Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-04-03

pay our taxes for school purposes we
want to know whether it shall be dis
tributed according to the way this bill
distributes it. or whether it shall be
distributed as we say, according to law,
and that is according to scholars, no
| matter where they are found, whether
in my town or in the city of Portland,
| or in Aroostook county-not accord
ing to valuation-and that is the great
question which is agftating this State
today and will agitate more and more
as it wears along, as sure as there is
| Heaven. I say that we have a right
| to ask the supreme court, which is
capable of discussing it. They do not
need the aid of lawyers to discuss a
constitutional question. They are capa-
| BILE of deciding this question and it is
| a proper order which he has put in,
| that the court should be asked to state
| to the people of the State of Maine-the
working people-the men that have
scholars in the State of Maine-whether
this is correct or not-whether it is
constitutional or not, or whether not
only this year we have to submit to it,
but in the years as they roll along we
| shall have to submit to it. We want
| to know now, so as to know what post
| ton to take. There is to be an election
| and we want to understand our position,
and we are going to understand our po-
! sition.
Mr.. WHEELER Of Cumberland: Mr..
President: I think very much Of the
| argument Of the Senator from York
might more properly have been made at
the time this bill was under considera-
! ton.
| The Senator states that the court does
not need the assistance of lawyers in
| considering constitutional question,
and that it does not want their assist
| ance. I fear that the Senator from
York has not carefully read the opin-
ions which the court has rendered to
| legislative inquiry. do not think there
has been a single opinion, during the
| last ten years at least, in which the
| court has not emphatically protested
against these inquiries. They have ex-
| pressly stated in every case that it IS
| very difficult for them to determine a
case without the assistance and investi-
| cation of counsel on both sides-that it
| is from the conflict Of the opposing
| counsel that the court is able to see the
| light of truth. He is not correct in his
statement as to the attitude Of the
| court
| I am not going to argue the constitu-
| tionality Of this measure. In fact, I
am going to be frank with the Senate
| and say that I have some doubt about
! it myself; but I have yielded to attor-
neys who are much better able to decide
| the constitutionality Of that matter
| than I myself, and I may say to the
| Senate that attorneys affected by this
bill, after full and careful investigation
and study, are coming around to the
| conclusion that it is absolutely constitu-
| tional; and those attorneys would not
| have the courage or the time to present
| this matter themselves to the court.
The Constitution Of the State makes it
| the duty Of the Legislature to require
| all the towns-not the unorganiZed
| townships but the organized cities and
| towns-to provide for the education of
| the scholars of the State. Is it not
reasonable that the State, placing this
| duty on the towns under the Constitu-
| ton, may relieve the towns upon whom
| the duty is placed, bear certain part
| of the expenses which they otherwise
would be obliged to assume? I can see
no reason for the passage of this order
at the present time.
| Mr., HAMILTON of York: Mr.. Presi-
| dent: In the case in 1872, no attorneys
| appeared and 1 do not know of any
case where they did, that affected the
public rights in the State of Maine. If
a question should come up before the
court upon any particular subject which
would affect the rights of individuals and
| the public, you would see vast differ
ence Then it would be heard about
| from attorneys on both sides. But you
| understand this affects the rights of
the people Of the State, and being a
right of the people of the State, that
provision in the Observation-Disclosures
| you call it a solemn occasion or not-I
say it is solemn occasion whether you
call it that or not-they have a right
| to ask the court and the court will
grant their opinion-not by argument Of
| lawyers, by any manner of means, but
so that the people could go before them
not paid attorneys, but anybody can go
there. See the unreasonableness Of this
proposition. 1t is for the people to go
before the court-not the attorneys. The
attorneys may differ, and the senator
from Cumberland says that he don't
know what the attorneys are going to
say about it. But we want to know
whether it is correct or not, so that we
may know what position we shall take
in the future. / say that the people want
it, and that the constitution is open to
them to go to the court and the court is
presumed to be capable of understand
ing the situation and Of giving their
opinion as they did in 1872, without a
hearing from any attorneys-and that is
the provision of the constitution that
we may go just as is requested in this
order introduced by the senator from
Washington, Mr.. Eaton
That is the position which I take.
take no position here as a lawyer, be-
cause l am not a practicing lawyer, but
7 have some ideas of common sense, and
Z have some idea when I read the Con-
stitution what it means and nobody
wants lawyer to interpret the Ten Com
mandments, because we can read them
and so can anybody read that consti-