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

ana ought not to pass.
Mr.. MONTGOMERY OF Camden. Mr.
Speaker, move the acceptance of the
minority report, and Gentlemen of the
House, I will say in making that mo.
ton, though the minority report ont of
the 10 members of the committee is
signed only by myself that I do it with
great pleasure and with MANY bright
antlclpatlons of being supported nv
yoa In SO doing. With pleasure, because
this bill as appears upon it's face is one
that is non-partisan and that we NAV
we'll consider on it's merits and mass
our Judgment upon it as in our wisdom
we snail think best. The bill is to give
the power to the Governor to remove a
county attorney who persistently fails
10 perform his duty. Now that covers
the general scope of the duties of a
county attorney, and in the language
OF 1t, as l say, it is non-partisan. and
IT Is for that reason that am pleased
to make this motion. I am pleased for
aEOlher reason, because when consid-
cred IN that way by the committee of
which have the honor to be one thew
would approve of it, considered in a
noIl-partisan spirit they would an
prove of it. Why? Because they are
not delinquent in the study of the his
tory OF this state. they have proved
themselves to be scholars in too MANY
Ways for that. They must know that
IN all the history of this State it has
never been considered necessary to re-
move a county attorney fer any such
cause, that there has never been any
far If r
clude, and 1 conclude with pleasure to-
wards them. that with the kndest feel
Ing in that respect they join with me
today in this report that the bill ought
not to pass.
1 say that there is not now any rea-
son for such a bill. Think for a mo-
mcnt is there any county attorney in
this State today persistent1y neglect
ing his duties as a county attorney in
the general affairs of this State? If
there were such, the fairness and intel
llscnce of the members of the commit
tee and the members of this House
would have such a person before this
BODY at once to be impeached. If not,
we ought to go home ourselves; if we
are SO delinquent in our duties we have
no reason to pass laws to remove 9TH
ers from office. If there is such
county attorney in this State today
persistently refusing or neglecting to
perform his duties we should act at
once, and we would act. So up to the
present moment there has never been
a call for it; none of them have been
removed: there is not now a call for it.
I come to you with perfect confidence
in this matter as far as that is con-
cerned
But, gentlemen, presume there may
be feeling that for some political rea-
son this law is necessary, not because
they would remove county attorneys by
any means but because the issues to
be submitted to the people as to which
party shall remain in power make it
necessary that we should have this
law. But, gentlemen, does that Idea
have a controlling influence with the
rest of the people of the majority par
ty of this State? Is that an issue that
you all want to put up in this matter?
Do you want to depart from the his
tory of the State so far as to do that,
disregard the laws and what has taken
place in this State before? Because if
ply applies to the enforcement of the
apple, simply to those laws. and if
those laws nave been tried before and
found wanting and of no. use on the
statutes whatever what in the world
do you want to enact another one for?
And such has been the history in this
case. To support that statement / call
your attention to the law which | think
was passed in 1872 and winch
remained on the Statutes of
this State until 1903, l think
that something over 80 years, and in
all that time you never saw any oc-
casion tc enforce it and when the stat
utes were reformed it went Of OF the
statutes altogether, nobody thinking Tor
a moment that it was of any use what
ever in the laws Of the State. l refer
TO Section 81 of Chapter u of the Rc-
vised Statutes of 1883 which says:
County attorneys shall cause to be
summoned promptly before the grand
i,ry. all witnesses whose names have
been furnished them by any sheriff or
his deputies, as provided in the pre-
ccding section, and shall faithfully d.
rect INQUIRIES DcloIC lhtI 'c'y ''''' '.
olaticns of law, prosecute persons IN
dicted, and secure the prompt sell
t,nce Of convicts. Whenever the Gov
crnor is, after investigation and hear
ing of the parties. satisfied that any
county attorney has wilfully refused
or neglected to discharge the duties i'm
posed upon him by this section, ne
shall remove him from office, and nil
his place by appointment.
For 30 years that law has been III
the statutes of this State and nothing
has been done with it: it became Oh
solete and useless. 1t seems to me that
some people here who have failed to
read the laws and understand them
have become suddenly awake to the
idea that we ought to have it. l VIII
put it just as easy and as fairly as l
can. 1 don't want to say that they are
ignorant Of the history and laws OF the
State in the past but they nave Tor
gotten, forgotten because there was no
ose made of il. Gentlemen. if we have
officers elected by the people who are
persistently neglecting their duties to
such an extent that they should be re-
moved we have sufficient law Tor
it. The Constitution says-and Whcn