The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-02-24
THU SAVINGS BANKS,


ter was largely question OF cost.
Glasses of the people who had homes OF
culture and luxury and lived in villages
favored the district system that they
might give their own children advantages
fIom which the poor children of the
town were debarred. Let poor boy go
to one of these schools from an outlying
section of the town and when he started
to go home he would be snow balled to
the district line and the poor girl in her
homespun dress would be despised. The
towns did not abolish the district sys-
tenn because as was we'll known the
villages controlled town affairs and the
villages got the benefit of the district
system.
Senator Hersey spoke in favor of the
bill. He gave a history of school affairs
in his town of Buckfeld. There the out
lying districts had voted school privi-
leges away by returning to the district
system after the town system had been
adopted; this action being due to some
local jealousy But they had since seen
the light and had again adopted the
town system. Under the old plan there
were schools which had only a few
scholars and were schools only in name.
Now these schools had been united and
strengthened and the cost to the town
had been decreased. Mr.. Hersey be-
lieved this bill was step forward. !
Senator Grindle of Hancock opposed
the bill. He said that the very fact of
the dissenslons in towns over this ques-
ton to which the gentleman from Som
erset Mr.. Winslow had referred showed
that there was great objection to the
change. DR.. Grindle opposed the bill
on political grounds. He did not mean
that he opposed it in partisan spirit,
but in the broader sense of politics as
meaning the exercise of the privileges of
citizenship by the people. In the past
the school district had been a little mu-
nicipality by itself. People had there
met to discuss their affairs They had
taken pride in the affairs of their dis
triet, in having the school buildings in
good repair, in having good teachers.
trict was abolished the expenses Of rum
nlng schools would be increased. Now
teachers were boarded at low rates be-
cause the people of the districts were
anxious to do what they could to help
the schools. The same was true of the
price of fuel and the care of the school
houses. Senator Grindle knew of Re-
publicans who said they would seek re-
dress at the polls if this bill passed,
Senator Shaw of Aroostook followed
and urged the passage of the bill because
it would provide uniform system, be-
cause the bill proposed only what had
been tried and found to work well in
many towns. Senator Shaw said he
thought one of the reasons for the oppo-
sition of the Senator from Piscataquis
[Mr. Peakes] was found in his statement
that they had in his school district a
$4,000 school house. The district evil
IDENTIFY did not want to turn that property
over to the town. In the speakers own
village in Houlton they had $22, 200
school house but they were anxious to
have all the schools in the town fitted to
do their best work.
Out of 142 towns which have adopted
the town system, abe report of the state
superintendent showed only five which
had gone back to the district system.
Referring to Mr. Peakes's statement
regarding the schools of his town and
county. Mr.. Shaw said that he learned
from the state superintendent report
that the county of Piseataquis made the
poorest showing of any in che state. Mr..
Shaw referred to the support of the bill
by teachers and said so far as he knew
the only teacher who voted against it
was that Rip Van Wrinkle from Ripley
who came down here to rip this bill all to
pieces and had tried to make converts of
senators in the Third House. What did
this gentleman from Hancock DR.. Grin
dle1, who went out dispensing pills to
the poor, and the gentleman from Pts
cataquis, who went out collecting bills of
the poor, know of the immediate needs
of school districts? Mr.. Shaw supposed
they visited the schools on examination
day just as he did. He believed the
state would make no mistake in passing
the bill.
The vote passing the bill was:
Yeas-Senators Allan, Deering. Herrick, Her
s SEX Shaw Thaeer Wgs
WinSlOW,--lO
ENays-Senators Ames, Cook. Grindle, Hill.
Holman, Jackson, Mallet, Peakes, Swanton,
Waterhouse, Wood-11.
A Dead Tax Bill.
The bill to impose an annual franchise
tax of $25 on foreign corporations organ
lied under Maine laws, was killed in the
House today. This is the bill which
lawyers have been working hard against
on the ground that it would drive from
the state, business which now brings
money to Maine attorneys, hotels, rail-
roads, ETC., by inducing people to come
here from other states to organize oorpo-
rations. The opponents of the measure
urged that these corporations already re-
turned considerable income to the state
in the form of fees for emolument and
by organization.
The matter was called up today by Mr..
Twitchell of Bath, who tabled the bill.
He said that he tabled the bill with the
intention of amending the measure, but
after examining the bill he hoped it
would not pass. 1t would drive away
from this state large revenue. The
revenue from these corporations in 1892
was $30,955.
Mr.. Lane of Augusta, asked in behalf
of the tax committee that the bill be re-
ferred back to them.
MI Emerson of Portland opposed
recommitting the bill. 1t was time that
recommitting bills should cease.
Mr. Bird of Portland, said the bill had