Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-24

stockholders Of the DeForrest Reyes
CORPORATION, Limited. UIaughter). l
have no doubt in regard to the absolute
integrity and intelligence Of your Gov
crnor--our Governor. haven't any
doubt but if that resolve through the
action of this House and the Senate
chould reach the Executive Chamber
that one man who cannot be seduced by
honeyed words through friendship to
do that which he believes to be wrong
will so arrange it that the $4,000 which
we are asked to contribute for the bene-
fit Of our friends about the State House
will be vetoed. / have no question
about it, for know that the man who
stands for real economy, and whom
some members Of this House have tried
to assist in that direction, is not going
to be satisfied with chopping Off five
hundred dollars from a State officials
salary and the same morning pass a
matter carrying $4,000 which goes into
the hands Of gentlemen who are inter-
ested in carrying out the moral welfare
Of the State Of Maine in this direction.
Now, what do you do? If you pass
this resolve and allow the stockholders
in the DeForrest Reyes Company TO de-
clare a dividend this year, next year the
Legislature meets and a claim for in
terest comes in; and / want to ask any
man in this House if DeForrest Reyes is
entitled to the principal. then why in
the name Of Heaven isn't he entitled to
the interest? IF he gets his principal he
ought to have his interest, and the next
Legislature two years from now can
declare another dividend. In the mean
time the stock will be sold freely on the
curb as it has been sold about the State
House here this winter.
Now, going further; I say when you
open that door you open it to every one
of the 900 claims which may be made
up tomorrow down in the treasurers Of
fee. Why, DeForrest Keyes has been
here three times. Who ever saw be-
fore the resolve in favor of Herbert T..
kimball? That is new one that comes
in this year, and it comes like the Keyes
case, and four years from now Il third
dividend and n more substantial one can
be declared on that stock when these
other claims are dug up in the treaSur-
ers' Office and brought before you. L
have had passed to me. as / suppose
all of you have-and l cast no
reflection upon the gentleman who
passed these things around because
love the lobby and would not do any,
thing to injure the feelings OF the lobby,
! don't believe in that should hate
to sec the leading men in the State of
Maine going around these corridors
with badge marked "DeForrest Reyes
claim against the State CT Maine"
don't like it. l like to talk with them
all, and l expect to join them some
time when the time comes that / can't
get votes enough to come here TO the
House. But, as | say, there has been
passed around a typewriter statement
gotten up by some of the gentlemen,
saying that there are only $4,000 more
than can be gotten from the State Of
Maine anyway if we do let the DeFor-
rest Reyes claim in and thus open the
door. / say to you that 4 State ofiiGi al
who examined into TIE matter care
fully has informed me within four
hours that he has calculated IN o3S
such claims in the treasurer'S Office.
and has not gone clear back yet. Now.
l don't know what each one OF these
amount to, but ! say that if you pay
one of them you ought to pay them
all, and if there is any reason for pay
ing the principal YOU should also pay
the interest. you should pay the cost.
you should pay the expenses. and if
they have a moral claim against the
State beginning back III 1890 every 9th
er fellow will appear and make his
claims. 1t has been said that he didn't
no a, tty,o 10, Ava
much of anything. 1t has also been
soid that some of the land was under
water, and l want to speak about the
argument. Some of it was under wa
ter. Why, good heavens. if you bought
a tilnber!and township anywhere in the
State of Maine some of your land would
be under water. OF course it is. There
isn't one of the cumberland Townships
but what has pond in it. 1t has also
been said that the descriptions were
defective. Couldn't he read? He was
% years old. and to be sure he was
young; but he had in someway ac-
quired $4,000 and he comes down here
into Maine and l suppose he could
read his deeds and tell something about
the descriptions. They say it was
wrong and that in the descriptions the
State was not telling him anything
and that by the descriptions he could
not locate anything. For heavens sake
didn't he know it when he read that
deed? He knew that there was tax
that somebody inside Of year in order
to clear up the cloud on the title which
he had put upon it by buying the tax
deed would come to him and pay him
his money, and 10 per cent. or even 20
per cent. interest that the State al
lowed. I say, gentlemen of the House.
he took his chance, and if they re-
deemed the amount he got his money
and got his interest. and if they did not
redeem it he got his land. and he got
it for three mills on the dollar, and he
only had one chance out of 333 times
to break even. I don't believe in it and
think it is a bad precedent and it is
q bad bill. and l am going to tell you
that I think it is a pretty bad propo-
sition when great many of the men,
bers of this House are asked to vote
upon bill not because it is meritori-
Gus but because it is going to help a
friend who Is engaged as attorney in