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

erned by those interests whfch are Ior
the welfare Of the people OF the state.
AS the senator from Oxford has just
said, the only desire / have in the
matter is that it may be decided In
the interests Of the majority OF the
people who are concerned.
L wish to state briefiy-and briefly
only-the reasons which influenced
the majority of the committee in max
in this report and liz recommending
this legislation; and before doing that
it seems to me fitting to say that
the senator's illusions to the lobby
and to the corporate interests which
have been, and are, represented here,
and especially his statement made
week ago when this question was
tabled. is rather out of place.
Inasmuch as the men who are OPP
posing this bill were opposing it Wig
orously before the friends of the
measure undertook the work or ever
took any steps towards its passage,
and inasmuch as the friends of the
senator from oxford have done every
thing in their power and have left no
stone unturned, il seems to me it
comes in rather poor taste for him
to make the suggestion which he has
regarding the influence Of the lobby.
AS a matter of fact, Mr.. President,
l believe that every citizen of the
State has right to come 20 this cap
ital and, by conversation with the
members, undertake to secure the
passage of legislation which he de-
sires.
l believe that is the privilege which
every citizen should by right enjoy.
believe it is proper, and further than
that | am quite certain that it is bene-
fetal for the purpose of giving TO
members information generally from
different parts of the State.
l want to say also along that same
line that, when the senator from OK
ford spoke of our passing this bill in
the interests of certain large corpora
tions that that argument did not
really appeal to me so much as it
would have appealed to me had l not
known that some of the richest COR
porations in the State are today OPP
posing the bill.
Some of the corporations whose
water flows every day in the year and
| every hour in the day and which sell
! their water all over this country, come
here opposing a corporation which de-
sires the use Of this water in the
lakes four months in the year.
What would they say if we should
| say to them: You must shut off your
| business at certain period of the
year-you must restrict it on account
| of other interests which are to be
served?
This corporation, Mr.. President, by
an act passed in 1885. acquired the
right to flow MooselucmeguntickL Lake
and lower Richardson Lakes.
Under that charter they erected a
dam twenty-one feet high. They stor-
ed water and do now store water fif-
| teen feet above the natural level of
| the lakes. They have right to use
| this water at any time of the year and
at all times of the year. They have a
| right to draw this water down and
they have that right legally and equit-
ably at any time of the season.
Now they come here. Mr.. President,
and ask us to grant them the use Of
six feet more of the waters during
four months of the winter.
| They ask the privilege of lowering
the waters of Mooselucmeguntic and
also Richardson lake, during these
! four months in order to keep the mills
in constant operation along the banks
of the Androscoggin River.
We claim, Mr.. President, that it is
reasonable and fair request. The
| opposition say that this will prove to
be of great injury to the lakes. They
say that the lakes will not refill. That
is the main questionable main ar
gument of the opposition,-that the
lakes will not refill. Now, it seems to
me that it cannot be questioned that
/ the lakes will refill to the natural low
| water level. 1t is an absurd PROPOSE
ton TO say that they will not refill to
that point, and that is as far as this
company is bound to keep them filled
| They have erected a dam at an enor-
| nous expense. They have purchased
fioWaSe rights all around that lake.
| They have a right 10 use this water
! which is stored there and they are
| only bound. by law and equity, to keep
| II up 70 the natural low water level
! That is all that can be asked of them
Above that the water rises and falls
| FOR the space Of-to be exact four
teen feet. possibly it may rise fifteen.
II is in actual practice fourteen.
This water rises and falls on the
shore of the lake to that amount.
| But we claim, Mr.. President. that
according to the facts of history, and
according To all reasoning. that the
lakes VIII not only refill to the natural
low water level. but they will refill
to the top of the dam. They have
always done this in the past, practi-
cally; and there is no reason. consid-
ering the hundreds Of square miles of
area that drain into these lakes. that
| they will not do it in the future.
| There is no argument to convince
us that the course of Nature is going
to be changcd-that the rainfall is
going to be materially less. Every
possible reason argues to the con-
trary.
AS matter of fact, these lakes
since 1857 have not only refilled but
they have begun to waste every wear
since that time. In 1887 they were
nlled to the extent of twenty feet on
4 .1x,I