Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-02-27

1 a.. =
body wants q writ or any document
they have to go up to the clerk of
courts office Ia get il, and they don't
find the clerk Of the court there: they
| find instead this girl who is doing the
work of the Office for $500 a year
| That IS the situation, and those are
! some of the reasons upon which nine
! members of this committee hove vot-
| ed Fought to pass on this bill here.
Mr.. BOMAN of Ninalhaven: Mr..
| Speaker, there is one thing i'm regard
| to this matter that appeals to me, and
| that is i'm regard To section seven of
| this bill, in regard to the salary Of
the recorder. The bill provides that
the salary shall be $500 per year Now
you have listened to bills coming i'm
here for increases of salary from every
section of the State, from Judges OF
probate down to recorders of munich
pal courts; and | submit to You, how
long would it be if this salary was es-
tablished before this gentleman will
come in here and want an increase to
$1,000. | have had some experience in
connection with these matters in my
own county; and il seems to me Wheth-
or q man is Republican. Il Democrat
or Progressive he can perform that
duty To the satisfaction of the people
of that county, and we should cor
slider the saving whatever il is to the
county Of Hancock, SO that in two years
from now this man viii not come to
the Legislature and ask for an increase.
The question here is whether this man
is doing his duty, and if he is then I
int ,i.l l4,tt+
MIR. KICKER of Castine: Mr.. Speak
er, am not prepared to make any
speech upon this matter. but after lis
tening to the discussion SO far as one
or two things have occurred to me, and
will take a very few minutes of the
time of this House. a good deal of
stress is laid on the fact that there is
a lady in the office who does the work
/ am a member Of tie Hancock county
delegation and am somewhat familiar
with the question, and while it may be
true that in fact this assistant does
the work, il occurred to me that some
time ago when the present incumbent
Of the office, Mr.. Bunker, was running
for the Office and did not expect To he
elected, that one Of his main argH-
ments was tire fact that these two
offices should he divided and that the
clerk of courts was getting too much
money. II happened somewhat unex-
pectedlY that he was elected. and we
haven't heard so much about that as |
pect of the matter since.
We are simply asking that our clerk !
of courts and the office of recorder be
put back where they were formerly. |
Ie.
who was the most interested in this |
matter. | think the members of the !
Hancock county delegation are inter- |
ested as it is local matter. and it is |
something that we know all about. and |
probably there are not 10 members of |
this House who thoroughly understand |
the situation; and I hope that the mo-
lion to accept the minority report will |
not prevail.
Mr.. WHEELER of South Paris: Mr. |
Speaker and members of the House. | |
no not propose to take very much OF |
your time in a discussion of This mat
ter WHICH, has been characterized as
strictly local matter: but there is one
view of the matter that interests men,
5,ers Of the House who reside i'm other |
sections of the State. and We desire |
to vote intelligently and justly upon |
this proposition. because there are !
pending before this Legislature matters
which relate to ottr courts in other
sections of the state, and these things
somehow or other become interviewer
with each other so that matter re- |
iatlnS To Hancock county NAV affect
thea courts in other sections of the
state. There is pending before the le-
gal affairs committee IA matter in rela-
flnn to the supreme iudicia! court of |
another county, and these matters have
been brought together by reference be-
fore our committee and by reason of
informal discussion of them; and so
say that | am interested and feel
that | have right to be interested as
a member of this House in the DISPOSE
ton of this ease which is now under
discussion
am a believer in this proposition ana
do not speak upon it as partisan resid- |
ing in Hancock county neither do | speak
upon 1T from the standpoint of any DO
litical view because we have had the as
suranee of very honorable gentlemen that
there is no question of politics involved
III this question, and | am glad of that.
@N4''' = NtitA1 tilt People Oh any county
after they have had an opportunity to
express themselves. and after they have
fllled an office with a certain incumbent.
that the burden of proof is strongly upon
those who propose change. and then
you establish beyond a possibility of
DOUBT that the public of that particular
district or county desire a change Il
nave examined this resolve in vain to find
any referendum attached to it. and if
am wrong | would like to be corrected on
TINS point. If the people OF Hancock
county wanted that change | suppose it !
would be fair TO have a referendum to
that county
pelleVe when a court has been estab-
ilshed and an arrangement has been es-
lapllshed as long as this one has, that il
Is not really brand new question of di-
Norce: II looks to me like a question OF
subtraction from this genteman's salary.
am believer in divorce under certain
circumstances. When the parties are
young and frivolous and full of life and
nave different interests ] am, under Ger
tam circumstances, believer i'm divorce
but when an old, decrepit couple come
INTO court after having lived together for