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

| voters, ana that preserves ana protects
the ballot must meet with the hearty
approval Of us all; and after the bal
i lots have been cast and after they have
been counted I heartily approve of
| the provision of Section 25 as to the
sealing up of those ballots and the
preservation of those ballots. The
only matter to which | object is con-
tanned in lines AZ and AZ of Section
| Four, on page five of the bill, which
are struck out by my amendment.
| Now, coming down to Section Six,
| ask that that be struck out for the
reason l believe the people at home
do not want it there, do not, want such
I / law. Ii provides in substance that
| within "a hours after the ballots have
| oeen east they shall be sealed up and
| sent by express to the secretary OF State
| rom every cHy, from every town, from
| every plantation. from every voting
| place, and all the ballots used in "A
| state or national election shall find
| heir way thereby into the custody OF
| the secretary of State. do not think
| the people at home want the ballots
| that have been inspected by their
| municipal officers, inspected by their
| city officials, inspected by their town
| clerks from which the record is made
| I do not think the people want those
| ballots to leave home and go to the
| Capital and be out into the hands and
| custody of "a single man or his serv-
ant. I ask that Section Eight be strucl:
out which provides that after these
| ballots get into the hands and possess
| sion of the secretary of State that any
person interested or any candidate may
| inspect those ballots in the presence
| of the secretary of State or in the
| presence of the deputy secretary or in
| the presence of a clerk in the office
| and after that inspection takes place
| being sealed up and marked, and then
| the next day or the next hour another
inspection may take place for some
body else; and then if a question at
| home comes up as. to whether or not
| the record is correct, whether or not
| there is a difference between the ball
| lots and the record. and whether or
not the ballots are the same as those
which We're passed in the election, and
whether or not they have been chang
ed, you have on the one side the Of
ficers at home and you have on the
| other side the secretary of State or
his clerk. / say it should remain as
| 1T is now; the officials at home, the
town clerks and the municipal and
own officers who made the inspection
of the ballots and who made up the
record should have the proof of that
| record by the ballots themselves and
have the ballots in their own possess
sion. and they never should be sur
| .endered.
Now Mr.. Chairman, my amendment
means nothing more than to strike out
of this bill those provisions which pro-
vide that the custodian of the ballots
| Of the people shall be the secretary of
State, his clerk or his deputy, and
leave it in the hands of the people
themselves through their servants at
home TO say that the ballots that they
cast shall be in the hands and in the
custody and in the case of their own
| servants at home whom they have
elected for that purpose And as | sug-
| gested to you before recess, when some
| If YOU were absent the people of
| Maine | believe have more confidence
| nd more faith in the men they elect
| 70 represent them in the municipal Of
| fees. city officials and town clerks
| they have more confidence in those
| men than they have in any one single
| man in the State of Maine, even if he
| is the secretary of State or if he is
clerk in the Office of the secretary OF
State. l call your attention to the
fact that when a deputy secretary of
State having charge of the records of
the State and the returns of the State
| changed them and admitted that he did
| 1t for political purposes-I say that
the npOnla would ha -,
have the ballots that they have cast
which prove the record that they make.
set aside by any secretary of State or
any deputy that may be elected by
this administration or any other adj
ministration that may take its place,
| be it Republican or be it Democratic.
The people at home have an idea that
at the Capital there are congregated
at times great many politicians and
that there are a great many political
schemes enacted at the Capital. and
sometimes they believe there is an at
tempt to steal the elections away from
| the people, and they would rather have
| the. ballots at home even if their town
clerks do occasionally make a mistake
in their figures, not Intentionally or
dishonesty in making up the returns
nave dHOWeu III tnlS Dill all those
provisions and added to them that any
| party or candidate through it's attor-
ney or his agent can have an inspec-
ton of the ballots and have them at
the town clerks Office by notifying the
adverse party What more can you
| ask? What more can you want? But
you cannot make the people believe in
this section that takes away from them
their ballots, takes away from them
| that which is their evidence in the
case and puts them in the hands of
| somebody up here at the Capitol +and
gives them into the care and custody
and keeping of some clerk
| Mr.. NEWBERT of Augusta: Mr.
| Chairman and gentlemen of the COM
mittee, l said at the beginning this after
| noon that this is a good BILL and | still
| believe it to be a good bill | do not
| believe this committee sitting here is
willing TO delegate power to the gentle
| man from Houlton to draft a bill which
| he wants put through here in three
| quarters of an hour. His amendments
| if passed by this committee simply take
| the bowels out of that bill which was