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

debate on this matter and 1 don't want
| to waste any time, but since the mat
| ter has been discussed so fully ] will
sny just~a word or two about it. mere
| IL to show that my bill was not in
troduced out of pure wantonness and
without any knowledge of the condj-
| ton of this office. In 1905 the office OF
| q. assistant attorney general was created.
Frior to 1905 it was the duty OF the
attorney general to certify all OF MS
corporation papers just as 1t is today,
! and I suppose if any of them came
| from a foreign country and had to go
| through the hands CT consul, pre-
sumo it had been done in 1908 and 1904.
| Up to 1906 nobody ever suggested that
lt.ere was any need of an assistant
| attorney general. The attorney gen
| e! al did all of his work all right anu
! although in the few years between
| 1901 and 1905 the office amounted TO
good DEAL back Of that time when the
| fees were small, men like Wllllam L.
| rye and Thomas B. Reed ana LII
ci ius A. Emery and various other men
of fairly good standing Qaughter) o'u
| the work of attorney general Wltnoal
any assistant and only received $lo"o
a year. In the early days 1t was oh-y
a thousand dollar salary but was ralsea
| to $500 after a while; and l doh
think anybody until this morning ever
learned that it was in the interest CT
| economy that the expense OF the once
has been raised to $500 from $500.
| Now appearing before the legal at
| fairs committee Mr.. Philbrook did say
| Il at the assistant attorney general was
an extremely busy man and that he
| thought the office ought not to be va
| Gated; but | want to suggest to THIS
House that appearing before the taxa
| ton committeeman I do not mean
to accuse Mr.. Phlbrook of bad faith
| IN the matter-appearing before the1
| taxation committee within two days
f; Mir. Phlbrook assured the taxation
committee that he could take on IN
| his office the entire duty OF collecting
| the collateral inheritance taxes for the
| State of Maine and collect the direct
| inheritance taxes, if we imposed di-
rect inheritance tax, without employing
any new men in his office, because
| Judge Coolidge had introduced Dill
| for a tax commissioner to collect thoSe
taxes. 1t seems to me if there is lels-
| ure enough in that office to collect the
collateral and direct inheritance taxes
| for the whole State so it would obviale
the necessity of having a tax commits
sion, that there mast be some time IN
connection with the duties of the office
when both the attorney general AM
| the assistant are not busiiy employed.
| The taxation committee without Tor
| maly deciding have about reached the
point where they were going to leave
| the collection of the taxes where they
are now, in the hands of the county
| attorney under some arrangement.
| There may be times when both the
| attorney general and the assistant are
| away from Augusta trying murder
! cases / don't know about that.
If that is true the members
of the legal affairs committee
| should not argue that the law COM
PEELED them to be here all the time,
because 1 submit that even an assistant
attorney general could not be in Au-
gusta advising the heads of the de-
| partments and still be down in Wash
| ington county trying a murder case at
| the same time. They cannot have both
ends of that argument very well. Now
my position in regard to that matter
| is this, that no lawyer who is fit to
go about this State trying murder cases
| in strange counties in the place Of To-
| cal county attorneys can be employed
| for $500 a year, unless he takes the
position OH the understanding express
or implied that it is only stepping
stone to the higher office You We're
| fortunate four years ago when this
Office was created in getting a first
| class lawyer to serve the State at low
| pay, because he lived near here, lie was
| not much incommodcd in taking on the
work and he saw in it means to q
promotion which he received and just
| ly deserved; but you cannot expect
| that to happen right along and you
| cannot get much better than a good
| clerical man for that salary, for no
good lawyer in Maine will leave his
practice and move to Augusta for a
salary of $500 year. The man who
will do it is either charitably inclined
| or else he is earning very little money
| in his practice.
| Now one word more You have vot-
| ed $350,000 to start the enlargement
of the State House, and had I known
| that the House was going to do that
i don't know as I should have pressed
this bill before the committee even be-
cause In order to occupy all of the new
| room which you will acquire during the
| next two years it will undoubtedly be
necessary to keep all of the useless Of
| fee holders you now have and possibly
create some more. daughter). But
while that addition is pending and to
relieve the crowded condition of the
State House until it is completed I
would suggest that bill pass. so that
there may be vacation at least in
the office of assistant attorney general
during the year 1910. and if it is then
found that nobody in the State will
take the office of attorney general car
rying as it does a salary Of $1,000. if it