Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-03-08

the committee. They unanimously de-
clined to agree and therefore was obtg-
ed to report to this House that the COM
mittee could not agree. When that re-
port came before the House another
member of the committee on interior wa
tiers moved that We insist and ask FOR
another committee of conference. festef-
day, out of courtesy to the committee
On the University Of Maine. I laid that
on the table until the close OF the session
when l asked that it be taken from the
table; and 1t is now before the House
on 4 motion by the gentleman frona
Westbrook (Mr. Leishton), practically to
indefinitely postpone the whole subject
by reconsidering the vote of yesterday
and concurring in the action of the SEN
ate.
Now, gentlemen, I 90 not propose to
insist en- this committee of conference.
! am very sure that had my friends not
attempted to assist me-although their
intentions were good and right and I
thank them for ut--if l could have had
that remain as first made the motion,
to substitute the hill for the report. I am
satisfied that could have passed the bill
in this House. 1 have become equally
is impossible to pass the bill through the
Senate. This bill is bill DIN the interest
of the people. This bill is simply a bill
to give to the people of my section of
Cumberland county the rights that they
have enjoyed for more than so years.
You know, perhaps, that in 1921 q char
ter was granted to the Cumberland and
Oxford Canal Company to build a canal
from the town of Waterford to the At
lantic ocean at Portland. In order that
they might navigate the canal from tho
foot of Sebago lake to Portland it was
necessary that they should have there
a dam; and il lis admitted that they had
permission To bui.d that dam. That dam
becoming somewhat dilapidated in 1851 it
was necessary to rebuild it. 1t was re-
built by the S. d. Warren Manufacturing
Company l think, or at leaSt by the
manufacturing companies on the Pre-
Sumpscot river, they paying two-thirds
of the cost while the canal company paid
one-third. AhOu. 1870 the railroad COM
pany built the Ogdensburg road and the
canal was abandoned: ut was necessary
no longer. Now. l want to state here
that it never was the intention to dig
canal from the town of Waterford to tide
water, bur it was the intention to use
Long lake, the BAY of Naples, the Sango
river and Sebago lake as a part of the
canal, and from that time up to l thiEk
1887 when the last bill was passed by this
Legislature giving away the rights of the
canal to the Presumpscot manufacturing,
companies-until that time they had {.
right to navigate those lakes and tho
Songo river.
Now We do not deny that by act Of
the Legislature the Warren Company
and other manufacturing companies on
the Presumpscot river have the right to-
day to draw down the water below where
it was essential TO raise it in order that
We can navigate the lake; but We do say
that when they have had that privilege
and that right up to 1857, this L.egisla-
ture has no right to take away from thu
people of the northern part of Cumber-
land county the rights to navigate those
waters. And all we ask in this bill prac
tically is to give lis a bench mark suffl-
cient that our boats, not only our steam
boats and passenger boats but our
freight boats. may be enabled to enter
the lake by Songo river and thereby
carry their passengers and their freight
from one end of those lakes to the other.
Now 1 believe that the greatest ques-
ton before the people Of the State today
is our inland waters. There are bills be
fore this Legislature to draw the waters
Of our lakes four or six feet below their
general level. When the day comes that
the corporations of this State can destroy
the waters of our lakes. can take them
for manufacturing and for private pur~
poses, when they 60 that they
commit an act against the State Of
Maine that is more far-reaChing in it's
results than any other act which has
ever been passed by the Legislature of
this State. l am unfortunate in the
fact that / stand here alone. I have no
great lobby paid for by the rich corpoT-
atoms to assist me. In opposition to
me our corridors have been crowded FOR
the last four or five weeks with the
most powerful lobby that this State
has ever known in opposition to the
rights of the citizens who have sent me
here to represent their interests. 1 say
with shame as q member of this House
that the lobbyists here today paid by
the money of the corporations of this
State. coming here TO influence you and
to vote for corporate interests against
the interests Of the State is a dis
grace to the Legislature of the State
and a disgrace to our State itself.
We only ask the privilege of MAIN
tanning the finest water route there is
in the State of Maine or in any other
State of this Union. We have men
come from all over our land, from the
East and the West. from the North and
the South, to enjoy the pleasure of that
water trip. We have built hotels in
our town. The people have come from
New Jersey and New York, from all
over the country. and built cottages
that cost from $4,000 to $4,000 becau Use
it was the most beautiful country that
God has ever made. These people
would not come here if this route is
destroyed. We have only asked the
privilege of bringing into our cnmmun-
ity those who would leave with us a
hundred thousand dollars in our hotels
and in our farmers homes that take
boarders in the summer. We are ask
ing the right for the people in the
towns along that route to be enabled
to run their canal boats through there