The Portland daily press., 1895-02-04
Especial to the PRESS. J

SONIC interesting AUS hcSalNtAS eAAS
State Printing.
Especial to the PRESS.)
Augusta, Febru ary 2.-The statesmen who
demanded Saturday sessions in order that
the business of the state might be ex-
pedited, had it their own way this morning,
and about forty of them gathered in Repre-
sentatives' hall. The only thing they ac-
comrlished was to introduce and refer some
half dozen measures and a lot of petitions.
Thsse Saturday sessions, even at the last
of the season, when there are numerous
measures in the various stages of passage.
are more or less of a failure. There Is
seldom quorum present in either house
and the result is that only the measures OF
minor Importance to which nobody objects
can be considered. When some adventurous
member moves to take up matter over
which there is likely to be skirmish. up
jumps somebody else and the words. "Mr.
Speaker l raise the point that no quorum is
present." ends the performance for that
praticular Saturday. The gentleman who
wants to have the legislators 'docked" Tor
their absences without leave, might have
done a little figuring Saturday morning 10
show the saving to the treasury under his
scheme. About fifty members of the House
were present. SO about one hundred had
gone home. and they had run away without.
leave An average legislative session OF
twelve weeks has about sixty working
days. The pay of member is Sl50 or about
So. day. The saving to the state on
Saturday If the absentees were 'docked"
would thus have been $3.50, less the unknown
quantity represented By the members, who
instead of going home would have staid in
Augusta in order not to lose $2.3O AS a
means of protecting the treasury and pre-
yiding funds for insane hospitals and nor
NAL schools. the gentleman's plan should
receive careful attention. An an endment
has already been suggested to it. This is.
that perha is some of the homesick. besides
losing their days stipend, would be willing
to pay something for the privilege of day
off, SO that the finances might be aided by
an amount it is not possible to estimate and
the state, as we'll as the Augusta hotel
keepers. might have bill against the legis-
lators at the end of the session.
THE GORHAM NORMAL school,
A member of the committee on education,
made the statement today that whatever
may be the views of a ma jority Of that COM
mittee OIL the question of rebuilding the
normal school boarding house at German.
there will be, in all probabiIi only one re-
port. He thought that all the members
would concur in the views of the majority.
and added that it had not yet been deter
mined whether that majority would be
favorable to the appropriation or against it.
THE STATE PRINTING.
TIE committee on state printing have not
reported. They have opened the bids and
found that of the Lakeside Press of Port
land to be materially lower than the others,
so much SO that it is estimated that it.would
result in saving to the state of S7O0O
annually or 81, 0G0 on the contract. Having
opened the bids, the committee listened to
a statement by Secretary of State Fessen-
den, who argued that the work must be
done in Augusta to have it properly done.
especially as regards the printing of the
Australian ballots, which must be done in
such way that there shall be no chance
that any of the ballots can be seen by the
eyes of the outside world, and at the same
time SO that the names of nominees. which
are, of course, sent to the secretary's Office
at the State House, may be inserted in the
copy and sent to the printers with as little
delay as possible. AS the work has been done
in Augusta, Mr.. Russell. one of Mr.. Fessen=
denis assistants, has taken charge of the
composing room of the printers, extra locks
have been put upon the doors, and no one
except those actually engaged in the work
has been allowed in the room. These things
it is understo God, Secretary Fessenden told
the committee, but they were not told at
public hearing, at which the Portland bid
ders might have been represented and
suggested ways of doing this Australian
ballot W ork.
PROTECTION FOR CLANS.
Somebody once wrote successful book
called ''the Plant Hunters" A volume
equally large might be written and called
1.-The Clam Diggers." 1t would be history
of tho acquisition of the right to take CLANS
ON the shores of Casco Bay in the ancient
town of North Yarmouth, and of the way
in which the privilege has been preserved.
From North Yarmouth was set off the town
of Cumberland and later the town of Var
mouth. In the acts setting off these two
towns it was provided that the flats, which
had been used in common by the people of
North Yarmouth. should still be SO used by
the people of both the old and the new
towns. At the last session of the legislature
an attempt was made to break up this ar
rangement. some people on the mainland
hoping thereby to prevent the people of
Chebeague island, who earn livelihood by
shipping clans to Boston, from claiming
on the flats on the mainland The commit
tee on sea shore fisheries heard a great
array OF evidence as to the danger to the
suuply of clans which the petitioners