Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-02-09

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| van that the senator from kcnntbcc
had II i'm his mind that there would
ever come before the committee and
| least of all that that committee would
! favorably report on it. IL proposition tn
| abolish the office Of state printer?
| The matter of abOlishin9 that office
had not been under discussion at all the
| night before 1t Was entirely IL matte.
| Of rates, Il natter Of volume Of bust
rcss and at what price that could be
done for: and | submit that that was
| al that Was honestly ana fairly in the
| nind of the a'Itnnl of the resolution
and that was all tia, that committee
was appointed to ascertain. And | hay"
not seen yet either in the House or in
| the committee any evidence that thu.
| present regime VINO have charge of the
State printing are disappointed in the
| Kramer or the $it ual ion on the person
! cl of that COMM tee ! will be the last
| one to reflect in anyway upon my col.
| leagues eithe: or L committee or in
| this body. My criticism is not that they
| have taken on" side on this question.
my criticism is that they have not tax
On the view that those have taken who
feel that the existing system is wrong
and that those who do share that FEEL
ing are in a very weak minority on
that committee. | am as sensitive as
any member can be a.; 10 the preroga-
tiveS of Il member Of this House. ami
| as jealous as anybody car be of the
| rights of Il committee OF which | am
| Il member shall not he tncroac he'd up-
N; but | am more sensitive on anoth"'
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| | represent the people whom you repre-
| sent shall have no cause to criticist
us in the faithful 1istharg" of our pub
| lie duty. And | do believe that the pco-
| pie Of this StItr wish this inVrStigi-
| tion to be broad; I do believe, more
| over. that they wish the door to be loft
Cpeil. if this body shall so finally decide.
| tH abolish this Office altogether: and T
| feel that You so far towards shutting
J the door if you do no- concur with III"
Senate and send this bill to the COM
mitter on legal affairs who will have
| beyond any DOUBT. the power to act on
this particular point.
| Mr. SWEr'T of Portland: Mr.. Speak
| er, | desire to offer Il few words cx-
| pressive of the IDEAS which have occur
| red to me from this discussion. In my
| hdnble Judgment this is perhaps the,
most important measure that will come
| before this Legislature. No question
that has been raised here has created
80 much discussion in the newspapers
| in my judgment. as this matter of
| State printing. 1t is believed. whether
| justly or rot. by large proportion of
| the people If Maine that there is some
| l..
| printing. Is there a memebr of the
| House who does not know what the
result would be if this House should
adopt the course so ably advocated by
| the distinguished gentleman from
| Rockland? Why, we might as we'll
| vnt" to lay this whole subject on the
table now. There is 40 man here who
does not know what the result will be.
| that we should get no more informa-
| ton than the committee got from the
| State printer himself who testified that
| he could not tell what it cost, that his
| books Were not kept in such a way
| that he could tell what it cost. Is
| there a man qualified to conduct even
| peanut stand who runs his business
! on any such a principle as that? !
| don't believe it. | believe that this
House believes that all that the gem
| tleman from Bath asks for, all that
the gentleman from Portland advo-
Gates. is right upon this subject, that
the people may know whatever their
printing costs more than it ought TO-
| believe we should be false to our
duty 10 the people of Maine if we do
| not vote to sustain the position taken
by the gentleman from Portland( Mr..
Reed) and the gentleman from Bath
(Mr. SewalD in this matter of State
printing.
There is no chance of any wrong in
following that course. We shall mere
~ get at the facts. that is all, and
that is what we want. that is what
the people of Maine want. But it is
perfectly absurd, i'll my mind, to think
that there will be any change in this
| matter, if there are any wrongs that
they will be righted, if we fail to sus-
tain the eetleman from Bath in his
position.
Mr.. SEWALL: Mr.. Speaker. I call
for the yeas and nays on the adoption
of the amendment.
Mr.. LITTL EFTELD: Mr.. Speaker.
''i'i Z mat tIutNtioll is put, without en-
croaching on the time or patience of
the House, | wish to say just a word
i hesitated some time as to whether |
would open my mouth again. 1t is no
funeral of mine whether the State
printer goes up or down. The gen.
tleman from Bath (Mr. SewalD has
referred to Byron, and about all I
know about Byron is that on Christ
mas last / received as a present a
very beautifully bound copy of Ryron's
works, and any other Byron has lust
as much to do with me in this mat
Yer as that Byron a copy of whose
works | received Christmas
ms matter seems to have degener-
ated INTO discussion as to whether
'he committee appointed for this pur-
pose VIII report one way or the other.
whether in advance we can discount
'hc ACTON of the people whom we have
appointed from our number to inyes-
'ISate that matter. ANY such sugges-
ti"h from the gentleman from Bath or
'he gentleman from Portland is a re-
Hectlon upon that committee Anv