Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-04-07


| that when you have. decided it YOU will
do it in such way that everyone OF |
you before he leaves for home will meet
| again that kind old man and shake his
hand more pleased and more honored |
| than he will be at ineeting HIM once
more. $tt
thank YOU very much indeed for your
kind attention. Applause),
Attorney General WILSON: Mr.. Presi-
dent. Mr.. Speaker, Gentlemen of the
Convention:
! AS has been stated by everyone who
| has taken occasion to address this con-
| vention, this is a solemn duty which the
members of the two houses of the Legs 4
| lature of this state are called upon to
| perform in a proceeding of this charac-
ter. and l know that the hour is getting
| late and ] shall not occupy your time at
| great length.
| Now ! want to comment just briefly,
| before | enter upon a discussion. on the
| questions that it seems to me the men,
hers of this Legislature will consider
when you decide upon this question that
/ is presented to you. The duty which YOU
and have to perform, gentlemen, is one
| in behalf of the people of the state of
Maine. Now when we are called upon tn
perform duty of this kind it seems to
me that we ought to rise above those
petty and lower elements in us that
sometimes cause us to ignore and look
! upon violations of the law, perhaps as a
joke or in a sighting manner
The question of whether or not any of
You gentlemen in the past have commit
ted some misdemeanors or violated the
! laws of this State. it seems to me ought
not to be taken into consideration in full
filling and performing the kind of duty
which you are called upon TO Perform in
case of this kind. 1t seems to me that
you ought to rise aboye +, that dsert of
thing, that question, q whether or not
any of you may have Sometime violated
the Constitution Of the state. or some of
the laws of the State There is higher
duty that you are called upon to perform
and in which YOU ought to exercise the
better elements of your nature because
you are performing a duty for the citi-
zens of the whole state of Maine.
Now in these proceedings in which YOU
are acting, technically termed an add
ress to the Governor of the State, the
Senate. one of the branches of the Legis-
| lature of the State of Maine, has pro-
eeeded to summon one of the public off,
GERS of the state before the bar of these
two Houses, and to ask him to show
cause why he should not be removed
from the office which he holds for GER
tain causes which they have alleged in
this resolution.
Those causes are, as they are set forth,
gentlemen, and l want to call your at
tention to them briefly, that John W.
Bailou, sheriff of Sagadahoc county, has
since the first day of January 1913. since
he began holding his present term of
office. wifully or corruptly refused or
neglected to perform the duties REQUIRED
OF him as such sheriff, by section SO of
| chapter % of the Revised Statutes of
this State.
4 Well now, gentlemen, what are the
duties that Mr.. John w. Ballou is called
upon to perform as sheriff of the county
OF Sagadahoc, by section SO of the Re-
vised Statutes of the State of Maine?
| Ills duties are these, gentlemen. That
4 he shall diligently and faithfully INQUIRE
into all violations of law in his county
ana institute proceedings in cases of
violation or supposed violation of law
and particularly the law relating to the
Illegal sale of intoxicating liquors and
the Keeping of drinking houses and tip
ping shops. gambling houses and
, houses OF i'll fame, either by promptly
entering complaint before a magistrate
. ana executing the warrants issued there
, on, or by furnishing the county attor-
ney promptly and without delay with the
names of the alleged offenders and of
the witnesses
Now those, gentlemen, are the duties
that Sheriff Ballou undertook to perform
when he took his oath of office on the
first day of January last. Now you have
alleged that he has wilfully or corruptly
neglected refused to perform those
duties.
Well, now, it is pleasure to me- gem
tlemen, and I have no doubt that it is
pleasure to every one of you, and will
be a pleasure to the whole State of
Maine, and to the many friends whom
all of us know that, Sheriff Ballou has.
that no one of us thinks or ever uid
think l trust that Sheriff Ballou has
been eorrupty negligent. or has re-
fused to perform the duties with which
he was charged. -
think none of us have any feeling
that Sheriff Ballou has corruptly me-
elected or refused to perform these
dulles but, gentlemen, he did have Il
solemn duty placed upon him to- per-
form, ana in these days, oiigentlemer
especially at this timew hen the anes-
ton of the enlargement Bof the ofaws
of the State of Maine.i takes Hsnah Il
prominent part in all of our social
matters, the question of whether any
officer in this State is wilfully ne
eleeting to perform the duties imposed
upon him by the statutes of the state
must appear to you, when you recog-
nize the conditions existing in the
State of Maine as 4 matter of great
| importance to the citizens of this
State, and any little petty question of
whether any gentlemen here are en-
gagged in any of the rooms down here
in the City of Augusta. in technical
violation of the laws of the State--be-
cause all of us have some elements
of our own. perhaps, of which we wish
we We're not possessed-it is not for
us to consider. but when we are con-
sidering the interests of our great