Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-17
stand shah be-how deep the abutments


come next to the building of the
bridge; the selectmen and municipal
officers petition for the building of a
bridge. The selectmen and town COM
missioners go on, and if they, do not
grant the petition, we cannot go to
the courts as we. ordinarily do in the
bight~of it. We have got to go to the
commissioner Of State roads. and then
the two commissioners in adjacent
towns and there, at the end it results
in disa greement and the State road
commissioner is the final arbiter-the
court Of last resort.
Agaia. while a bridge now in exist
cncc. the county takes graciouSly and
the town is left to repair it; but when
the county builds that new bridge, who
is to repair it? Who is responsible
if an accident occurs-if it is faulty in
its construction, and goes down and
someone gets injured? Where does the
responsibility come from the time that
starts to be built as new bridge I'M
der the jurisdiction of the county? The
town had nothing to do with it, They
built the bridge and charged the town
third value. The town has no right
to take care of it. Who is responsible?
Is it the town or the county? 1t would
not be fair for the town because it
had nothing to do with the building OF
the bridge. This great arbiter-this Il
aM''--issues Judgment against man
and he has got to pay it. 1 am op-
posed TO the bill because it creates a
new board. and a way different from
the way VIC have always been learned
to go and which has always been a
good way.
l object to it also for another rea-
son. We start in to repair these
bridges. we will say in our county;
and it is purely a county matter; and
we don't want it up in our county. We
repair and rebuild and they pay two
thirds and the town one-third in the
repair. Now this is our money-all this
money comes out of the same pod. 1t
is II good deal like a man giving his
wife a $40 hat at Christmas so that
she will be very nice at New Years
and give him a box of cigars. 1t is
the same So 1t all comes out of the
same pocket. 1t is the county's money
and it is the towns money, and the
town pays the tax. What is the diff
ference? We are apt to look at this
thing as if we We're to get something
without seeing where it comes from.
We do not repair our bridges with
the care we should use if the county
Is going to ray two-thirds. 1t is going
20 be AL expensive thing. 1t is simply
G county matter and for the county to
determine and / feel like the gentle
man from Somerset county that these
bills are bastards of his. They are
clipped off from his: and if we are go
ing to have bill / certainly should
be in favor of the Donigan bill. 1t is
not called for in our county. And we
should feel that we We're wrongfully
representing our constituents did we
vote for it. I do not believe you have
any right to legislate for York county
and to handle it's money to build its
bridges 1t is the very thing which
they don't want.
Mr. WYMAN of Washington: Mr.
President | can hardly understand
the consistency of the senator from
York. His words had hardly got cold
when he said that the appropriations
for schools could be managed best
where the State furnished two-thirds
and the towns small portion, by hay
ing the cities and towns manage the
Xpenditure-but he cannot apply it to
ridges He also lays great stress on
the depth. What has depth to do With
it. / will say for his information that
80 states have a county bridge bin
His own county now is contributing
this year some $4,000 to the support
re I,,;,l Sc
the part Of York county and I presume
by what he has said here that ne adj
vocates that and / must commend him
for Il.
Mr. HAMILTON: Mr. President: I
anl glad that he recalled that matter.
We have always been willing in York
county to help everybody else. If we
had the money in York county that
we have voted for the counties in the
east. we would have paved roads,
roads and bridges with
over them.
Let me say further that l take the
same position on this that I
do on the school law and the
road law, and that with the
read law on the trend it is now, in 10
years there will be no town roads, nor
roads through the towns.
When you make your towns prosperous
you make your State prosperous.
/ am opposed to it for the reason that
we want each town to care for it's own
business, build it's own bridges and be re-
sponsible to the people for their bridges,
and be responsible to the State whoever
passes over them. And we don't want
anyone else to interfere in our town mat
ters
The pending question being on the mo-
ton of the senator from York that Sen
ate Document 37S minority report can
Act relating to the construction and
of bridges be indefinitely
postponed, the yeas and nays having
been called for, were ordered; and the
vote being had resulted as follows: Those
voting yea We're Messrs. Colcord, Emery,
Icwel, Hamilton, Hastings, Hill, Howes,
Kellogg, Lowe, Macomber. Mullen, Rey-
holds, Shaw Smith. Staples d5). Those
voting nay were Messrs. Baxter, Boyn-
ton, Donigan, Eaton, Irving. Looney. Mill
iken, Minott, Therriault, Warren,
Wyman G2).
So the motion prevailed, and the bill
was indefinitely postponed.
On motion nv Mr. Milliken of ArooSfoOls