Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-12-20
STATE HOUSE.
NJ embsrs Of Gov. cobb's
Staff Selected.
A Curious Relic Of the Great
Portland Fire.
Notes on the Different Departments At
the Capitol.
STATE HOUSE CALENDAR
Next Meeting Of Governor and Council
Friday, Dec. 80, at 4 p. M,


Next Meeting of Governor and Council.
Friday, Dec. 80, at 4 p
The printing of the annual report of
the board of railroad commissioners is
nearly completed, ana the report will
go to the State binders by the first OF
january. so that it will be among the
first reports to be placed upon the desks
OF the incoming Legislature. The first
installment from the bindery will be
delivered about jan Is.
The annual meeting of the Maine
Sportsmen's Fish and Game Associ-
alton will be held in the judiciary room
at the State House. on Tuesday, Jan. 3,
the meeting being called to order at 2
o'clock in the afternoon. Officers will
be elected for the ensuing year, and
such other business transacted as may
properly come before the meeting
Some matters regarding future legis-
lation may come before the association,
but 1t is not thought that the assOcia-
ton will ask for any radical changes In
the present law.
Governor-elect Cobb has settled upon
the following members of his staff:
Adjutant general. Augustus b. Farm
ham of Bangor; commissary general
Edward J. Mayo of Foxcroft: surgeon
general. ]. p. O'Neil Of Portland: judge
advocate general. w. 3. Shelton Of
Lewiston: inspector general Of rifle
practice Elliott c. Dill of Portland;
military secretary, Edward H. Kelley
f1,f r f,fD In md
| will be one of the aides on the COVER
nOr's staff. with the rank of lieutenant
colonel.
Among the many curioS stored away
in the recesxes of the State library. in
the way Of old newspapers. is copy of
The Portland Evening Star, paper
which used to be published in the
Forest city. in war times. 1t is not the
great age CT the paper that has earned
| for it careful presel walton in the
| library. as the date upon it only takes
it back about 80 years. it having been
printed on Friday. July s. 1866. but the
paper itself and the incident in the
history Of Portland which it contains.
| Many people remember the great fire
| in Portland, on the evening of July a.
| 1866, when nearly 1900 buildings were
burned, leaving half the town in ruins.
| All Of the banks AMI newspaper offices
were destroyed, together with eight
churches and six hotels. and hundreds
| Of families were left homeless and
destitute. The flames ragged for 10
| hours, and the loss WAS estimated at
| S15 600. 600.
| 1t was the story Of this catastrophe
| that was contained in the columns or
| the Evening Star, and though the office
of the paper was destroyed with the
others, on the following Friday evening
| the Star continued to shine as before.
| but with a reduced light. which might
have been said to be due to the smoke
| of the cOnfiagTation.
The issue of the paper is about the
size of n quarter sheet poster, and con-
tains but four columns, printed on one
side of the sheet. Two and one-half
| columns are devoted to the story of the
fire. and the rest of the matter. includ-
ing the advertisements, refer more or
less to the same subject. An amusing
feature of the sheet is the story of the
Fourth of July celebration in the city.
where after setting forth the details or
the day i'll a way that was spicy ana
full of fun, the writer changes the tone
of his story altogether and concludes 1t
in this way: I'VE leave our readers
the sad work of noting the rest of the
day-sad. God knows how sad-in the
contents of another column"
That issue of the paper was printed
at Halls Monitor printing office, NO.
ia Middle Street where it went after
the fire and remained until a new office
could be fitted up for it. In reading
over the sheet, one cannot but notice
that in spite of the great tragedy which
had befallen the city. there was tone
Of cheerfulness on the part of the edi-
tor that told of courage in the face OF
adversely. and a determination to i've
down the troubles that surrounded
him.
Hon. Arthur l. Brown, deputy secre-
tary Of State. passed the Sabbath at ms
home. in Belfast, returning to Augusta
| Monday forenoon.
Winthrop H. Follett of Portland, who
looks after the binding of the war rec
ords, does some other work at odd jobs
that is of especial interest to ladies. in
asmuch as it consists of making shirt
waist boxes. These boxes are about
three feet in length and perhaps half
that in height. and are covered with
creton. Inside are a number Of trays
each large enough to hold shirt
waist. To the feminine world they
must be very handy. and aside from
1 tnV