Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-03-20


Haynesville county of Aroostook
Resolve in favor of making necessary
repairs in the Senate chamber of the
State Capitol
Resolve in favor of the road in Jerusa-
lem plantation.
president Day in the chair.)
ORDERS OF THE DAY,
On motion by Mr. Witham of Cumber-
land, bill an act to amend section s, of
chapter II. of the Revised Statutes of
1888, as now amended, relating to text
school buildings, was taken from the
table, read the second time and passed to
be engrossed.
REGISTRATION OF GUIDERS.
An act providing for the registration
OF guides and to aid in the gathering of
statistics relative to inland fish and game.
Mr.. Hinkley of Franklin: Mr.. President.
and gentlemen of the Senate. l suppose
that 1t devolves upon me to define my po-
sition upon this bill. When it was first
brought to my attention, l saw nothing
about it. But later l discovered there
were Objectionable features in it. The
first bill presented was a long cumber-
some bill. 1t was re-committed and l
was Informed by the subcommittee VINO
were elected to draft a new bill that the
objectionable features had been wholly
stricken out. If you will remember there
was a list of questions submitted in the
port. Let us see if that had been
stricken out. Section 2. of this bill pro,
vides that each registered guide shall
from time to time as often as requested
by the commissioners forward a state
ment to them of the number of persons
he has guided. etc. ] ask, what is the
difference whether the bill provides when
these reports shall be made or whether
they shall be made when asked for by
the commissioners. An other objection
able feature IS In section l, which says:
No person shall engage in the business
of guiding and the concluding clause in
this section provides penalty OF $50 and
the costs of prosecution for non-com-
pliance with this rule. | have before me
consideration covering all the fish and
game laws and In that bill certain revi-
SfOns are made, one of which leaves an
open season on moose of 80 days, COM
ing until the 18th of November and in
flicting a penalty of $40 fine or imprison-
ment not exceeding four months. i speak
of this for comparison with the provisions
of the act under discussion which pro-
vides a penalty of $50 for a person to en-
gage In the business. Now suppose
farmer Lying adjacent to some SINAI small
wishes to send them in charge of his hired
men merely for the purpose of rowing up
on the pond. The man who rows the
boat is Il guide and he cannot do it with
out being subject to a fine of $50 I have
asked for several amendments but they
have appeared Objectionable to the fish
and game commissioners. Mr.. Carleton,
the chairman of the fish and game COM
missioners, Is a conscientious man and
a gentleman for whom I entertain the
highest regard. This bill lies nearest to
his heart Of anything outside of his family
and he has been eloquent and persistent
in advocating it. large number of petit
lions have been received from my con-
stituents asking me to use every effort to
defeat this bill, for the reason that it is
obnoxious to the people out of the State
and detrimental to the interests of the
State. On the one hand it takes away
the personal rights of poor men whose
families are dependent on their business.
This fishing and hunting business has be-
come an industry in the State of Maine
about which people little understand who
do not live near to these regions. Within
my recollection it was rare to see sports
men in the State of Maine. Then the only
industry was farming and all the surplus
produce was transported to the Boston
markets. Today everything that the
farmer raises is consumed. The proprie-
tors of the summer hotels around those
regions are in communication with the
sporting element and they tell me that
on every hand the features of the bill are
Objectionable and they are afraid it will
ruin their business. The State of Maine
treats this question in a commercial sense
The State of Maine receives from parties
out of the State at its various watering
places. 900 Il year. 100000 of which
come from the fish and game industry
FOR IHlS reason we S1Oulu not enact Il law
that will be so repugnant as to frighten
the people away. Mr.. Carleton. who ap-
peared at nearly every meeting of the
committee and argued with much elo-
quence. says that it is unsafe to employ
a guide who is not an expert, to take out
parties in birch canoes and that life is of
more consequence than money. Well
now, I propose to except the people who
run birch canoes. | will allow them to be
registered | am willing also that parties
who act as hunters guides shall be
licensed. The other side interpret it in
this way. mo person shall engage in the
business of guiding. las the term is com
monty understood Does this mean as
the word guide" is commonly under
stood. or as the word engage is COM
monty understood? If it means ''profes-
sional guide" why not say SO? l stand up
here as an individual and oppose this bill,
from a sense of obligation. | only ask of
you to look the bill over. think it over.
and then act as in your individual capa-
city you think is right
Mr.. Parsons of Piscataquis: Nnen
this bill was introduced in the early days
of the session, there came in here petit
tons from more than 10000 tax payers
of the State. asking that we give an APP
preparation o. $4,000, The fish and game
committee cut that down, reporting $40 :
600. and the Legislature cut it down to
$4,000. because the fish and game COM
mission. which is interested in this mat
ter. said: Give us the guide bill and it
is worth $4,000 to the State of Maine in
the protection of its great game indus
try" / believe it is worth $4,000 | live
on the borders. of a great game county,
and l know the practice that prevails
there, and / presume that it prevails in
every part of the State. There are more
moose and deer and caribou slaughtered
In close time. during the fishing season.
than at any other time of the year. The
fishermen go up and pitch their camps
by the side of some pond, and have their
guides, and want little meat They go
out and shoot a moose. or deer or carl
bou, and sometimes merely for sport
they Kill more than they want. l have
u letter received from one of the most
prominent guides of this State who is
now In New York. Among other things
he says: Il was talking with a sport.
last night. who seemed to have the i'm
preston that the commission was trying
10 get law passed that guides We're so
lied up that sport dare not employ
them. asked him to explain himself.
He said they were trying to make the
guides register and pay license. / said
to- him like this: How will that interfere
with Il sports pleasure. if they are reg
.stcred?' oh, well. you know. You are
q guide. You know We get hungry some
times and We have to have something to
eat. II 1t is little out of season, and if
guides were licensed, they would be wit
nesses against us" That is the whole
story, in a nutshell. No honest sports
man anywhere objects to this law. It is
the poacher. who goes up there in the
woods. and when he sees moose deer
or caribou. at any season of the year
is going to level his rifle, draw the head
and u he Is a good shot. the game falls
we tried to modify the bill to please the