The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-02-17
ESPECIAL no rHR rREss.j

BiIl IL Voted Down.
ESPECIAL 40 rHE rREssj
| Augusta, February i6.-The flood gates
Of oratory. are open. The surprise Of the
day was the defeat OF the Judges salary
bill In the Senate, whers Its friends were
confident of passing IL with vote or two
to spare Senator Plummer, who has
teen reckonsd upon as supporter. was
not present. Had he voted for the meas.
IRE, the vote would have been tie.
The defeat of the bill followed an inter
esting deb ate. In the Hausc. Mr.. McFad
den and his supporters went TO a vote on
the ST. Elizabeth Orphan asylum resolve
and were badly beaten. The vote is a
significant one Mr.. Guernsey made his
attack on the appropriation bill with a
! like result.
THE JUDGES SALARY.
When the bill to increase the salaries
Of the justices came mp in the Senate,
Judge Stesrns of Aroostook opened the
| debate. Judge Stearps. in the course of
an el9qnent presentation Of The arguments
in favor of the bill, spoke ss follows:
lin speaking of the potent reasons why
the salaries of the judges should be IN
creased, may say that the importance of
the subject cannot be exaggerated. Their
are n coordinate branch of our govern
ment, they ar the guardians of our con
stiiutiun; ey cDnstrue its provisions.
They consider everything which makes
life a blessing to man. They settle and
determine disputes between man and
man they search ont and settle great
questions in equity between citizens ct
this ana other states. Ought we not to ex
poet To have the ablsst and most expert.
eneei men in the law, possessed of refine
ami cultivated minds, to occupy seats on
the bench. Much do We expect of our
judges and it is settled now that none
but the best and most honest Jurists shall
I'LL such positions
"1he Independence of our courts should
tie maintained by giving to the justices a
salary common surate with the dig nifty
and importance of the great positions
thoy occupy. Place them on such plane
that they may never be influenced by the
J ucrtfSt VI kithb w sWbTNt
from the duty of preserving the rights
OF the people Make them absolutely in
dependent of oil ,pfiue noes, political anu
otherwise.
The work of the court has SO grown
since ! began the practice of law that
bills in equity are much more frequently
drawn than formerly and judges must
devote far greater amount of time and
labor more devotedly than ever before.
| Judges can no longer do the mere
mental work OF writing by hand, and in
rendering decisions and opinions they
must now employ stenographers and
| typewriters There is no provision in law
TO pay the extra expenses which have
grown UP in the past few years. There
should be sum of money allow I'D judges
to aid the in paying their bills at hotels
while on circuit. The earnings of all
lawyers are not large, but there are some
lawyers in the big cities who make very
much more each year than the judges are
paid. Therefore the people must see to it
that men who accept appointments on
the bench are not made to suffer because
OF inadequate salaries. -
Senator Grindle of Hancock, opened
the speaking in opposition tn the bill and
in part, said;
II wish to say seriously that no man
has more respect or admiration for our
| judges than have, but before voting for
this measure | want to zee the response
bility placed whsre 1t belongs Certainly
| the movement to raise the salaries did not
originate in the air. Where did it come
fromy Did the judges themselves start It'll
Have they ever complained that their pay
is inadequates Are they saying that they
are getting less than they could earn
working for clientss Or did the move.
nIent originate with some promising
young lawyers who are prospective can
didates for tie bench:
| ~ correctly state the sentiment OF my
constituents when l say that the most
valuable service this legislature can rem
der the people Is TO oppose all schemes TO
increase the expenses of the state govern
ment. While there is not in sight single
measure which viii lessen state expenses
| there are many which will increase Them
| Unless something is done to defeat them,
IL is certain they will entail upon us a
rate of taxation SO burdensome as to be
actually oppressive aud none this less op.
pressive because imposed by a Republican
form of government.
Senator Merrill of Somerset followed
II cannot hope, to be able to answer the
| yery ingenious argument OF the gentle .
man from Aroostook," he declared. II
have the highest respect for the members
of Maine's supreme judicial court, but !
feel that the people of this state ara just
at this time staggering under all the load
they can stand, and to add to their bur-
den by passing this bill would be not only
a crime but blunder. The financial
condition of the country has increased the
purchasing power of the dollar, yet we
see the state expenses constantly growing.
The people are now crying halt. Our
rata nfitaxagion must Ina inoraacad 20 A