Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-04-10

WHO VIII say TO them nay? This body
or any other body of rightminded men
hardly will. Who will say them nav?
saw in the press, this morning. n
statement of the feeble effort the coup-
Sci Tor Mr.. Moulton had made to pre-
serve such rights as we believed he
had, without avail. And another of the
wise men said that we had no other
court to appeal to. My friends we have
ire court which is the court of last re-
sort to all matters pertaining to gov
eminent, a court greater than this :.
court greater than the supreme court
OF the United States at WASHINGTON
the court of the people The court of
public opinion, where all wrongs in
the end are righted. And you cannon
afford to enter any decision here that
VIII be overturned in that court when
the sober second thought of the people
OF Maine has had a chance to get to
Work, ana When instead of being in
vested with arbitrary power, men, Of
fetal citizens of Maine, living quietly
at nome with your neighbors. come tn
| think.
You nave power to do wrong. You
nave no idea I think of doing wrong:
10 intention of doing wrong. hit Won
| nave TO be aware sometimes a little
when You have power that you do not
use it ill advisedly
remember that the great questions
| involved in these proceedings in tha
| long run are not settled here in the
heatod atmosphere of the State House
III the last moment of the session They
are finally settled in the cool calm
judgment of the most intelligent elec-
torate on the face of the earth tba
people of the State of Maine. And to
that court appeals lie from any action
taken mere, SHOULD your action be adj
verse TO us. l pray You not to take such
action, that no appeal be taken hut
that your action here, should il finally
be adjudged by the final court. may he
adjddged to be right.
Let me come to some of the detail.,
in this case. Let US see what Won F, sl,
of a sheriff, for upon that rests the re-
suit CT this case
/ take it that you would not impos
sibilities of him. take it that even if
| IN the Statutes and the Constitution of
Maine there are clauses which place
upon sheriffs impossible duties, YOU
| would not ask him to perform them oil
ask for his removal because he did not
perform them, because yCu would ac-
conplish nothing by SO doing. | think
| you would ask II there were impossi.
bic things for the sheriff to do that he
| would be excused from performing
| them. Hence l take ii you only ask the
sheriff To perform the duties put upon
him by the Statute as fairly, as honest
~ and as reasonably and as we'll as ar
honest man acting intelligently could
perform them. | think you would al
agree with me in that.
1t has been said, / think, perhaps
not IN these proceedings, but in pro
ceedings preceding these, and it i.
proper to quote the Statute here for il
has been referred to. that these pro
ceedinss are brought really unde
| Chapter IL of the Laws of 1905. Chapter
Al of the Laws of 1905 is a repetition
of Section SO of Chapter 20 with the ad
dition of what is known as the Oakee
| law. / will refer to the Cakes law brief
~, If l do not forget TO do 50, a few
| moments later.
In Section 60 of Chapter % we rea(
this. clause: "Sheriffs and their deputle.
and county attorneys shall diligently and
faithfully inquire into all violations o.
| institute proceedings in cases of violation
or supposed violation of law, and par
ticularly the law against the Illegal sal.
of intoxicating liquors and keeping drink
| ing houses, etc.
Now there is the amendment of thai
l have not referred to, the amendment
of 1906 That is another law altogether
| This is the portion of the law upon
| which this resolve is based. Now note
'.Sheriffs and their deputies and eouats
attorneys shall diligently and faithfully
inquire into all violations of law wthiT
their respective counties, particularly TIL,
prohibitory law" But as to the viola
| tons of that statute, if the sheriff or hi:
deputies diligently and faithfully inquir,
into the violations of any law within
| their respective counties, would you hold
for moment-now be fair about it
would you hold for a moment that a
sheriff ought to be removed from office
if it was shown that he had not dill
| gently inquired into all violations of Wa "
within his county?
Mind you, from the point of view OF
the prosecution. that does not mean that
he would satisfy the law If complaint
was brought to him that there was nc
trouble about. From the point of view
of the prosecution, it il the sheriff's duty
to go about the county either by hi:nseli
or by his deputies, and find if he can,
| search if he can, for violations of the
prohibitory law. If that is true, then II
is his duty to have either directly or
| through agents, to have diligent inquiry
made as to all other violations of law,
not examining cases, not going with
| summons, but searching for the commits
sion of crime.
Now you do not ask that of the sher-
if. You never did ask it of a sheriff.
and you never will outside the time when
you are sitting in convention In the city
of Augusta. Let us see, there are other
crimes and msdemeanors in Maine be-
sides liquor selling committed. We have
laws against various things, various
sorts of crime. For instance there is a
| law in Maine against adultery. That
crime or misdemeanor is punished in oar
courts at times, and when complaints
are made of course the sheriff goes about
| and gathers evidence to convict on such