The Portland daily press., 1899-09-05
FERRY AGAINST FIELD.
And Field Won, Five
to Two.
At Last A Division in the South
Portland City Government.
Ward Line Question
Considered.
Two Reports Submitted and Majority
Adopted.

At last the spell Is broken and the
quietude which has lowered over the reg
ular and special meetings of the South
Portland city governments has been
disturbed. Heretofore they have been
like the gathering Of one largs family,
peacsable one at that. but last evening
there was cleavage ana when the rock
split i've stood In favor Of dividing the
city into wards one way, and two were
in the opposition. It cannot be said that
they divided on political lines for one
Republican and one Democrat fiocked
together. 1t WIGS rather assotional ques-
tion. 1t was the Ferry 80 called
Here is the story with few little Incl
dents of the meeting.
| All were present, the mayor In the
chair. Records were read and approved
and City Clerk Knight TOLD just about
how much a telephone system would cost
and then the case Of poor woman was
pleaded who wanted an abatement on a
sewer assessment.
After this report on ward lines was
read by Alderman ScammAn and that
report was substantially the same as was
published In this column few days
since. Everyone knew the report was
coming, and the only funny thing in the
proceeding was that after having been
read, 1t had TO be passed about for sigma
lures. Chairman Scamman, after his
attention was called to this very import
ument and then passed 1t over to Alder
man Davis and SO 1t went round to all
five of the supporting members.
1t looked like smooth sailing but when
1t came TO the South Portland village
members there was break. Alderman
Spear submitted minority which he ad-
vooated In plain language.
MINORITY REPORT ON WARD
LINES.
City of South Portland, Maine,
August 3tst, 1899.
To the Honorable Mayor and Board Of
Aldermen, in Council Assembled:
As members OF the Committee on Ward
Lines we, the undersigned, hereby respect
fully submit report, as follows:
The Act of Incorporation Of the City Of
1 South Portland, under which said Com
mittee, and your Honorable Board, are
to act, provides as follows:--
| sect. 4. For the purpose or holding
| elections, the territory of said city shall
as soon as may be after the first election
under this act be divided by ordinance
| by the city council into seven wards, to
contain as nearly as may be. consistently
within well defined limits, an equal num-
Der of legal voters: and it shall be the
duty of the city council once in ten years
at most, and not oftener than once in five
years, to review and II in their opinion
it be needful, to alter sue, wards in such
manner as to preserve. as nearly as may
be, an equal number of legal voters in
| each ward"
| We contend that the drawing of the
| ward lines in such a manner as to place
some three hundred voters in one ward,
and less than one hundred and fifty, less
than half of three hundred, In another
ward, is not acting in aocordaDce with
| the law; that the placing OF tive hundred
and seventy In two wards, and only five
hundred and fifty in three other wards Is
directly contrary to thu law. Under the
proposed division, there are only fopr
wards having over two hundred voters
and we contend that the ward lines can
be consistently drawn 50 that there will be
more than two hundred voters in each
ana every ward.
In their strenuous effort to create a
Town House Corner ward, your commit
tee has undertaken to include in said
| ward, voters who naturally and properly
| belong In three other wards namely;
Pleasantdale, knightvllle and Willard (;
and even by this unwise process, there
are still less than one hundred and fifty
voters in that ward.
We believe the ward lines should be
drawn by setting of ward z, with this
required number Of voters; then setting
OF Pleasantdale, with the required num-
| Der of voters; then setting OF Knight
VILE, with the required number OF voters;
leaving the remainder of Town House
Corner, Willard and South Portland to be
divided into four wards, with the requis-
ite number of voters in each. This can
| be consistently done, and In such a way
| that Willard will have absolute control
of one ward; South kPortland will have
control of two wards and Willard and
South Portland will share the fourth
ward. We believe that such division
| would be according to law.
1t is c0ntendei by some, that the section
known ne Town House Corner should be
represented. We contend that II this sec
| ton is included In some other ward, Will
ard ward, 1t would be represented as a
part OF that ward. We contend that If
this small section has only about one
quarter enough voters for a ward it
should not be given a ward and exclusive
representation. at the expense of some
other section but should receive Its repre-
sanitation with the ward in which il may
| be PLACID =.
We most emphatieally protest against
the proposed division. as being unjust,
unfair and directly contrary to law.
1