Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-03-25

|
self. This is a matter of common knowl-
edge Now l do not believe, gentlemen
of the committee, that the State of
| Maine will have a dishonest secretary Of
State once in hundred years, nor have
a dishonest deputy, nor dishonest clerk
once in a century. We have 10 trust
| somebody in this world of ours: we are
all human; we must trust somebody. To-
day we trust five or six hundred
city, town and plantation clerks. l sub
mt, can we not trust man elected by
the Legislature of Maine is the high
| office of secretary of State? These bal.
lots come to him sealed, and he nor any
one in his employ can touch those ballots
only for inspection purposes. Now any
| Interested party may come to my Office
and demand to inspect the ballots of me
| as city clerk, and l submit them to him.
1 have done it for years. The secretary
| Of State can only do that
There was in this House a short time
ago a man whose integrity cannot be
questioned, whose judgment is excellent
, and whose legal learning is Well known.
! lie was city clerk of Augusta a great
many years before ! took the office i
refer to a man who was a member of the
| Maine Legislature i'm 1909, Hon. Lewis A.
| Burleigh of Augusta and this morning
| in his paper the Kennebec Journal, is
| an editorial on this same bill. ] think
| know who wrote it and | am not sure
but what he wrote it, and he commends
| the measure highly; he commends 1t
| highly as a piece of needed and necessary
| legislation, and he commends this idea
| Of sending all the ballots to the State
| House He has only one criticism to
| make and that is instead of sending
them within "a hours there should be a
| longer period provided for so that local
| men could examine the ballots if neces-
| sary and he suggests Il period of four
| teen days before they are shipped to the
| state House. That is the only criticism
| that Lewis A. Burleigh, for ten or four
| teen years clerk of this city, suggests
| This whole thing, gentlemen, makes for
| convenience in inspecting the ballots.
| Surprising YOU had a close contest in a
| congressional district. 1t is a great un-
/ dertaking and large expense for candi-
| dates to go all through the district ex
aiming packages of ballots in the hands
| of various town, city and plantation
| clerks. | remember a time in this coun-
| ty, in 1906, when we had close vote for
senator and three men with the other
candidates went over this county at
| great expense and almost infinite toll in
/ the hot days of September looking over
those ballots; and 1 remember the can
didate for county commissioner went in
/ to a room in a neighboring city below
us here and found there interested can
| didates on the other side not only in
| specting ballots that the clerk handed
| out but paving over the ballots, and
| they We're on the table and they were
| on chairs and they We're on the floor.
| You never could get that condition IF
things under this inspection provided
| here in this bill in the presence of the
| secretary of State. ! hope. gentlemen of
the committee, that these amendments
offered by the gentleman from Houlton
will be voted down because they take
the very spirit ont of this bill. l say to
YOU that it should be preserved in its
original form and adopted without mate
rial change. (Applause.)
The question being on the adoption of
the amendment offered by Mr.. Hersey of
Houlton, a4 8Y8
The amendment was not adopted
The question being on the adoption of
! section four of the bill as printed,
|
section four of the bill as printed be
adopted.
The motion was agreed to.
The question being on the adoption of
section five of the bill as printed
Mr.. Strickland of Bangor moved thas
section five of the bill as printed be
adopted.
| The motion was agreed to-
The question being on the adoption of
section six of the bill as printed,
Mr.. Scates of Westbrook moved that
the section be adopted. as printed.
The motion was agreed to.
Mr.. SCATES of westbrook: Mr..
Chairman, | suppose under the rule
here or under the vote we have to take
| these matters up section by section.
That was the vote as | understood ii,
was it not?
The CHAIRMAN: That was not the
vote but that was an assumption by
the Chair that unless objection were
raised that would be the procedure.
The Chair sees no objection and I'M
| less objection is made the Chair sees
no reason why the motion cannot be
entertained to adopt or reject the re-
| naming sections.
Mr. SCATES: If there is no obiec-
\ ton I will move that the remaining
sections in the bill as printed be
adopted.
The motion was agreed to and the
remaining sections of the bill We're
adopted
Mr.. NEWBERT: Mr.. Chairman,
| move that the committee now rise and
that the Chairman report to the House
this House Bill No. with the recon-
mendation that it ought to pass.
The motion was agreed to-
| The purposes for which the commit
| tee was formed having been accom-
| plished, the duties of the committee
| We're ended.
| In the House.
| The Speaker resumed the chair.
Mr.. PETERS of Ellsworth: Mr.
Speaker. the committee of the whole
House asks leave to report that it has
had under consideration House Bill
No ., An Act to provide for the use
/ Of 10