TO be his duty. b
yond the words of his message. beyond b
written utterances, to influence legislatIc
upon this subject. That he had stated to Il
chairman on the part Of the House of Ii
committee on state printing and binding th
he would not interfere with legislation {
this subject, the Governor would not attem
to deny, because he knew that 1t was tru
That he had told the chairman OF the col