Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-05-20
Chief Justice Fuller Is an
0mnivorous Reader.
Big Debate Expected Upon
Duties on Pulp and Paper.
Congressman BurIeigh Is Looking
After Pension Matters.

eCldl).-CHlel JUSTICE ulIeI VI LILY
supreme court, a native of Augusta, Is
said to be one of the most omnivorous
readers of all the men holding office
under the dome of the Capitol. He j:
constant patron of the Congressiona
library. Few days go by during the
year, when the chief is in town, that he
does not send over for a few books.
These are not law books. The CHIEF
has his own extensive law library anC
then the supreme court has library
upon which the justices draw Wher
they want books of reference pertain
ing to legal questions. But the chic.
has been for many years an extensive
reader. He goes out but little and at
tends only those functions where his
presence is officially expected or re-
quired. The duties of the court, OF
course, keep him well occupied but
since the United States circuit courts
were established the justices of the
supreme court are not driven as hard
as they used to be. There is some time
for leisure and Chief Justice Fuller i'm
proves it by reading a wide range of
books. He is therefore quite as well
informed about literature as he is upon
law, which is saying a vast deal, for
in legal lore he is one of the most pro-
found men upon the supreme bench.
When he goes to Maine in the sum-
mer, the Chief Justic takes a consign-
ment of books along with him and he
supplements those from time to time
during the summer months from
sources available in Maine and near
Bar Harbor. He is especially well in
formed on humorous literature. In
quiet way the chief is lover of good
humor and jestfuI conversation.
The court will be adjourning now IN
a few weeks. 1t is well up with its
docket and following an old, time
custom will adjourn in June till
October The justices take some cases
along with them as a rule, when they
start on their vacations, and work out
their decisions so as to be ready for the
conference when the court assemblies
in the autumn.
For a man &c years old Chief Justice
Fuller is in good health, his mind is
as keen as ever and his physical in
frmities are few. With the adjourn
ment of the court for the summer he
will have completed II years upon the
bench as chief justice of the supreme
court.
Quiet has come in the campaign here
print paper, in which Maine industries
are greatly Interested For while it
was one of the. big things one heard
about daily around the Capitol. There
We're men coming and going constantly
on errands connected with that
campaign. Finally a very thorough
canvas of the Senate was made, show
ing a probable majority for the duties.
The margin was none too much, but
would suffice, and on that showing the
advocates of the duties have been rest
ing, seeking rather to hold what they
have than to gain new converts.
There will be considerable uneasi-
ness, however, right up to the time that
the vote is taken and that probably will
not be for two or three weeks. The
Senate is now occupied with other
schedules, talking about iron ore ami
glass and white lead. There have been
days and days of debate on all those
ground wood pulp and print paper Were
verted from them for a bit.
There will undoubtedly be a big de-
bate upon those duties, which the
finance committee has agreed upon but
has not reported The Western Repub-
licans are preparing for a big on
slaught They will insist that the New
England pulp mills can make pulp, at a
smaller cost than the Canadian mills
and that the help that the New Eng
land mills get is largely from Canada
any way. The Maine and New Hamp-
shire senators will be ready to combat
those propositions with figures and in
all probability there will be q high old
Shindy before vote is reached OF
course the prairie states, that have
very few trees and would not know
what a pulp log looks like have no in
terest in building up an industry that 10
as far away as Maine and New Hamp-
shire. For their purposes the pulp
mills might as well be in Canada or IN
Alaska. They want duties on the
articles they produce, but not on the
articles that New England produces.
In spite of opposition it is believed
that Maine will come out of the tariff
scramble pretty well. The State will
not get all that different citizens have
asked for but, as far as possible, all
will get protection that will keep OUT
foreign competition.
Representative Burleigh has been
spending several days during the past
week at the pension office. At a table
in one of the corner Offices on the
second floor he has been going over the
papers of considerable number of
veterans, residing in the Sd Maine
District, who, for one reason and
another, have been unable to get their