Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-05

ment Of voters in this state, tnere -
only one course for you to pursue, ana
that is to substitute the Massachusetts
ballot for the Maine ballot.
Mr. STAPLES: Will the senator per-
nit me to ask how long the Massa-
chusetts system has been in vogue?
Mr.. LOONEY: Since 1902.
Now there IS enc objection, and the
only one worthy of the name, which
has been urged against the Massach-
usetts ballot, and that is this: that the
voters do not vote for the names which
are on the lower part of the ballot. The
object of the ballot is not to compel
voters to vote for men if they don't
want to, but it is to vote for men
whom they, do want to vote for; but. as
a matter of fact, while this objection
was to a certain extent valid when the
ballot first regulated the elections in
Massachusetts, they tell me it is not
true now. But, inasmuch as the per-
centage of names which are not mark
ed applied equally to all the parties, it
affected not in the slightest degree the
result BY the terms of the Water Dis
trict charter of Portland, the voters of
Portland voted for trustees on an Of
fetal ballot where the names Of the
trustees,-the candidates, are arranged
alphabetically; and at the election a
a year ago last May on the official bal
lot We're 26 candidates for Water
Trustees, because under the law any
gentleman who receives the names of
so voters to his petition can become a
candidate. The names of the men who
We're elected We're all along the ballot,
four names; and as a matter of fact
the people of Portland had no difficulty
whatever in voting under that ballot
and understanding it's provisions. The
fact that some candidates names were
Oh the top of the ballot and others at
the bottom, did not give the former
any advantage over the latter. The
voters exercised discriminating
choice and We're unaffected in the
slightest degree by the position of the
names upon the ballots; and because
the people of Portland have had prac-
teal experience with the Massachu-
sets system, both in our caucuses
and at our elections that is I presume
one of the reasons why the people of
Portland are practically in favor of the
Massachusetts system. The convention
which nominated the five representa-
tives to the Republican convention
unanimously passed a resolution in
structing their representatives to vote
for the Massachusetts system. After
the ballot law of Maine was enacted
in 1893, the Portland Press which has
oI1 cd Of
ballot reform and of the Massachu-
sets system, said that the evident in
tent and purpose of the trainers of that
ballot was to bring the secret ballot
into such contempt and ridicule that
the people would call for it's repeal. 1t
is true that the full purpose of these
men was to compel the voter either to
vote the straight ticket or to disfran-
chise him if he did not do SO. In this
way they have, to a certain extent,
succeeded. But they have not succeed
ed in crushing out and destroying in
teliisent voting in Maine. The stars
in their courses are fighting against
them. The mind of Maine is still unfet-
tered. Political independence, the spirit
of free inquiry, cannot be suppressed.
This is the Goth, not the 18th century.
The bane of American politics is too
little, rather than too much independ-
ence. Maine should have the best, not
the worst ballot system. The genius of
her people demands it.
1Ir. HASTINGS of oxford: Mr..
President, ] am sure that the Senate
has listened with a great deal of pleas
ure, interest and profit to the very
able address of the senator from Cum
berland. He always brings to the dis
cuSSiOn of questions before the Senate
great learning, eloquence and a thor
ough mastery of the subject at hand.
For myself and the other gentlemen
of this and the other branch of this
Legislature who signed the adverse
report, 1 wish simply to say at this
late hour, without going into the COM
parative merits of the Massachusetts
ana the Maine ballot, we think that
the time is not ripe for giving up our
present ballot and adopting the ballot
recommended and proposed by the IA
vorable report.
We have had this ballot a long time
in this State We have become fairly
familiar with it and it's workings: and
III Spilc VI ltS uelcClS, IL SeeIIltu W US
that the state as a whole was well sat
ished with this ballot and that the
State preferred to keep it. For the
great majority-the great mass of the
voters of the State who always vote
the straight ticket. no ballot possibly
could be devised simpler than this
ballot, which simply requires a cross
i'll the square at the head of the tick
ct. With the small majority, or very
few who wish to split their ticket, the
difficulty of splitting the, ticket is not
great; the manner of doing it is now
well understood; and certainly the
manner of doing it is not more diff
cult, in my judgment, than the man.
ner of voting the Massachusetts ballot
where the officials are arranged in
groups. 1t does seem to me, and think
it seemed so to the other members who
signed this adverse report, that we
should not at this time make the
change. OF course, I understand from
tbs examples to which the senator
from Cumberland has referred, namely,
to the example in Kennebec county
and the example in York county, it is
certainly Sylre, tlr1t Wharayer the yrac-