The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1901-01-03
Views of a Prominent
Granger on Subject.
Mr.. Prescott Wins York Coun
ty Councillorship.
IsrEcIAL ro rnE rnnss.l

ESPECIAL TO THE PREss.l
Augusta, January 1.-The organization
OF the Legislature is cut and dried affair
with a great deal OF dull Ioutins ami a
little ceremony. Today's proceedings,
however, were relieved of their dizziness
by the fact that the new President Of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House
varied the form of the customary speech
OF acceptance by alluding to what is just
now this paramount Issue OF the session,
taxation,
Nobody listened with more attention to
the remarks OF the newly chosen pre-
siding officers than did the state Grange
committee on taxation, This committee
consists or Messrs NJ. s. Merrill of st.
Adams, J. NJ Deering of Saco, John A.
Roberts OF Norway and A. 5. Farnsworth
OF Pembroke, who is a member Of the
present House Mr.. Merrill. who knows
the ms and outs of legislation having
served with crsdit to himself and his
town and county in both branches OF the
Maine legislature, talked with the
PRESS correspondent after the organiza-
ZION abOub thb 4hNSbANA Vi soAobaNhs ~AAs
Merrill said that the Grange committee
had given this matter great deal Of
study hut they have not drafted bill
amending the exisGing law. Mr.. Merrill
said he would be glad TO see at the begin
ming of new century a thorough and
general revision of chapter ak OF the Re-
vised Statutes In relation to taxation but
he did not regard this as practicable.
MY own idsa." said MIR. Merrill,
land am not speaking now as a men,
Der of the committee or representative of
the Grange,i is that the best plan to follow
is to amend the law by separate bills which
will remove some IF the existing inequali-
ties. was a member of the special conf
mittee on taxation in the legislature Of
ten years ago and we spent a great deal of
time preparing general tax bill but 1t
was late in the session before we could
get it ready and 1t was not passed. Two
years later though the state increased its
revenues $780,
Mr.. Merrill said he had been told by a
gentleman prominently identified with
the electric railway interests that the
electric roads could stand twice the taxa
tion that is now imposed upon them.
This gentleman said that it might be q
little hard but the roads could stand it.
Speaking OF taxation recalls the fact that
Cumberland county man viii be at the
head of the committee in the psrson of
Senator Hodsdon.
The Grange committee were not the
only interested onl0okers at the organiza-
ton OF the two houses. Among the
prominent men seen on the floor and In
the lobby were Ex-Governor Cleaves, Hon.
Charles r. Libby, Hon. Seth l.. Larrabee,
Hon. George Nj. Soldiers, Judge George
f. Gould, Hon. Clarence Hale, Calvin E.
woodside, Esq, of Portland.
1t was freely predicted last evening af-
ter the York county delegation had tried
would have to be fought out on the floor
of the House in the general caucus this
evening, but when the York Senators aud
Representatives got together again this
morning, they found that the night had
brought a change In the situation. DIR.
Ii. V. Noyes of Berwick, as soon as the
meeting was called to order, arose and
announced that he should change his
vote from Hargrayes to Prescott. DR.
Noyes said that he had voted for MIR.
Hargrayes as long as he thought there
was any chance of nominating him, but
he felt that the wisest course under the
circumstances was for him to give his
support to Mr.. Prescott. The ballot went
the way Of the tall man OF Biddeford, o
to z. Then DR.. J. W. Dearborn OF Par
sonsfield moved to make it unanimous
and the motion prevailed.
THE SENATE ORGANIZATION.
While the lobby outside buzzed with
the talk OF the York county case, the
grave and digninsd Senators met in the
checkered light of the stained glass win
dows in their plush ana mahogany
adorned room.
The first business Of Importance came
when Senator Plummer was charged with
a message to the Governor aud Council