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

as we did two years ago, freu CiiieiS
Beane of Hallowell. Suppose that 5O
| adult citizens had filed petition with
Governor Cobb and he had seen tit to
remove Mr.. Beane. Do one of you be-
| lieve that any Democratic lawyer OF
krood standing would have taken the
place of the county attorney who
| was thus removed? You know he
would not. No Democratic lawyer
of good standing would have taken
| his place and you drive Syour Governor
perforcc, if he puts man out. to either
go to a cheap fellow in the party that
that man belongs to or to go into the OPP
posite party, and you ought to let him
go wherever he likes. That clause "of
the same political party should be
stricken from your bill.
Take another feature. The judiciary
committee. made up of the best lawyers
| in the Legislature, considered this bill
and reported it as something to become
! law, not as just d part of political
platform, and they closed it by saying
| that your Governor shall appoint the
man who takes his place and You don't
| put in even that the Council shall con-
| firm him. You won't let the Governor
| IT Maine appoint a justice of the peace
until the Council confirms him, but he
| can appoint a county att ,rney without
the advice or consent of the Council.
| For Heavens sake, gentlemen, If you are
going to force this piece of legal maChin-
cry on u.s. take it back into your COM
mittee and read it over again and bring
| in bill if you want one and say that
the Governor with the advice and con-
| Of ba Council UEnn he deems
it for the best public interest to do so,
| remove from Office any county attorney
and fill the vacancy by appointment
| That is all you ned if you mean bust
ness Again it says that the Governor
may make an appointment after a hear
ing Hearing before whom? Why didn't
you provide for somebody to have the
hearing before? Hearing before the
Governor. The Governor gets the
| charge calls the witnesses. has the
hearing. discharges him and makes the
| appointment. Why put in the hearing
| Or else provide u body before whom to
| have your hearing conducted. If, my
| friends. your minds when You framed
| that law had been less on politics and
| more on Legislation, less on who was
elected Governor of Missouri or Mime
| sofa or kentucky and all that sort of
| nonsense, less on Carrie Nation, less on
| the California earthquake and more on
practical legislation, you never would
| have brought that piece of suggested
| law before this Legislature for it's con
! sideration.
| 1t has been suggested here that the
platform of your party bound wou TO
vote for that law. l am talking TO Re
publcans now. ! have read your plat
form and l did not see one word about
giving the Governor the power to re-
| move county attorneys from office l..
said to remove from office any eXecu-
tive officer who was inefficient n his
duty. Why for heavens sake, DO you
pass this one law? If you are going to
follow your platform why don't you Go
as your platform says" Amend the con-
stitution, your platform says, 50 that
the Governor may have power to remove
from office any executive officer. You
cont care to do it, do you? You don't
quite dare to do it. but YOU are going to
start in with d county attorney, and then
tomorrow with sheriffs, and by and by
with one thing and another, overturn-
ing all the presidents of the laws all
the constitutional safeguards that Maine
has to please a few fanatics whom you
think you can hold with you long enough
To win one more election. amy by that
time you will be back to the good old
Bangor plan all over Maine and won't
need them any longer. Iaughtcr.) That
is about the size of the situation, isn't
it? And to quiet the people from whom
YOU take away a right which | think
they still desire to enjoy you give them
a substitute. l find on my desk this
morning Senate bill 800, An Act author
izing towns and cities to elect
fish wardcns in certain cases. naugh-
teri The bill reads. ANY city,
town or plantation in which there, is
lake or a pond that has been stocked
with fish by the State and screened
partly by the state and partly by the
town or by private subscription, may,
at its annual election. elect a fish
warden, with all the powers of other
fish Wardcns WHOSE duty it shall be to
care for and protect said screen"
have no doubt that the public will be
grateful to you for that. that when
yea take away from them the right to
sciect their county attorney. when you
take away as You will attempt to do
llH flSnt 10 select tner sheriff, when
"a try to take away the right of the
Legislature to elect State assessors,
when yOll nave one after another put
all these powers in the hands of the
Governor but have not had the cour-
age to put them sQuarcly i'm his hands
bot put them in his hands provided
that 30 Of your adult citizens ask him
t. exercise the power, then you will
console the people Of the great State
OF Maine by saying, I'VE have given
you 4 new power: you can 90 what
you never We're allowed to do before;
you may elect a fish warden" Gaugh-
ter and applause)
Now. gentlemen. talking in all seri-
business, Cor | have no idea that the
motion will prevail to substitute the
minority report although it ought to-
| nave Just q word more. | was in this,
hall four years ago and | heard the
Cakes law advertised as the one cure
for all the evils which existed in re-
gard to the liquor question They had
found the remedy then and thu House
passed it. l heard the Sturgis law ar
gu"d just as this law is argued today.
as a panacea for all the ills that come
from notification; and nobody discov-