The Portland daily press., 1895-01-05
EDITOR PATTEN's QUESTIONS.

Representative Patten OF Bath may
NOT. and. it is said will not get many
an sw ers to the questions he mailed TO
his fellow members of the legislature
several weeks ago, but his circulars nave
caused considerable comment. Tney
ask these questions, assurances belng
given that the names of the mem bers
Will not be printed: :.
/. Do you ever use alcoholic liquors of
any kind, except for strierly medlclnal
purposes? 81 = =
2. Do you use alcoholic liquors of any
sort regularly!
is enforced in your section of the State?
4. Are you in favor of the continuance
of the present law? :,
5. Have you informed yourself at all
of the principles of the so-ealled Nor
wegian System;" and if SO what is your
opinion of it?
WASHINGTON RAILROADS.
Washington county people are still
busy building railroads on the map. and
this year they hope to do such good work
OIL paper that they may at last
build that famous line which has been a
subject for legislation so often. Two
yea RS ago number Of prominent men
of the county asked the legislature for
charter for railway to extend along the
shore from a point on the Bar Harbor
branch of the Maine Central to Calais.
Col. Greene. the promoter of the original
shore line scheme, held a charter cover
ing the same territory. He naturally
enough wanted his charter renew ed.
The friends of the rev enterprise pro-
posed to secure financial aid by the pas
sage of an ena bling act, authorizing the
county, if it would vote so to do, to sub
scri be for $500, 900 of the preferred stock
Of their road. COL Greene naturally
wanted the same privilege, and finally,
after hard struggle, the legislature
settled the matter by extending the
Greene charter, granting the new one
and authorizing the county to subscribe
for stock in either.
Then came the hard times, and the
matter was dropped. Now Col. Greene is
here, and so are the friends of the other
charter, who will ask that they be given
new power and the county authorized to
put in $500, 600. Col. Greene also wants
| his charter renewed. The advocates of
! the other plan are confident that they
will succeed this time, and the Colonel
will not. They say that the directors
in the older corporation have resigned in
| order to be free to act Independently OF
| it this time.
| Back of these schemes is another.
! There is in operation from Calais to
| Princeton, distance of 81 miles, a
| little railroad, the St. Croix & Penob-
scot. Calais holds large mortgage on
| the little road, and proposition has
been made that if the city will be gener-
| Gus in the matter of the roads indeDted-
ness funds will be forthcoming to ex-
| tend it to Tomach On the Maine Central
near Vanceboro. a controlling interest
| in the stock of this little line is repre-
sented, it is said, by Hon. Geo. P. Wescott
| of Portland, and James Mitchell of Rock
| land. Washington county people. how
ever. seem to favor the shore line
scheme on the ground that it would de-
velop rich section of country, while
the extended St. Croix and Penobscot
would serve as a connection with the
other world and little else. There are
signs that the struggle this year will
be as exciting, as that of the last ses-
sion.
FOR FEMALE SUFFRAGE.
The ladies come once during the session
of each legislature to see the wheels go
round and at the same time advocate
woman suffrage. While the cause has
been doomed to defeat in the past, the
visitation is pleasant break in the mo-
notony of the session, and the ladies
days always prove interesting. This
year, as soon as the committees are an
nounced it is said there will be flood
of petition in favor Of municipal suff-