Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-02-06

sent growth and prosperity by the charitc-
fer. by the courage. by the genius and by
the tact of her own citizens She has
done more than that She has PAID INTO
the treasury of this State over 81, 0oo,o oo
10 he borne out not in simply govern
mental expenditure, but to foster anu
encourage and maintain those benelicent
and humane and educational institutions
which are the pride ard glory OF the state
of Maine. | say this because l believe
that her position, second to none IN the
State. and her magnificent growth I'M
aided, entitle my city to the respecttui
attention of the members of this House,
and her claims of right to your favorable
consideration.
Who asks for this legislation: When
the Legislature is petitioned in aid OF per-
sons or corporations, you ordinarily expect
that the person or corporation to be pene-
fitted by the proposed legislation is gong
to ask for it-you would expect first OF aii
that they would call town meeting III
in case of town. and discuss 1t. Iha1
is the New England forum of free discus
sion in all measures that pertain TO the
welfare of towns ! call attention to this
significant fact that the town OF Webster,
to which il is proposed to give this rich
Gift of land has never in town meeting
asked for it. Why not: Let the petit
TONERS tell you why not, and explain II
honestly. I believe that they did not
dare to ask the town of Webster to hold
town meeting because the town of Webster
knows that the passage fthis bill carries
with it and holds with it in the future
deadly menace to her stability and per-
s',o Al
is the first blow The next blow will be
to move the town house to the village
The next blow will be to vote in q ma
jority of the selectmen living in the VII
lage. The next blow will be the expendi-
ture of the money raised i'll village inn
provements and then the final, GRIPPING
blow will be the bow that sets this vii
lage off Independent of Webster and leaves
her helpless and dismembered. 50 they
did not call a town meeting.
Who asks for it? The selectmen, the
municipal officers of the town of Webster
do not ask for this legislation. On the
contrary they were here before the COM
mittee to oppose it, The substantial rep
resentative farmers in the rural town Of
Webster do not ask for it. On the con-
trary IL majority of them in numbers and
wealth oppose it. Who asks for it? / will
tell YOU. 1t is the mill owners and their
employees, with such assistance by petit
ton as they could get by promise of favor
in the village of Sabattus and the sur
rounding strips, that are asking for this.
1t is the old fight between the rural part
of Webster and the village part They
have been wanting for years to move the
town house to the village and to have the
money that is raised, expended in the
village. and the rural part has out-yoted
them, and now the move is to first rob
the city of Lewiston and the town OF
Greene of some of their good Republican
voters, get a voting strength i'll the vii
lage of Sabattus and then they propose to
move as explained before That is the
actual animus of this bill and these are
the people, the mill owners and their
employees, that are asking for it.
Who are the petitioners that they have
got. They have got large petition in
Lewiston-and yet five of them, represen-
tative business men of Lewiston, mill
agents and merchants, stated by letters to
the committee that they had been imposed
upon in signing that petition and they
desired to withdraw their names from it,
passage of that legislation. You know
how sy.it is to get signers to petitions
People are apt to sign them first and think
it over afterwards. / say that these petit
TONERS thmselvcs outside of the village
did not understand this situation and
signed their names not knowing the true
situation in that village.
What is the paramount object sought
l.. t. It'll ,t,f,n 70.
the schools that has been put forward as
the foremost reason why this change
should be made. They already have a
free high school in Webster, and the super
visor of schools of Webster told the COM
mittec that they could not run their high
school there all the year because they did
not have scholars enough in the village of
Webster to take the high school education.
The people of Sabattus village take their
children at an early age and put them in
to the mills to work; and our own super
intendent of Lewiston testified that there
were not four scholars over there in Sabat-
tus who were fitted for high school
course, and that not many of them had
taken the grammar school course aud
they have a school there which gives to
the children the benefits of grammar
school education. If the high school of
Webster has not work enough now to keep
it running through the year, then l ask
what prominence has this school question
in this issue? l do not want to censure
by my views the working people of Sabat-
tus, nor hold them up here as helpless in
their poverty and unable to take advan-
tage of the privilege Of our schools. l
cxecrate with all the vigor l possess that
miserable governmental policy that ex-
poses our workshops, our manufacturers
our laborers, as prey to the paupcr wages
of Europe (appause) and grinds them
down to the dust OF their machines, and
[ use my influence at all times to hasten |
that day--and l do not say this as
partisan, say it as an American, proud |
of my country and her peOple-to hasten |
the day when the laboriDg people Of this |
State shall be something more than so |
many machines. shall have something
more than enough To keep the wolf from |
the door, shall have enough to rear their
children and know what home joys are
and become what our laws and civiliza-
ton demand of them, good citizens and
good voters