Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-27

ty of IPenobScOt: There is a county that
outside of the city of Bangor and the
immediate surrounding towns of Orono
and Old Town, is a rural county. the
Grange bill gives them $4,000 extra
school money; our bill gives them $4,000
That is better for PenObScot, isn't 1t?
Take the next county, Piscataquis: The
Grange bill takes from Piscataquis,
from the great /cities in Piscataquis.
$500. You leave poor old rural Piscat-
aauis $500 worse off than when you
started because you are trying to help
the country schools. What do you
think of that? You never figured it in
that way, did you? You never looked at
Piscataouis You said the Grange bill
was going to help the little towns and
that the committee bill was going to
help the cities. Is it fair that Piscata-
quis should pay $500 towards support
ing the schools in ArOostook? I don't
think so. I have been through both
counties and I found no cities in either
county. I do not believe there is a
man from Aroostook in this House who
wants to pass a bill that takes one dol
lar out of Piscataquis to help support
the schools in his county. We could
not relieve Piscataquis from the whole
burden and the committee had to COM
promise with those fellows who wanted
to help the schools so much in order
to get our bill through, and our bill on
ly takes $1,000 from Piscataquis. We
help them out $500. We did the best
we could for them. and we cut the APP
preparation down to $1,000. Now take
Sagadahoc county where they never had
any industry but the ship building and
that only exists now by reason of the
enterprise of the Bath Iron Works. The
Grange bill does not give the county of
Sagadahoc one single cent, not penny;
but we are trying to help the poor cOun-
ties and the poor towns. We give Saga
dahoc $1,000 under our bill, that is the
difference. Somerset county: Here is
county without a city in it. a county
that is rural and county that has only
one or two big towns, such as SkoWhe-
gan, Fairfeld and the gentlemen from
Somerset here have urged upon our COM
mttee and upon the members of the
House privately and in caucus, and 9TH
er ways. that this bill was going to do
an injustice to the rural towns, and yet
bill the county get $4,000 for distribu-
ton among the rural schools, while the
committee bill gives it $4,000. Who is
looking out for Somerset? Take the
next one. Waldo,-rich Waldo. $500
under the Grange bill and $4,000 under
ours. Which is the best for Waldo
county? Washington, a poor county,
gets $500 under the Grange bill and
$4,000 under the committee bill. and yet
men say that we are trying to rob the
poor county of Washington. We give
them $500 more than the Grange bill.
York county: $4,000 under the Grange
bill and $1,000 under the committee bill.
Now Mr.. Speaker and gentlemen,
will challenge any man on the floor of
this House or in any other public place
to correct these figures. excepting that
they are round numbers of course
but correct them in substance. Men
will do it in hotel corridors and go
out around behind the door somewhere
and tell you that these figures are all
wrong but 1 challenge any men to cor
rect them in any public place where
| can read his figures and let him
read mine. What is the difference?
For every town that gets anything I'M
der the Grange bill we give more, for
every town that loses under the Grange
bill our bill makes it lose less. Why?
Because we take $4,000 from the wild
lands more than the Grange bill, and
distribute that as a leveler, leVeling
up the inequalities that are caused
by the half mill tax. This amendment
offered by the gentleman from Bremen
is the Grange bill. There are just two
between these bills. Our bill
gives more money to every country
town. Our bill takes less from every
city that pays in more than it takes.
That is the first difference. The sec
ond difference is that we take $4,000
more from the wild lands than they
do Is that wrong? 1t may be. If you
are acting on the proposition that
mill and a half is too much tax for the
wild lands, then you want to vote for
that amendment. If you think the
wild lands ought not to be taxed that
mill and half in fairness and JUS
tice you ought to vote for the amend
mcnt and when you do it just recall
that the attorney for the wild land
owners, the gentleman from Skowhe-
gan who spoke before the committee.
Mr.. Goodwin. said to us that they were
willing to pay that additional tax of
three mills. He said az first and then
said 3. Well. we gave them the Deasy
tax bill. which is mill and a half and
we put the other mill and a half on
here. and if the concerns which Mr.
Goodwin represented. and they are the
big progressive lumber concerns of the
State. were willing to stand that raise.
and so stated in public, then it seems
to me we should have no hesitation
about imposing that tax upon them;
and so. if you desire to save the wild
land owners of the State $4,000, vote
for the amendment. That is the first
proposition. If you think that they
ought to paw this tax then I think you
ought to vote for our bill.
But some of the gentlemen have
gone little further, and they say
the danger of our bill is that is is I'M
constitutional. I say to you that when
the friends of the Grange amendment
and the friends of this bill sit down
ard figure right they will find just one
thing separating them, and that is the
question of constitutionality. When
my friend from Rremen learns that