Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-02-15

those assets and turning them into mon
ey to give them away. you are up against
this same power, for all courts have uni
formly held that the power to bond, the
power to tax, the power to use municipal
assets which themselves were or to be
replaced would have to be the subjec.
of taxation. all go back to the constitu-
tional power to tax, and just so long as
the constitution Of Maine reads as it
does, just so long as that charter Of the
peoples rights devised to check wild leg
islation, devised, Mr.. Chairman, to stop
| the caprice Of legislative bodies, designed
to protect the helpless minority against
the oppression Of a majority, just SO long
as that constitution stands and just so
long as it contains the immortal Ian
/ guage that all taxes assessed by the
State shall be assessed equally, and 50
! long the great case of Dyer VS.. The
Pennington Village Corporation stands
in this State, Just so long will the people
of Portland find that If they want to
| hribe the State of Maine they must come
| here as they did in 1889 and out Of the
! pockets of her citizens. not out of the
pockets of her taxpayers, hold up her
, wealth to tempt the State of Maine into
/ doing wrong
| Now. Mr.. Chairman. my distinguished
| friend may have studied this question.
He may be able to read to you extracts
from law books and from decisions of
various states where courts have held
that under the peculiar constitutional
provisions of those states this thing
could be done There are states where
there is no constitutional inhibition.
etnt oay, ha
levied for any purpose the Legislature
orders. There are states where this
doctrine Is differently worded. Some
states have sustained it, some have de-
MED it. 1t is immaterial what the rule
of law is in Maryland. Massachusetts,
Virginia, Florida, Texas. Ohio or I'LL
nois. We are living under the consti
tuition of Maine, we are living under
the power of the supreme court of
Maine and the law, Mr. Chairman, has
been settled in Maine in such distinct
and plain words that the wayfaring
man, though fool need not err when
he reads il.
Mr.. Chairman, ] have taken so much
time that it would be ill-becoming for
me to refer to some topics that are
legitimate. Leaving it as State
city of Augusta has some equities
here. We have built up this city be-
cause Portland voted that we should
be the capital. We have made it a
beautiful city. We have invested
hundreds Of thousands on our roads
| our sidewalks, our parks and the beau
tifying of our homes and making it the
beautiful residential city that it is
relying upon the good faith of Port
land that sent the State House here,
and of Maine. We certainly have some
equities to hold it here. But that
would be too narrow a way to view it.
This is not Portland versus Augusta
1t is not Augusta versus Portland; and
would be the last man to stand here
and face these good men of Portland
and by mint or suggestion, by insinu-
alton or by tone. to drop one word de-
rogatory to that beautiful city by the
sea. for no man in the State of Maine
has more reason to love the city of
Portland than l have. l could go
through her streets tomorrow and more
people would take me by the hand than
even in my home city where people
know my faults, and l hope to forgive
them. But in Portland it always
friend. | hope l have said nothing
that even by indirection could be
strained into disrespect for Portland
or her people. 1t is not between this
city that we love, this city that love
and this my home that / love with
love unSpeakable. 1t is broader than
that. You must answer over, Mr.
Chairman. to the great throbbing,
thinking heart of Maine. You will not
find that heart pulsating in it's highest
Christian vigor in Portland or Angus
ia where wealth accommodates and
men decay, but out upon these hills
among your $4,000 farms where mon
and women live near to God. They are
Maine. They are the people Of Maine
They have been wronged in all these
years by your financial policy. Will
you wrong them more? l leave it to
this committee. NonG continued APP
plause)