Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-26

price had differed in value and that
instead of the large piece they were
getting a small piece.
4 Now, the original bill as presented
by me was that the city should have
the right by eminent domain to take
ice from the lakes of Lewiston. and
the river, and that is all the way the
citizens can come in competition, as
this trust owned all the shore rights
along the Androscoggin river for more
than two miles above the city and all
the available rights of Lake Auburn,
and they have even gone so far as to
take the Little Androscoggin, the
rights upon that; and at that hearing
it developed not only that the price of
ice was high but also that they were
being il-treated by the drivers of this
trust What did the opponents offer?
They didn't offer anything. To be
sure they had two lawyers who stated
their case, honorable, upright men, and
still one of them had told me previ-
ously a day or two before that l must
not blame him, or something like that,
that he was lawyer and he was APP
pearing as paid man. l don't think
he believes in the trust any more than
| L
is an able lawyer What do we know
about this lobby and what this trust
has been doing here since this hear
ing? We have had men on the floor
of the House going around and shaking
hands and tucking a cigar in your
pockets, as they have perfect right
| to do. We know OF the open House
which I am told has been conducted
at the Augusta House night and day,
and Mr.. Speaker, l won't go any fur
| Their than that in regard to TINS maj
ter, but we all know that there mas
been many paid attorneys for this
| measure since the matter has been
| discussed here.
Now, Mr.. Speaker and gentlemen,
| would like to take you with me TO an
other scene; l would like to take YOU
to some of the laboring people IN the
| city of Lewiston. people who only SET
| seven or eight dollars d week and
| where they have little ones dying on
their cots from cholera infantum ana
| such other diseases, as many phys!-
clans will report to you, and VINO are
not able to have ice. Why? Because
provisions are high and they have TO
| DENY themselves of some of the luXu-
ries and this prohibitive high price OF
ice was the reason they We're not al
| lowed to have it. Their foods were
souring and the children who were
as dear to them as our children are to
us. l have no doubt, many OF them
have died from just this lack of ice
which they ought to have had. AND
no one in the city of Lewiston, Mr.
Speaker and gentlemen, was ever
heard to find any fault when we had
competition, when we had the two ice
companies, but when they Joined to-
gether to form a trust, the very first
year that they were together the price
of ice was doubled-not perhaps quite
doubled in price but in the amount
which they gave us. They admitted
at the first hearing that the price had
been raised considerably. They offered
no excuse whatever; they even did not
put one man on the stand. Why? Be-
cause they were afraid of being asked
questions l did ask one of them a
question in regard to how much profit
they had made during the year, but
their attorney said Hold on, you need
not answer that question: And the
reason these men were not put upon
the stand was because they dared not
answer the question. We are not here
Mr. Speaker, to save the lakes OF
Maine; we are here to save the chill
dren of Maine, that they may occupy
these same seats at some time in the
future that we are occupying today.
Who do we find in this ice business?
My friend. Mr.. Sawyer, who was here
two years ago not to save the lakes
of Maine but to get a stronger hold for
this water power company and de-
stroy the lakes of Maine. The same
man has been before you this year
and got the bill through by lobbying
to dam the lakes of Maine, and he
came very near damming this ice
business. He is the president OF this
company, and | don't know but he is
the president of the Union Water
Power Company. The Union Water
Il Power Company is in league with him,
and he is one of the prime movers in
the water power company, and he is
: the president of this ice company. In
one sense this is an ice bill, but it is
a peoples bill. Mr.. Speaker and gentle
men, and it is q labor bill, for it af-
: fects the laborng people of our city Of
Lewiston more than any other class.
Many of us can take ice even if the
price is high. but those people can
not. This bill is also humane bill.
The first offer OF the city was to take
the ice from the river and the lakes.
paying sewer damages and all other
damages. and to furnish ice to the city
free of charge. At that time this
trust through its attorneys said
that we were trying to rob them. That
was one of the excuses, and another
excuse was that it was unconStitution-
al | consulted many eminent constI-
. tutional lawyers such as Judge Foster,
who said the only way that we could
, find out about the cOnstitutionality of
it, and it had never been decided,
was to get this bill through
this House and then to see whether
they would put on an injunction. and
| have no doubt but what they would
do so, and then let the courts of this
state decide it. One of their Objec-
tons was that we were to ruin them
and that matter we have tried to
overcome in this way: We have made
new draft of this bill, and offered
!; to take the shore rights and their