Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-04-14
MAINE LEGISLATURE.
CONTINUED from Page Tenn

or of the second city in the state, VIII
all the forces and power that has beer
arrayed against him,-if the time ha
come when such a young man is TO b.
stricken down in the Legislature Q
Maine because he has net sued on
scire facias writs soon enough. fas
enough to suit some outside critic, theI
your government of this state is reach
ing n critical period. / read with some
alarm Il day or two ago an editorial II
a Maine newspaper where il was sug
gested that all the 16 sheriffs OF Miami
should place their designations IN thf
Governors hands SO that lie could ac-
cept them when he chose, and remove
them when he chose. and that if he re-
moved them, his appoimtees should g.
through the same performance, in othei
words, that the people of Maine should
voluntarily give up their constitutional
right to elect sheriffs and pass II over
to the Governor, and make the sheriff
office an appointiye one. | read taal
with alarm I say because II showed
to me tendency of mind, DRIFT OF
public sentiment and a giving up oil
the right which the public have long
enjoyed. and always ought TO ENJOY
and transferring those rights ane re-
sponsibilities to some central authority.
Now you come to the county attef-
neys case. If 4 man elected county
attorney, who is carrying out his busi-
ness as he sees it, doing the best he
can in the best way that he can, get
ting along as well as he can i'll HIS pro :
fessienal werk,-if because that pro-
fessional work does not suit some ny
percritical person, he must be brought
before the Legislature. and if perchanee
he has not conducted his business just
as some other lawyer would conduct
it. he must be removed from office and
someone appointed in his stead.-then
pretty nearly your last vestige OF pop
ular government is gone. II would De
carrying it a long ways. too FAR and 100
long
confess 10 you that when this case
started / supposed the prosecution haa
some sort of case. l could not cont
ceive of their bringing Mr.. Hines mere
TO be tried, bring this charge against
him, and Keeping you and all ef US
here while it was tried out, unless they
had some SORT of a case. 1t was a muen
heralded case and at the lobby of the
State House and of the Augusta House
clear down to tea time last night there
were malicious people moving around
saving before this case gets through
there are going to be some terrlpis
things shcwn That has been kept up
right along. There probably Is not =
nan of his age in Maine who has been
slandered and abused during the last
he VIM II Hines
has,-I say of his age, l am IL years
cider than he isl doubt If there IS
another | doubt if there ever was one
of his age in the State of Maine VINO
has been abused as he has i'll the last
three months, because when | was MS
age had not become so active IN poll
tics. You have heard good deal,-yon
have heard from his opponents, from
his unsuccessful opponents because IN
Mr. Hines own home where they Know
him they have a way OF voting Tor flm
and backing him up. You saw assemb.-
ed here pretty nearly the Whole bar Oh
AndEoscoggin county, Republicans ana
Democrats ready to go on the stana
and say a good word for this young
man, except for the ruling of the Chair
which brought their evidence within
the limit of simple statements of what
he had said, and of course it was non
sense TO go ahead on that line. TO give
any information as to his work is ruled
out. You saw that whole Bar, the old
or members and the younger members.
standing here. You saw that he was
not afraid to bring before you his grand
jury men, the men who know more
about his work than all the DR.. Leaches
and Mr. Berry's and all the rest OF
those people that you could pack III
this room if you all went out and gave
them the whole roem to come in to. he
was not afraid to bring them and nave
them cross-examined. You saw the dep
uties go on the stand. They were ready
to testify that promptly they talked
with him and he with them on each one
of these cases. And | Will say To You
il you will confne this case and your
mind to the legal evidence, and God
knows | have been confined TO the
legal evidence in trying it, if yeu
will confine it within the limits
of legal evidence and ask yourselves,
has anybody proved that during the
year 1913 William II. Hines has been
guilty of negligence or guilty of wilful
refusal to do his duty, you will nave 10
say no. You can't say anything else.
Your verdict ought to be unanimous.
There ought not to be any question
about it; there ought not to be any
party in 1t; there ought not to be
anything in it except to hurry up
and get 1t in. You ought not to hang
on this case. i enjoyed your exer-
cises this morning. / enjoyed them
very much. II has been my pleasure
TO participate in such exercises on
four different occasions in this House.
| remember the session of 1909 when
| was here as member, and when
my friend, Mr.. Hines, was here as a
member, and he sat across the aisle
from me.
/ thought when you We're carrying
on what we call the love feast this
morning how four years ago he and
participated in the occasion. | re-
meiaber that there was no man in the
House who was more beloved, no man
who was more respected. He was
only % years of age then, and there
was no man who took a better OF
ADLER part in the work of this Legs
lature. / know when we parted thef
/ felt that he had before him a bril-
liant future; the future promised :
good deal for him: and | believe th;