The Portland daily press., 1899-03-09

ticket for himself alone. sells that tieket
10 another or tries to use u ticket TINT a.
not legally his own. This Is law that
has been framed 50 that no person can
violate the agreement he has made with
the railroad company.
"Furthermore the bill has been framed
so that railroad companies may extend
the use Of mileage tickets In the manner
developed at the recent hearing. That is,
that book many be issued good for q
man aud his wife at a two cent rate. The
companies have expressed willingness
to put such books on sale provided they
can be suitably protected. 1t is thought
that the bill submitted does this without
prejudioing the interests OF any person.
In fact. ain intrusted to discover what
objection any honest person can have 10
the bill. With this bill In force the Maine
Central and Bangor and Aroostook will
place on sale the kind Of books have in
dictated.
Gen krsavise % the committee said he
knd 3ust received a telegram from the
manager of the Washington county road
announcing that they would DO the same.
Then Mr. Jersey took the door. He
brought an arinful OF law books, placed
them on the end of the table and COM
ineuced with great earnestness:
~ appear here, gentlemen, in opposition
to this bill for one or two reasons. In
the first place 1t is unjust and unwar.
ranted. In the second place If passed 1t
would be unconstitutional. On the con-
stitutionality OF laws We who are laymen
do not consider ourselves las competent to
pass We leave that TO the higher courts.
| think If you give this bin careful con-
sideration and review the decisions
already made in parallel cases In other
states, and by the Supreme court, you
will find 1t upwise to vote to pass any
such bill as is here before you.
"A celebrated writer on the law has
given us this definition of personal
property. 1t is that which having been
acquired honestly we have a right to use
or abuse. to care for or destroy as We see
fit. The only exception is where lie or
other Interests of another are at stake.
Mr. Hersey seized one of his law books
''If this were my book, would have
perfect right to tear it up and stamp the
fragments under foot. Before leaving the
bench Judge Walton, OF the Maine
supreme court. rendered the decision that
a man could commit arson by burning
MS own house If he chose. We have an
inalienatle right TO use our own property
as we see fit. No act of this or any other
legislature can bar us of our rights in the
face of the constitution and the decisions
of the courts. When you buy ticket
you do not buy courtesy. You buy II
contract, possession and you can do
with it as you see 1T
II do not come here TO ask any conces.
sions of you, OF any man or of any oorpo-
ration. i don't ask any concessions of
either the Maine Central, the Bangor 81
Aroostook or the Washington county rail-
road. 4sr
81 come representing large mum Der
of the representative business men OF the
city of Lewiston We don't beg for con-
cessions. We come as free born Ameri-
can citizens who know that they have
rights We are not on our knees beseech.
ing the Maine Central railroad to place
our wives and our children on mileage
books ON the condition that we grant TO
the railroads certain privileges, those
privileges being that we enact penal
statutes that punish the parties who buy
ticket nd sell their own property; penal
ties that disgrace the man who uses what
he has right to under the constitution
IL have here clipping from the Lewis
ton Journal l will read: 1t has been
thought by some that Mr.. Gardner by I'M
dertaking this taxation reform has preju
diced certain concessions that were ex-
psoted from the railroads in the way of
mileage books.
"Conoossionsl Good God That is as
a spectacle AS ever dawned
on the people of the State of Maine
ION the petition that l hold here in my
hand there are the names of such repre-
sentative business men of Lewiston AS
Cyrus Greeley, E. p. Ham, e. 5. Paul,
ID. W. Lowell and others. They protest
against the passage of such an anti-scalp-
ing bin as is suggested here.
"1his bill covers more saan the mileage
matter, or any other railroad ticket that
is limited to the use of the purchaser. In
a little while 1t would be found that on
every trip ticket sold they would ask for
the name of the purchaser. his signature.
Conductors would be demanding tn at
passengers sign their names to their
trip tickets and all. Tickets that
ara not now covered by the bill will be
made so that the bill will cover Them"
MIR. HeIsey then went ON to quote the
statutes from the State of New York,
chapter 500. 1897, in which the anti scalp
ing.b i'll of that state was held to be I'M
constitutional. He stated that in the
State of Illinois it had been held that the
ticket was the personal property of the
persdn who bought it.
The committee voted to report ought to
pass on the bills relating to liens and the
discharge of securities on property bonds.