Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-07-06
Success Of Congressman
Burleigh Of Maine.
Important Work in Conference
on Public Buildings Bill
How Appropriations for Maine and New
England Were Saved.

Washington, D. c., July 5.-(Special)
Senators and members scudded out
of town quickly after the adjournment
of Congress. OF the Maine contingent
Senator Hale and Gov. Burleigh were
the last to leave. each having had i'm
portant appropriation meas to
handle, both as members of commit
tees and as conferees, which required
their careful attention till the very last
moment of the session.
Senator Hale will now be back in
Maine within a few days. He has had
a harder and longer siege than ever
before at the close of a session during
his many years in Congress-. Senator
Allison left for his home at Dubuque
Iowa, nearly two weeks before the
close of the session, and left the entire
task of handling the big appropriation
bills at that end of the Capitol on Mr..
Hale's shoulders.
Gov. Burleigh had his first tussle as
a conferee, which came in connection
with the big omnibus public building
bill. That was one Of the very last of
the appropriation bills to be disposed
of and the conferees were kept up most
of one night,-F'riday night before adj
jOurnment, which proved to be the hot :
test night Of the season-agreeing to
the differences between the Senate and
the House on that bill.
Although the omnibus bill was care
fully drawn i'm the House, carrying 4
total of about $22,000.000, senators had
several projects they wanted included,
that the House had omitted. They
therefore reduced many of the House
items and put on new items Of their
own.
Several of the New England projects
were reduced by the Senate commit
tee. Gov. Burleigh. however, succeed
ed in having every one Of those appro-
priations restored to the House figures
and also got every other new appro-
priation for New England, he being
the only New England man among the
conferees. He thus carried through 25
New England projects, with aggregate
appropriations Of s2$O350O. Maine had
five projects with a total of 100000.
Massachusetts had nine projects with
total of $1,377,000 of which $500 900
was for new appraisers stores build
projects which Gov. Burleigh worked
for especially and which but for him
would have failed.
Names share in the public building
bill was an even 100000. which rs the
result of Gov. Burleigh's program
worked out during the last two or
three years. There is only one original
project in it-that for post office at
Auburn. Me, for which he has secured
an appropriation of $4,000. to buy a
site and build n post office thereon.
A bill carrying $4,000 for Auburn has
heretofore passed the Senate twice.
creased to $4,000, the treasury esti-
mate for same. and Gov. Burleigh set
about getting that done. 1t went
through the House without opposition,
but the Senate committee on public
buildings cut it down to $4,000. When
the conference committee met and got
down to that item, Gov. Burleigh said
it must go back to the original sum of
$4,000. He told the cOnferees what
a large city Auburn is and what the
needs of the postal service are in that
city. The money is now available in
the treasury and it is only question
plans and secure bids, before the Au-
burn building will begin to rise.
Two other projects on which Gov.
Burleigh began to work several years
ago. are those at Calais and Bar Har-
Dor. both Of which now have an appro-
priation of $500 each. At Bar Har-
Dor a post office is to be built for that
money on a site already purchased
with an appropriation Gov. Burleigh
secured on the last omnibus public
building bill some two years ago. The
Calais building is TO be for post office
and custom house. The site there has
already been purchased.
The completion Of the necessary leg
islation for Bar Harbor comes after a
period Of nearly 20 years. An appro-
priation there was secured twice only
to be met with vetos from Presidents
Cleveland and Harrison.
The site for the new court house at
Portland was purchased by an appro-
priation some years ago. The sum Of
5000 900 is now available for building
the courthouse. The Senate commit
tee let the item stand, as it passed the
House, although it cut down the APP
preparation for Bar Harbor to $4,000,
but the $4,000 additional was put back
by the conferees at Gov. Burleigh's re-
quest.
These four appropriations and one of
$4,000 for the improvement of the pub
lie building at Waldoboro. Me. make
the 100000 that Maine receives on the
bill. It is allotted among the four con-
gressionaI districts of the State and
will nut Maine in excellent condition
as to public buildings.
one of the hardest fights Gov. Bur-
leigh had was to secure 100000 for the
site and construction of an appraisers
stores buildings at Boston. The en-
tire Massachusetts delegation Of IA
members and twoosenators was much
interested in that, because OF the in