The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1907-05-16

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AS to Fair Play

AS 10 r All pay
think the REPORTER has entirely
overlooked one point ia al this talk
about town hall and for that reason
| want you to let me tel T0ur readers
some things about the Pair PLAY.
concerning which We hear 50 much
from the speakers who stood at op-
posite corners Of the stage at the last
town meeting. and from some Of their
supporters. 1t was their claim at the
time and it has been talked since,
that the business done at the meet
ing of May was not Pair the
reason assigned being that only a
minority of the voters were PIE ,ent
and especially that the farmers were
not in attendance or, if they were in
the hall at first, that they went home
before the final votes were taken
| do not understand how anyone
could know how those not present IN
the hall would have voted. A not
unreasonable conclusion would seem
10 be that they would have been
divided in about the game proportion
as those who did cast their ballot on
the various propositions, but it seems
TO me rather idle to speculate a. 70
what the citizens who failed to attend
would have done, as they all had the
same warning and the same oppOrtu-
nifty TO attend, and / have too much
confidence in the judgment and sense
of fairness of my fellow toWnsmen TO
believe that they would place the re
sponsibility for their absence on any
shoulders but their own. The Legs
lature of Maine and some other
bodies have the power TO compel the
attendance of absence members but
this is not the case with town me,9-
ings and while those who do assemble
to transact the business of the town
may deplore the fact that a larger
number of qualified voters be not
present, they have no control over
the matter except SO far as their own
presence is concerned
Now our friends who have been i'm
PEELED by their spirit of fairness to
call another town meeting with
view TO undoing the work done at the
last, took pains to specify in their
petition that it should be called at 10
O'Clock on Monday morning, the day
and the hour that would be the most
inconVenient for the workers in the
manufacturing establishments to at
tend. 1t would seem that a true spirit
of fairness would have led them TO
have the meeting appointed on Sat
urday afternoon when most of the
factories are closed and when the
largest possible attendance could
have been looked for. 1t is not to be
expected that the whole ground will
have to be gone over in debate as on
the previous occasion and the whole
matter should be settled in two hours
at the most. | can understand that il
may convene the farmers slightly to
have the meeting in the morning, but
while they are entitled to the same
consideration as other classes they
should not, and ! do not believe they
do, ask that larger number should
be Inconvenience as to the time of
meeting on their account.
In one view of the case our municipa
officers are at fault in naming the
hour of 10 a m. on Monday in the
warrant. They were in no way bound
TO call the meeting at the time asked
for by the petitioners. They are now
reported as saying that they supposed
themselves bound to call the meeting
at the time mentioned in the petition,
and that they have since discovered
this is not the case. If the present
board of selectmen were made up of
men who had served but a portion of
term in such capacity, their lack of
knowledge on this point might not be
wondered at, although the conditions
necessitating a special meeting and
their powers and duties with regard
to same would be matters about
which they should early acquaint
themselves in any case, but the mem
beers of the present board have served
many years, and have been reelected
many times on the ground that their
long experience made their services
and familiarity with all town matters
specially valuable, and from them, to
say the least, the town had a right to
expect knowledge of their duties in
regard to calling meetings and better
judgment of the public convenience
than was manifested in the present
instance.
If the above suggestions do not
shed some light on the loudly pro-
claimed spirit of fairness, by reason
of which this extra meeting has been
called, they at least serve to relieve
my mind on the subject and l thank
you for the use of your columns for
this purpose.
A TAXPAYER.