Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-03-23
!, better. ixea than perhaps BY reading the

| amendment.
| Mr.. TRAFToN: Mr. Chairman, the
| amendment which We propose so far as
| the main question is concerned, is simply
! the amendment which was proposed here
| on the floor of the House by the gentle
| man from Ellsworth, except that we
| have put in as a separate section to that
Article nine of the Constitution, the 9TH
| err amendment which we proposed to Sec
| toin fourteen is simply for the purpose
| of making it uniform, that is, so that
| this purpose of building State highways
| may come within the excepted cases for
| which an additional bond issue may be
made. AS section fourteen stands now,
the State debt is limited to 100000, ex-
, cept in certain cases, and We have added
i the building of State highways to those
excepted eases, and that is all
Mr.. Deering of Portland moved that
the report of the subcommittee be ac-
cepted.
The motion was agreed to.
The CHAIRMAN: Is 1t the pleasure
| Of the committee that the report on
the bill, ought to pass as amended
be accepted? Is there anything to be
said upon that subject? The commit
! tee having voted to accept the report
| of the sub committee, it follows that
| they have adopted the amendment.
Mr.. PLUMMER of Lisbon: Mr..
Chairman, l have no amendment pre-
pared here but it occurs to me that II
money is to be borrowed it should be
altogether for the building and not
for the maintaining of State highways.
The CHAIRMAN: If the committee
has accepted this amendment l do not
know as any remarks can be made
upon it at this time, if it is so under
stood that they have so accepted.
Mr.. PLUMMER: What do l under
stand to be the situation?
The CHAIRMAN: l understand the
gentleman from Portland, (Mr. Deer
ing) moves that the committee accept
the amendment.
MIR. PLtMMER: Is that motion
open to discussion?
The CHAIRMAN: The House so
voted.
Mr.. PLUMBER: ! move that we
reconsider the vote whereby we voted
to accept the report OF the committee
if that IS the situation, that it cannot
be amended now.
The question being or the accept
=
the subcommittee.
ali, FL4,s..flst4-. Mr.. Chairman. il
strikes me that the words and main
tanning wherever they occur in the
draft should be struck out and I move
that those words be struck out wher-
ever they occur. The maintaining Of
roads by the State should he done from
.the current revenue; it should not be
II 81.
Of bonds. The bonds are for the build
ing of the roads and when they are
once built they should be maintained
from the current revenues.
Mr.. SCATEs: Mr. Chairman: 1t
does not seem advisable to limit this
thing right down to such d narrow
compass You must give your Legis-
iature q certain amount of latitude,
and of course what goes Into the Con-
stitution cannot be changed; the
whole idea OF the act is for the con-
struction of roads, and it seems i'm
pertant and it did to the sub commit
tee that that word maintaining be
left there simply as a safeguard. Now,
what happened Under our present
law as IL is, today, in the State of
Maine, the State in connection with
the town Will go to work and spend
lot of money for construction. | know
OF one town that built a large portion
of good highways. OF course that has
not commenced TO go to pieces-and
they came up to the highway commits
sioners and wanted to know if some
of their State aid fund could not be
used to protect that road and to pre-
serve that road. What did the high
way commissioner tell them? That
read had cost more than $4,000 mile
and he was obliged to tell them I'M
der our present law not one dollar of
money of which the State furnished
the smallest part could go to preserve
and protect road of which the State
had built about one-half. Now, thai
don't seem to be right, but that is
the condition we have been up against
now under our present law. 1t is not
the intention to have any of that
money go for maintenance, and still
under certain circumstances it might
be advisable we hope it never will
be, but if YOU eliminate that word
maintaining" there can never a dol
lar be used for that purpose. Now
don't let's put ourselves in that po-
sition; and hope the amendment of
the gentleman from Lisbon will not
prevail.
Mr.. PLUMBER: Mr.. Chairman
The object of this amendment, as I
understand it, is to give us a chance
I to get some good roads. If the money
from these bonds can at any time in
the future be used to keep the roads
up that we have already got we can
not get any more. provided, at that
time they see fit to do it,-provided
the Legislature or the people see fiji
to utilize the money for that purpose
at that time. 1t seems to me the con-
dition is practically this: If the town
builds a schoolhouse it may properly
Issue bonds for the construction of
that schoolhouse because the school
honse is going to last good while,
but il would be absurd to issue bonds
of any kind of outstanding obligations
to keep that sehoolhouse painted and
iii repair; that should be provided
from the repair, fund raised at the
annual meeting. The situation is the