Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-02-16

| company. If it should be my misfor-
| tune to have a feeble minded child in
| my family, ard YOU have this institu-
| ton, | have a home for that child, and
| if / am paying my taxes, / know there
| is Il home for that child i'm the future.
How ii would relieve the anxiety Of
| the mother as she goes down the de-
| clivity of life, as she reaches the river
which divides the mortal from the i'm
mortal, if she knows, as she passes
over the river, that there is a home
provided for her child; because the
mothers heart is just as strong for
| the unfortunate as for the fortunate.
| l am going to ask this Senate not to
'cfer this to the next Legislature-not
| to accept the report of the committee;
| but to recommit it with the recon-
| mcndation that we raise the sum of
$4,000 to start the institution.
| You must recOlect that Il great many
| in the State who have feeble minded
| children are willing to contribute to
| pay expenses. In Massachusetts
| thlnk 1t costs $500 per capita for the
chlldten i'll that institution. In many
| other StacS in the country it costs up
on the average $I12. They will be
| protector. Many can be self-sustaincd
| ! thank you for tie time / nave tax
en-; and hope YOU will vote the sum Of
$4,000 to start this institutions; AMI
you will carry joy and gladness into
every town in the good old State of
Maine.
Mr. MORSE of Waldo: Nh. President:
The Senator from Knox, l think has
| pretty generally gone over the Situa-
| ton. yet there are some matters that |
would like to touch upon in relation to
| this matter to make my position sure.
AS lie has already stated this COM
| ,nittee was appointed t;;O years ago by
| the Legislature to investigate this mat
| ter and to report to the present Lesis-
| iaturr. Perhaps it would not be improD-
| er for me to remark that this work has
fallen very largely upon the Senator
| from knox and upon myself. If it had
been otherwise We could have hopod
| 1T least for a unanimous report from
this committee whereas now we are
| divided upon this question.
What few remarks l nay make in
| regard to this question will not be any
| reflection upon the report of this COM
nTittoe, because l fea that they have
| acted up to tleir highest conceptions OF
the matter from information in their
| hands in so short a time as they must
nave had in which to consider the prop
| osition. l want to make this statement
winch feel very positive about, name
! ly: that the aVerOge tax payer of the
| State of Maine pays his tax is willing
to pay it and is willing it should go out
10 those dependents of ones within the
State for their uplifting and for the
| betterment of society in general. l want
| to refer, for just a NONE Mt to Sena te
| Document No. 6, We obtain very
readily from the census the fact
| that there were about 200 feeble-mind-
ed persons in the State that would ma
! turaliy come under the supervision of
| home like this should one be estab-
| lished. That was not positive enough
| Tor your committee, and to make it
| more positive and more satisfactory
we caused circulars to be printed and
| sent out TO the assessors of every town
in the State of Maine. with a single
! exception, that of AndrOScOggin, which,
| i'll the allotment of the different coun-
| ties to the several members of the COM
| mttee was unfortunately omitted. So
| we come to you here with the best in
| formation We could obtain from q dill
| gent inquiry and from time spent in
| this matter. and we believe a better re-
| port. perhaps. than has ever been OBJ
| tanned in relation to those that would
| seem to be crying for protection at our
hands and we give to you the account
| which the senator from Knox has read.
1t WAS our privilege to visit the homes
at Massachusetts and we We're very
nicely treated there. very we'll treated
with that public spirit which seems to
| come from Il philanthropic heart that
influence from Massachusetts. that
| state which was the first in our Union
to start this grand work.
| In 1916. DR.. Howe of Massachusetts,
| undertook this work. and from
| that stepping stone. and from this great
| pEilanthrOpist this work has spread
out until 20 states have already es-
| tablished homes. or now have them in
course of construction. 1t is not for me
| to seek to impress upon the minds of
| this Senate that Sucn a thing is neces-
Sary in this State. Let me read just Il
word from this report of that great
p!iilanthrOpist. Ijr. Howe, made in 1876.
1t was as true then as Low. and it is
dS true now as then: He says: 1t is 4
fact i'll our history Of mOmentOnS i'm
poet. 1t is one of the many groups of
immense space through which society
has yet to advance before it even APP
prOaches to the perfection of civiliza-
ton. We find this upon every hand. Go
into your State schools for boys, if you
please. you will find them there. Go i'll
TO your Girls school at HallOwell. They
are crying as loudly for something of
that kind at the HallOwell school, as
at any place in the State of Mine. Go
into your insane hospital. The papers
have quoted Dr. SanbCrn as saying that
he had in his Institution 200. | under
stand that is denied. but let me say
that after our visits here to the hospi-
tai at Augusta and at Bangor yesterday
upon close questioning. we did come
to the conclusion, or at least l did that
there are inmates there who have no
business there and ought not to be
there and who should be in a home