Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-03-14

responsible for that treatment. do not
undertake to state. The committee as a
committee acted in good faith. and IT
was expected that the other people who
had the matter in charge before the
committee would also act In good faith.
Now, Mr. Speaker, l have absolutely
no feeling in this attack upon the report
of the judiciary committee: / have at
tackled committee reports before now my
self, some of the reports which have
come from my own committee. and that
matter does not concern me in the slight
est. ss
Just for one minutes I wish to call
attention to this matter and the trouble
is that they have got the emergency
clause attached to ii. and | want to call
attention for just about minute if 1t
is not out of date to the emergency
clause In the Constitution. The Constr
tuition says: IAN emergency bill shall
include only such measures as are i'm
mediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety
Now, | lay this down as proposition
| will assume for minute that my
friend, the gentleman from Augusta tMr
NewberD, who sits on my right may IN
the not distant future perhaps be Gov
ernor of this State-and he would not
make very bad Governor 'either-and
I will assume that | was Il candidate for
appointment as Justice of the supreme
judicial court and will state gentle
men. notwithstanding reports to the con
trary. that I am not a candidate.
Mr. NEWBERT of Augusta; / will
appoint you. Uaughter.) -f
Mr.. SMITH tcontinuing); Now. assum-
ing that the gentleman from Augusta
CHR. NewberD was candidate for Gov
ernor and that | was a candidate fof
the Office of justice of the supreme jul
dicia court, and he should put a propo-
siton up to me something like this; MIR
Smith, is the matter of the passage OF
the Bar Harder. automobile bill-is that
a matter which affects the public peace,
health and safety" and supposing ]
should say Yes" what would the an
swer of my friend be, assuming him to
be Governor? Why. he would say: "Mr.
Smith. il that is your idea of constitu-
tional law. and constitutional eonstruc-
tion. IL that is your idea as a lawyer.
/ guess ] will hunt around and find
somebody who has got different notion:
of the supreme judicial court who has
any such loose ideas concerning con-
stitutonal law and he would be abso-
lutely right about it. itze r
Mr.. Speaker. If anyone should come to
my office and put the proposition up to
me as a legal proposition. asking for an
answer and who would be Willing to
pay for it. ] should tell him. undertake
ing to tell him soberly and seriously.
that this matter of this Bar Harbor au-
tomobile was a matter which taffected
the public peace. health or safety. he
would simply laugh at me and say:
Smith. YOU had better change your
business: you had better become a
plumber" or something like that.
What reason are YOU going to give. IL
you vote this emergency clause when
your boy or Your girl who may be in
terested in this proposition. what an
swer are YOU going to make when they
say: PA, in what way did that auto
mobile affair down TO Bar Harbor affect
the public peace health or safety.
What answer are YOU going TO givef
Now. l have talked with half dozen
different members since this matter
came up. and some OF them have tod
me they We're going to vote for II. and
/ have asked them what logical reason
they had for supporting the contention
that the emergency clause should be at a
tached. There is no answer. kvery@
member knows that the public peace
health and safety of this .lStgf>ftal VA at2S
affected in the slightest ~ mi
is now on the Spea kpsss table. i; l!l
Now. the gentieiaaau fTpii1 Ii n I'm h n
sherman. that power behind fne 41<zi
here. stated in his speech fofis VINES
l recollect it. thafAtf ttey o11k not M 4 z
the emergency clause sonaebo1y IN Z /:
ing to buy a referen51lir1 buy n INT a
10000 electors of the state ~ ~ II S( *
a referendum. What q the I'LL
gentlemen. of referendun1 IN \ a
Dor? s5s'stsA47
Mr.. SHERMAN of Eden: Five cents
a vote.
Mr. SMITH: guess that is about
il. and | guess you are capable of buy
ing them, too. if the electors arr an Z
sale II is curious proposition g65tzs.x
tlemen. whether the people of the Stxte
of Maine are in the market to be bei313StsSI
by the millionaires who come to
llarbor. The suggestions is an unworth
one and IL ought not for a moment to-
be considered. do not believe for onn41
moment that the electors of Maine. 40
600 of them are in the field ready, to +
be bought by the gentleman from Bar
Harbor (Mr. Sherman) or by the mil
lionaires or by anybody else.
| think, gentlemen. the real emcrgen-
cy which is troubling the gentleman
from Eden chr. Sherman) is the ref
erendum itself, aud he wants us to read
into the constitutional provision that if
there is any danger of a referendum
then that shall constitute an emergency
and the makers of the Constitution
which included the Legislature and the
people of the State of Maine did not
put any provision in there. As has been
stated. the very idea of the referen-
dunn was to allow the people to pass
upon measures which come from the
Legislature il they were dissatisfied
with the legislative action.
Mr., Speaker. | am aware that it Is
OF no use to discuss this proposition at
any great length. and every member of