Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-04-06

their platform and in their campaign
addresses. They promised a corrupt
practice act one became law. and
now they say here i'm Portland that
il is unconstitutional when applied to
Democrats.
They promised n direct primary law,
hut the people would have none OF
their kind and under the leadership
of Republican representative enacted
one ef their own.
They promised Public Utilities
Commission. and referred il along
with one hundred other measures, 10
the next Legislature.
They promised to enforce the laws
by means Of regularly elected officers,
and proceeded TO make certain that
those regularly elected officers" might
do is they pleased Before election
their candidate for governor assured
the people that if elected he would
see that the prohihaary law was en-
forced to the letter. When he was in
aueurated he said, Every promise
mad in the platform adopted by the
Democratic party and upon which it
waged its campaign must he kept.
There can be no question that II Is
the duty of every official to enforce the
Prnhibitorv Law so long as it remains
upon the statute books
Did he it when he told the peo-
pie before election that he would en-
force il? Did the Democratic party
mean it when it promised in its plat
form To enforce the laws by means
Of regularly elected officers" Did he
mean il when he uttered the stirring
words of his inaugural
His subsequent acts answer. No. His
subsequent words answer, Ne.
The ink was hardly dry on the in
augurdl message before they began To
repeal every law that gave them power
to keep their pledges. They repealed
the "Sturgis'. law. which they had pro-
missed to do They repealed the law
authorizing the Governor To remove q
county attorney who has persistentlX
failed TO perform his legal duties.
They had not promised the public To
do this ! do not know whether they
had any understanding with outside in
terests which We're supposed 70 have
financed their campaign. Some of them
thought the law unconstitutional, but
it is not usual for one Legislature to
pass upon the eonstitutionaliH of The
acts of it's predecessor.
The Governor signed all of these re-
peals without protest, gracefully strip
ped himself of all power To act. ana q
few months later, in the same city oil
Augusta, speaking to the Malne 70
biological Society in reference To q law
that was not enforced. he is reported
to have said; perhaps this law is like
the Prohibitory law. 1t hasn't any
teeth Republican papers all over the
State are bowling al me because l
don't enforce the Prohibitory law. ]
can call sheriff to nae and advise
him 10 enforce the law, but there is
no way / can make him do it
VINO pulled the teeth? He could
have called a county attorney to him
and if need he have appointed his sue
cessor until within the same Il months
be approved the act that saved hlm
the enlbarra ssnent Of being asked to
keep his official promise. And now he
SAYS he never promised TO make
Maine dry, because he was neither
fool nor a hypocrite.
They declared that the State had
been made bankrupt by Republican
administration, and in Il single year
Republican administration, without
undertaking any enterprises for the
States welfare, with nothing to do
except to receive and disburse the
funds as provided by law, the obli-
cations were met and half a million
dollars left in the treasury. They
could not have done less, except they
had embezzled the moneys, and neither
party is charged with that.
The States Finances.
And this brings me TO what | wish
principally to discuss. We have been
supplied during the year, with
monthly statement from the auditors
department containing some figures
and more political argument intended
to convey the impression that the
present administration was bringing
order out of chaos, wealth out of
bankruptcy, by creating resources in
some mysterious manner while the
people slept. The touch of genius APP
peared to be converting air into coin.
But while | felt that they might con-
vert this stuff into campaign argu-
ment. it never has, does not now, and
never can form any substantial part
of legal tender. And when we come
to analy2e the figures we readily see
how yitally their conclusions depend
upon what they leave unsaid.
read in the auditors statement
appended To the treasurer's report for
1911 that the net debt has been de-
creased 1851 20317 ''as against an in
crease in 1909 and 1910 of $l,524,6645s.'
If there We're nothing more to be said,
this would show, and was intended to
show, that the state had been govern
ed more economically to the extent
of S2.41i .96775. This would be a re-
markable showing, so remarkable in
fact that one wonders that it did not
occur to the official putting it out that
its Very magnitude would create sus-
picion.
And when | read it / was curious to
know whether a single administration
has been found that could be given
no more. spend no less, and have so
much more left. / began To study the
details to ascertain whether they had
really done this by exercising true
economies and without receiving more
IL 81 LII.