Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-01-18

gentleman from Houlton says this
would create revolution. God knows
We need one. uaughter) When you
found the state of Maine with it's cred
il absolutely exhausted. when You
came In here, when you found its
treasury empty and its warrants float
Ing around like the town orders of
Plantation No. IA with nobody to take
them, we ought to have a revolution
and IL is pretty near time that we had
one. Applause.)
Another proposition Is presented to
us, that when these bills, are all as
sembled here there is going to be
field day and an awful lobby is going
to assemble and in some mysterious
way that lobby Is going to pass what
1t wants and the lobby is going to call
for appropriations for the big cities and
is not going to want appropriations
for the little towns. Now If the gentle
man from Houlton will glance over the
appropriations for the last so years he
will find that Aroostook county has not
suffered much. Maine has been fairly
generous to Arocstook county. There
has been more money from the State
spent for the county OF Aroostook than
lOE any ipuT CoulitltS VI tiit Ntdlt.
am glad of it. The cities as matter Of
fact. do not as rule ask for many
approximations. l cannot recall but one
special appropriation being granted
the city of Waterville. just one, when
Colby University had a building de-
stroyed by fire the State appropriated
$1,000 towards helping them replace
the building. But suppose ! was wrong
about that. Does the gentleman from
Houlton SO underestimate the intelli-
gence of this House that he thinks that
even in the presence of a large lobby
we could not discriminate with regard
to what was right and what was
wrong: | never have had that awful
fear that seems to possess some gen.
tlemen that If the corridors and floors
of the House were filled with a crowd
from the large cities that they would
therefore force mo to vote unjustly to-
ward some little town. think l should
make UP my mind myself when that
field day came. Why should there be
a field day: Why should not this House
do as every other legislative assembly
on the face of the earth does. make UP
its appropriation bill in whole when it
gets to It after suggestions have been
made by the finance committee. by the
Governor, by the State treasurer, the
state auditor and other responsible Of
ticials-make up that appropriation
bill az whole and then resolve, our
selves into committee of the whole
and discuss it section by section and
item by item even though it took two
or three days. If we started on it the
first Of March. suppose we devoted the
whole first week of March to that i'm
portant work and got it ready and
went to the neople with just appro-
priation bill brought within the reye-
nues OF this State. Wouldn't that DC
far better than though we went back
to the old system of giving away 9TH
er peoples money without knowing
how much We were appropriating, and
malSing ourselves popular for the mo-
ment and finally disgusting the entire
people of the State with our prodigality
so that they would return new body
of men here two years from now?
| (Applause.)
MIR. DAVIES: Mr.. Speaker. If the
House will bear with rue for just a
moment. My ideas and those of the
gentleman from Waterville as to what
Ia stump speech is do not entirely
| agree. ] have no desire however TO
| discuss the matter with the House,
| but as some personal reference was
| made to myself, something said about
a conversation which the gentleman
| from Waterville says he had with me
| yesterday, desire to say something
| as to that. For my part, do not re-
| member of the gentleman from Water
VILE asking me If l knew how much
the Legislature appropriated at the
las, session. Assuming that he did
ask me that question. and assuming
that l said l did not know, | do not
think there Is anything strange about
that. should doubt very much
whether any person could state, no
| matter how they might have been
connected with the business of the
/ Legislature in 1909, the exact amount
(which the Legislature appropriated.
Some reference has been made to
the business sense of the order now
pending. No one can deny that the
business sense of the order is all right.
TIE objection / have to the order is
the political sense of it. believe that
Fit puts into the hands of one man
y and l refer to thu gentleman from
Waterville and there will be no con-
tests for the leadership in the Dem
Ocratic party-the power to pass al
most any bill and resolve that he
sees fit l am not the least surprised
that mis- health is somewhat impaired
| after selecting and electing a candi-
date for Governor. after choosing
United States senator who Will propa-
bly, be elected tomorrow. after choos-
ing a candidate for attorney general
and deciding that that candidate shall
hold the office as long as ne wants
hira to and that he shall take office
when he pleases, after choosing a
| candidate for secretary OF state and
| State treasurer am not tine Ieas'
SURPRISED that his health as some
| what impaired. but he has entirely
misunderstood my remarks. wanted
to relieve him If possible Of some OF
/ the work and some of. the care that
iwould naturally be Incident to max
| ing the appropriations of this House
| Something, has been said about the
l . rsoxs,.. ~. N9s6. mo- for reilOya-