The Portland daily press., 1893-03-23
GOOD DAYS WORK.
Senate Refers the Listing Bill to the
Next Legislature.
WHEREUPON SENATOR GRINDLE
EMENDATES OLIVER GOLD.
SMITH.
The Wise Action Is Taken After Brick
Debate in which Some Truths Are
Told-A Vote which Is Decisive.

Inc NlSe Action Is Iak6n After BrIek
Debate in which Some Truths Are
Told-A Vote which Is Decisive.
Especial to the Press.j
AUGUSTA, March 22.-
III fares the land to every ill prey
Where people swear to lies on every listin g
day.
That is Goldsmith as amended by SEN
ator Grindle of Hancock, in the debate
which preceded the death for this ses-
sion at least of the listing bill. The
matter came up on assignment from last
week when a motion to indefinitely
postpone was lost, President Spear vot-
ing to make a tie. IA to IA. Today, DIR.
Grindle opened tie debate and quoted
the above amendment of famous coup
let. DR.. Grindle said that there was
little that he could say on this matter.
1t had been already fully debated. He
believed the law would result in lying
and perjuring, but it was said that lying
was n. worse than stealing. That was
so, but men did not steal as the result
of laws. He thought that if this bill
passed, the Lords prayer should be
changed to read: LEAD us into tempta-
ton and we will take the consequences.
Senator Wiggin said that the only
question to be considered here was one
of right. If the bill was right it should
be passed. The people wanted the
law.
Senator Winslow said he had not sup
posed that DR.. Grindle's arguments were
to be taken seriously. He denied that
the law would result in injury to private
business enterprise by the disclosures it
called for. Neither would it drive peo-
pie from the state. He could come only
to the conclusion that the men who op-
posed this bill either wanted to escape
taxation themselves or help their friends
do so
Senator Holman said that this was the
first time he had ever heard it claimed
that you could lead horse to water and
then make him drink. The objection to
this bill was not that people were to pay
taxes but that they were to lay bare
their private affairs. The people in his
part of the state were against the bill.
Senator Winslow, in reply to Senator
Holman, claimed that this bill was easier
than the old law. In fact, If the present
law was brought in here and labeled list
lily Dlll uC Qlu uOu kAh ~ NOtAt0 posse
The bill did not make aman show how
little he was worth and could not injure
him.
Senator Seiders said that early in the
session he had been led to believe that
that the people wanted the bill passed
and it was consequently serious ques-
ton with him. But he had been the re-
cipient since last night of remonstrances
containing 400 names of people in Cum
berland county, 11S of whom were farm
ers. He had no doubt that had an at
tempt to do so been made remonstrances
could have been obtained from all parts
of the county. The signatures to these
papers were those of farmers, mechan-
los, business men and men in every walk
of life. And the farmers were mostly
wellto-do men representing the best sec
tions of the county. Not an individual
had urged Mr.. Seiders to support the
bill and he believed that the true senti-
mem of the state was against this mea-
sure. s7nf
Senator Winslow came again to the
support of the bill. He said that If its
friends had desired to do SO, they could
have secured many petitions. He was
glad Senator Seiders had referred to the
fact that wealthy farmers were opposed
to the bill. 1t was not distinctively a
farmers measure. 1t was question of
small against large property owners. 1t
was not the farmers against other people
but the majority representing the poor
people against the minority of the rich
who now escaped taxation.
Senator Thatcher maintained that it
was mistaken idea that the farmers
wanted this bill. This one gave no re-
c -, I, Co.. I,N Oh -, + -
remarks several days ago. If it passed,
personal property would be taken from
the state to such an extent that the tax
on real estate would be increased. Mr..
Thatcher told how similar law had re-
suited in Dakota in the case of man
who went there from Bangor and estab-
lished a stock farm. This man conscien-
tiously made out his lists, but the tax
was SO heavy that he sold his stock and
returned to the east Senator Thatcher,
as had Senator Holman, read from the
report OF the New York tax commission
statement that the farmers in that
state were divided on this question, and
that the commissioner would not recon-
mend it's adoption in New York. This
refusal Of the commission to recommend
the law was editorially endorsed by the
New York Times.
Senator Wiggin thanked Mr.. Thatcher
for telling the farmers Of Maine they did
not know what they wanted. Whether
this bill was or was not meritorious it
had been before the people four or five
years. The grange had sent its officers
here to support it and they would keep
on coming until the system became
law.
Mr.. Thatcher said the grange officers
went to prominent grange man, a men,