Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-18

county that is as large as the Stat
| of Massachusetts; | come from coun-
ty, gentlemen, where every single mer-
chant in the county is for this bill;
come from county where there are
great shippers and they are all great
body of men standing as unit for
this bill--the shippers of Aroostoul.
county are one of the best and largest
organizations in this State, and con-
troll perhaps more freight than any
other organization in this State, and
as say, they are unit for this bill;
l come from county where every
newspaper with one possible eXcep-
ton is for the passage of this bill, and
| do not at this time wish to go into
that; / come from a county where
every farmer is for this bill: | come
from a county where every represen-
tative and every senator is Tor TINS
BILL with the possible exception of The
member of this committee on railroads
from the county of Aroostooh, and he
has been deceived; l come from
county, gentlemen, where people gave
to a railroad the sum of $4,000 a mile
to build that railroad through the
county, starting at the southern end
of the county in a farming community
and running 10 miles north into still
a farming community; | come from
county where we depend upon getting
a living by the shipments of our agrl-
cultural products and our lumber
where our farms producing hay and
potatoes need market; ! come from
q county where the great question be-
fore my people is, Shall we get an
electrical system in the northern part
of the State OF Maine that will con-
meet with the Canadian Pacific Kali
road and ship our freight over the
Canadian Pacitic?" Today the Cana
dian Pacific offers us better facilities
than does the Bangor & Aroostook
Railroad.
You have been regaled here in this
House by petition after petition for
mileage bill, practically saying that
the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad shall
give q mileage book that may be trans
ferable. In past years the Bangor K
Aroostooll has been every day gather
ing in mileage books which they have
simply stolen from those who have
travelled upon the railroad. l tell you,
it is big profit, and they have, gath
cred in hundreds of mileage books
every year for which they have paid
nothing What does it mean the mo-
ment that becomes law? What VIII
) they do? They will charge just what
they please for a mileage book, and
YOU accomplish nothing. If you ac-
complish anything under this bill
which | have introduced in the way OF
regulating passenger tolls-if you ac-
; complish anything, l say, and you can
not accomplish anything under that
: little thing that went in to amend Seq
: ton 1. but you will accomplish it under
the bill which l have presented or one
} that is before the judiciary committee
now. And l say to you that the peo-
pie of northern Maine are demanding
that a great railroad that has no rival
that they shall have the railroad
commissioners of your own State, your
own servants, look into the fares aud
tolls Of that railroad, and say whether
they are right or wrong. Now.
NV people may be all wrong, and my
people may be deceived. the farmers
| If Aroostooll county may be all de
.civcd, the shippers of freight in
krooStooli may be all wrong; they may
have no just complaint, but YOU will
never satisfy the people of Maine until
YOU give them chance to have 1T in
vcstigated. and a railroad that is do
ing q square business ought to be
willing to stand an investigation, and
if not then tnCy ought to go out of
business and let somebody else come
, in. I say to you that you are paying
your railroad commissioners salary,
and when you have passed only yes
tcrGay a bill increasing their expense
account so as to have $4,000 for eX-
pcnsoS that the least we can do is to
say to our railroad commissioners DO
something; listen to the complaints of
: the people and hear what they have to
say and take their evidence in writ
ing, and take their documents and their
papers and when you have done that,
: call in these common carriers, the
servants of the people. the public ser
vice corporations and tell them these
are the complaints of the people and
ask them what they have to say. to
answer Them, and when they have
done that then your railroad commits
Sioners shall say what shall be the
rates for passengers and for freight
upon the railroads. Is anybody to be
j. injured by that? No, gentlemen, not
4 bit of it.
| say that the question before you
this morning is whether the railroads
OF this state shall own the people Of
the Standardization the servants shall
drive the people. or the people control
their servants. 1t is a question that
has no politics in it. but it means
everything to the people Of this State.
| have said these things to you this
morning because | felt that | did not
want 10 go back to my people, to meet
the people who think they are wrongcd
and who feel that the representatives
they sent here have not done their
duty. and Who feel that the Legisla
tuge of the state Of Maine has turned
Il 'tt af ear to the claim that they make
t;2t they should be heard. Do you
want the people of Aroostook county
to como here to the Capitol to appear
before the railroad commissioners and
- ing their witnesses and books? You
caunot have that done and it is not
practicable You send your State as
SCISSORS UP to my county to examine
into matters connected with that de