Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-03-25
regarding which strong and honest

regarding which strong and honest
differences Of opinion existed, with the
result that the closing weeks or the
session have been marked by numer-
Gus long debates and by deadlocks be-
tween the two branches. The a2d
Legislature has been an honest and an
earnest body, well representing the
masses of Maine citizens, and striving
to legislate' for the best interests for
the State as a whole, rather than for
any section or any faction.
The Republican majority. being re-
sponsible for the work of the winter.
has kept faithfully the promises of the
party platform to the people. The
spirit of economy has prevailed. and. in
spite Of the growth Of the State and its
increasing needs, the appropriations
are actually smaller than those of the
suit Of this conservative course, a re-
duction is made in the State tax rate
as recommended by Governor Cobb.
The pledges Of the platform as regards
the rigorous enforcement Of the pro-
hibitory law and the adjustment of the
fee system are also carried out: and i'll
the great mass of legislation "sked for
and enacted are many important laws
Of unquestioned worth which reflect
credit upon the I'D Legislature. The
full text of all these public laws, anc
the titles of all the resolves and private
and special laws. will be found in the
supplement issued by the Journal and
which all citizens should read and pre-
serve for future reference.
No small share of the credit for the
prompt and thorough manner i'll wnieh
the I'D Legislature has done its work
belongs to the presiding officers OF the
two branches. Both the Senate in
President Goodwin and the House IN
Speaker Drew made exceptionally
fortunate selections. as they had more
and more reason to appre ciate as tn
session wore on. botH pioNeu " th
end TO be able and impartial presiding
officers. always masters of the stu
alton no matter how involved the par
Iiamentary tangle became. and always
courteously guarding the rights of
every member and every measure.
They closed the session possessing the
Of al their acSnniatpc
and meriting fully the tributes of
praise spoken of them in the final
hours of the session. The subordinate
officers without exception did their
work well and amply justified their
selection for their respective places.
A comparison of the volume Of work
done by the I'D Legislature with that
done by the list Legislature and tn
10Th Legislature will be of interest at
be remembered that the list Legisla-
ture. that of 1903. passed a great many
measures relating wholly to the re-
vision OF the statutes then in progress
SD tIidl lIe COMPARISON VI lJV0 is more
properly with 1901. In 1901 the number
of printed bills was 624; in 1908. $50:
and in 1905 S43. OF the printed bills for
1906, there were 5SS House documents
and 25J Senate documents, which is
about the usual proportion between the
two branches.
In 1901 the total number of acts
passed was 456, of which 1872 were pub
lie acts and the rest of a private or
special nature. In 1908 the total num-
Der passed was 664, of which 239 were
public acts including many relating to
the general revision Of the statutes.
In the session of 1905 which has just
closed. there was total of 574 passed,
of which 178 were public acts. The
full text of these will be found in the
Journal supplement which we are able
| to give our readers this morning.