Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-24
ness and 1t provides that tbev -.

ness and 1t provides that thew .h..
bid in by the land agent for the M
tants Of the State Of Maine. TIE 'a'i'
man suggested that DeForrest Y
would come here next wear I've.
claim for interest. II the gent,em
had read the resolve he would M, l u
made the suggestion. The resoIra
pressly provides that all c,aim.
every kind shall be relinaujshea !.
deed of release by Mr.. Keves ~ ~
he gets a cent for this Claim ',us|
gentleman says that there is a,o,u
claim, small claim OF Mr.. Kima
which appear here for the frs, Nv
The gentleman is incorrect in ~
statement because the Kirnbau ~.
appeared in 1905 I think. at l.o.a
did in 1907 in connection WITH
Reyes claim. and it has been nrssa.. ne
to this Legislature and the prey;ss'
Legislature in connection with ~
Reyes claim; it stands on tho ~. W.
ground. al's
Now as q member Of the tuao,,-
committee / took occasion to ,oor
to the previous history of this Nv
Every word of the testimony h.sa
the Judiciary committee of! 1905 ~.
reported and was in typewriter ,o,s
some "a pages. / took the time N :.
through all the State treasurers 49,,
and examined somewhat into tho A.
cisions of the court. l started in w;,,
a prejudice against this claim h.~
since come to this conclusion th..
there is only one issue in this case aa.
that Is an issue of simple honesty m.
subsidiary issues which the gentler..
from Waterville has raised. the ;ss..
of speculation on the young m.r,.
part and other issues, the issue NJ ~.
young mans negligence in not consr,
ing a Maine attorney, his negligence
in disregarding the warnings of IN.
State treasurer-admitting every IN.
of these propositions you cannot ps,
rid of the proposition of Simple hones.
ty on the part OF the State of Main,
When DeForrest Reyes paid that mon.
ey he did not have any chance 10 %,
any land Why? The deeds that we,.
given to him We're absolutely wasts
paper and could NOT have been anv.
thing else Why? Under the system
OF tax sales which prevailed at tina,
time the State assessors first made
up their descriptions Of the land, they
were reported to thes Legislature. the
Legislature passed the tax act Tha.
tax act was published in the papers
SO as TO give tag owners q chance ia
come in and pay their taxes. and this
was the way in which they We're paid
and this was the method then in vogue
by which these subsequent tax sales
were made. The State treasurer was
bound to take the description furnish.
ed him by the assessors. He could
not tell where the property was sit.
uated. AS far back as the case Of
Adams VS.. Larrabee. as Maine, SIG,
our court decided that State tax
sale was absolutely void because from
the descriptions no man could tell
where the land was n the Goth Mama
Page go, Griffin VS.. Crtppin, the court
say. Number s. S. =. gives no salts.
factory information. The description
thus given is too vagu" tn pass any
title. So in the case Of the Skowhe.
gan Savings Bank VS.. Parsons IS
Maine, 514. Similar descriptions We're
held absolutely void in the case Of
Millett VS.. Mullen, 50 Maine. Page
400. decided the very year before NJ
Keyes made this purchase from the
State, our court reviewed all the tu |
titles and held similar descripi@
vcid. So that year af4
year the state of Maine was offering
for sale, in the face. of decision after
decision of the supreme court running
over a period Of three or four decades
for sale which did not exist
and which our court had repeatedly |
said did not exist; and under thoS
Mr.. keyeS came to the SlaA
OF Maine in response 20 an advertise |
ment issued by the State treasura
to the law which said in sue.
stance that under the Statute he woul
at the State treasurer's office sell anu
convey by deed to the highest bidder
all the interest of the State in 'M
titles to the land hereinafter descro'
ed. 'All the interest of the STATE III
the tracts of land hereinafter descrp
ed" What did Mr.. keyeS in new
York have a right to assume that UNI
meant? He took the defects OF uus
but he had a right 10 as
sumo that that were some tracts
land to be sold and that he could lep
IN the unfinished statements of Stau
officials. 1t was the fault of the law,
the fault of the system, not the laus
of the State treasurer. But he haa
right to assume that there was some
thing for sale there. When our ceu'
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