Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-16


pledged beforehand I don't know to
whom he refers-possibly one is my
self. Ii that be so 1 say that it is abb
solutaiy not the fact. I have seen that
bill Just once, glanced at it casually
While I was not born in the town of
York 1 have lived there a good many
years and know it's condition. I hap
pen to know the position of the gentle
man from York in regard to this meas
ure and in regard to many other meas
ures which interest the town of York.
happen to know that this road was
laid out by the selectmen of the town
of York and that the town of York re-
fused in town meeting to build the
way and that an appeal was taken to
the county commissioners and against
the strenuous objection of the gentle
man from York. they ordered that way
built That is the status of the case. AS
any lawyer should know, no munich
| cipality and no individual can go into
the tide waters of the United States
until they have authority from the fed
eral government. 1t is simply to get
that authority, such as you grant in
the case of every wharf and every pier
| and every other structure which goes
| iTtO tide waters, that we come before
| the Legislature at this time. That is
the only interest I have. There are no
crooked or devious ways in this mat
! ter. The bill was introduced by Sen
ator Hamilton of York and referred
| to the committee III the regular course.
| The only trouble that has been made
| has been made by the gentleman from
York
| Mr. ROBBINS of Fort Kent: Mr..
| Speaker, on behalf of the committee
on ways and bridges l would say that
we had a hearing on this matter and
after an exhaustive hearing the COM
mittee unanimously voted that the bill
| ought not to pass We were asked then
| by one member of the committee from
Portland to have this referred to the
| committee on legal affairs, not raising
| the point that there was legal ques-
ton in it, and we refused to do so. For
| some reason, l don't know what. that
| report was not put in. 1t was held up
| by the chairman of the committee and
at the last meeting it came back to
us to our great surprise And then the
| motion was carried, partly on account
| of many of us not being personally in
| tercsted in the matter. but I may say
that the sentiment of the committee
| was unanimous that the bill ought not
| to pass and we saw nothing that
| should carry it to the legal affairs COM
| mittee.
Mr.. ROUNDS of Portland Mr..
| Speaker, l happen to be one of That
| committee on ways and bridges. 1 be-
| lieve it was a unanimous report L
have voted in the minority on that
bridge business about all the time
| The most that voted on that bridge
proposition anyway were five mem
! hers: it was three and two. and two
and three right along; and the rest sat
there like dummies and never said a
word G.aughter) That is what the
concenSus of opinion of the committee
on ways and bridges has amounted TO.
Now this is legal question. 1t is not
a blid2e question: there is no bridge
about it, It is just going over a dyke
that is in United States waters. and
that dyke has already been built. NOW
ali | said at the time was that l
thought it was right that legal COM
mittec of this Legislature should con-
slider that question and know what was
right, and 1 did ask the committee TO
vote with me and I did not see any
objection and I supposed 1T was
unanimous vote; when man sat still
and did not say anything l supposed
he voted for it; therefore / supposed
it was unanimous vote. My position
is that some of these legal gentlemen
should decide some of these questions,
and therefore I think the proper place
for this bill is to go before the COM
mittee on legal affairs
Mr. CHASE of York: Mr.. Speaker
the place where they propose to bullo
this bridge across tide waters is an Old
mill dam. Nobody had any night 70
build anything there. That was grant
ed in old Colonial times for a grist
mill and it has remained there since,
and now they propose to build TINS
across tide water. Every legal gentle
man knows it is necessary to get an
act of the Legislature to give anybody |
a right to build across there. ThesH
two or three men in York "s'I for this |
thing in order to be able I" put up 70 |
the town the question o. building q |
road which is going to cost s25,0oo or |
$4,000 There is no legal proposition |
about it. 1t must be granted by an act |
of the Legislature. The position | take |
is that the town of York has not asked |
for it, does not want it and protests |
against it. This matter is perfectly |
plain. The fact is that they propose to |
ru,l this thing through this Legs |
lature and they have tried all |
kinds of schemes to get it through. |
/ say it would be an unfair PROPOSE |
ton to give the town of York an all
thority which it does not want and pro-
tests against having, as unfair as it
would be to give authority to the city |
of Portland or Augusta or Bangor or
any other city that did not want it.
Mr.. ROUNDS: Mr.. Speaker At the
hearing it was demonstrated that the
men who paid the taxes in the town
of York are not the voters of the town. |
The people no pay the taxes go there |
in the summer ana spend their money |
and the town of York wants to take |
that money and live on 1t through tho |
winter and they don't want them to |
have the least thing there. 1t is so in |
.ve"y town on the seaboard; we find |
it in the town of Falmouth and all |
along the coast that way. that the back |
part of the town has the voters but |