The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-02-03
1t is a question of selecting the best
thing to be done at this time.
To the siipyard City.


To the shipyard City.
Senator Swanton in the Senate and Mr.
Twitchell in the House today both ex
tended in new form the invitation of
Gen. Hyde to the mem bers of the legisia-
ture to visit Bath on Saturday and wit
ness the launching of the Ammen ram.
Arrangements have been made so that
members may leave here either at TO-
in the forenoon or at noon. The Sagada-
hoe Club will tender them collation. and
they will Of course be shown all the Won
ders of the big shipyards and iron works.
Twelve Thousand of Them.
The House laughed today when the
petition of the session came in so far as
length is concerned. It was more prop
erly speaking collection of many small
petitions. In all they bore u, ,43o names.
The bundle was SO big that Speaker Saw
age laid it on his desk while he read the
endorsement. The endorsement read:
petition of the Hon. Moses Giddings of
Bangor and IL, ,43O others for an act to
prohibit Sunday excursions by railroad
companies and steamboats, and to prop
erly regulate Sunday traffic." Mr.. Coffin
of Bangor presented the petition.
A Question OF naturalization.
Senator Mayo put in bill yesterday
providing that only the supreme judicial
and superior courts shall respectively
have jurisdiction of applications or nat
uralization. By this no other court es-
tablished by the state shall entertain any
primary or final declaration or applica-
ton made by or in behalf of an alien to
become citizen Of the United States or
entertain jurisdiction.
A Drastic Measure,
The Massachusetts, habitual criminal
act is the basis for bill introduced 40
day by Senator Hersom. 1t provides
that whoever has been twice convicted of
felony and. served sentences in prison
of not less than three years shall, for
any subsequent felony, be deemed an ha-
bitual criminal, and be punished as an
h bitual criminal by Imprisonment for
rs years. 1t provides that when it shall
appear to the governor and council that
| a criminal shall have reformed he may
be given liberty under a permit, which
may be revoked for any cause, and if re-
turned to prison it shall be on the terms
of the sentence.
Amendments to Ballot Law.
Secretary of State Fessenden and Sen
ator Peaks appeared before the Judiciary
| committee this afternoon in reference to
the proposed changes in the Australian
ballot law. Mr.. Fessenden's views have
already been reported. Mr.. Peakes fa-
| vors system by which person voting
straight ticket will make mark in the
| square at the head of one of the col
ums as now, but if he wants to cut the
| ticket may do so by scratching out
| it's place. In other words, Mr.. Peakes
would do away with the marks at the
side of the names.
Lively Insurance Discussion.
There was an animated discussion be-
fore the insurance isfnmittee this after
noon. Representatives Isaacson, J. P.
| Bass and Galen G. Moses favored the bill
| providing that all contracts of fire insur-
ance shall cover the actual loss or dam
age not exceeding the amount insured.
| This bill is designed as blow at the CO.
! insurance plan recently adopted by the
New England fire underwriters. f. J.
Rollins, H. N. Pinkham and Augustus
| Champlin of Portland, and Geo. E. Ma
comber of Augusta opposed the
bill and defended the coin
| surance clause. Mr.. Bass wanted a
| law which should provide for an APP
praisal of building or stock of goods
when the insurance was written that ap-
praisal to be taken as a basis in settling
losses. Mr.. Rollins thought that in
cases of stocks, when the value constant
| 1y varied, this would not be practicable.
| Mr.. Pinkh.m spoke of the great ex-
pense and trouble it would entail. Mr..
Bass thought it better to have the
| trouble first and save law suit later to
which Mr. Rollins replied that in all his
experience as an adjuster he had but
| three law suits. Mr.. Pinkham said that
the co-insurance plan was aimed at men
who carried little insurance, on the
principle that they were not very likely
to lose much by fire and SO what they
did lose would just about equal their
policies. Poor men with all their money
| in one place had to carry heavy
insurance to protect themselves
and these men the co-insurance
| clause did not affect. Mr.. Spillane of
the committee raised the point whether
| dwelling houses in Lewiston had not
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