Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-01-17
Reports of Committees.


| Ing.
Reports of Committees.
Mr.. Dunton from the committee on
judiciary, on bill, An Act to prohibit
foreign corporations from engaging in
the business of generating electricity
| by water power within the State of
Maine, reported that the same ought
not to pass
Mr. Mcbride from the COMMITTEES on
appropriations and financial affairs, on
resolve in favor of the town of Tres
colt, reported that the same be refer
red to the committee on ways and
bridges.
Mr.. Maybury from the same com
mittee. on resolve in favor of the
town of Norridgewock, reported that
the same be referred to the commit
tee on ways and bridges.
The reports were accepted.
Orders of the Day.
The SPEAKER: The Chair will
state that the first business under or
ders of the day is unfinished business
from yesterday, which is the consid-
GRAFTON of the motion to reconsider
the vote whereby the House passed so
much of the order introduced by the
gentleman from Westbrook Mr..
Scates) as related to the matter of MI.
Farrar of Ripley. At the time of the
interruption of the business of yes
terday the gentleman from Patten, Mr..
Smith, had the floor, and he is now
entitled to resume.
Mr. SMITH Of Patten: Mr.. Speak
er, beg the indulgence of the House
in speaking for only a few moments
more on the proposition before US in
regard to the matter of the gentle
man from Ripley, Mr.. Farrar. When
this matter closed, yesterday, ! had
called attention in my way to what |
believed was some convincing author
tiles and statistics showing that these
gentlemen here who have been at
tackled were legally elected and con-
stitutionally holding their seats in this
House of Representatives. | had call
ed your attention to the doings of the
constitutional convention of this State
and also that of the state of MaSSa-
chusetts, placing a construction upon
that provision eXempting from the in
compatibility clause of the conStltu-
ton the term officers; and |
had shown you, gentlemen, that the
constitutional convention of Massa-
chusetts, in which the late Daniel
Webster had taken a prominent part.
had Interpreted the meaning of that
term. | had shown you that the Leg
islature Immediately following the
adoption of our Constitution, compos-
ed of members of the constitutional
convention for year after year. from
1920 to 1925, when the matter was
fresh in everybody's mind, and the in
tent and purpose of that word wero
we'll understood, elected members to
the House of Representatives.
Further than that, desire to call
YOUR attention to the fact that / did
not run it down because | thought
il was more pertinent to use those
cases Immediately following the adop
ton of the Constitution; but FROM
that time down to the present tins
postmasters have been elected in prov
ably every Legislature that ever sat
in the State of Maine. And no voice
was raised, although l assume that in
the 90 years of our State government
there have been seated in this body
as able constitutional lawyers as the
gentleman from Augusta (Mr New
bert).
| desire now to add to what l have
said and to the statistics which
have produced, some additional au-
thorities. l am not asking you to keep
men in this House of representatives
on my say-so. l do not suppose II Is
fair that YOU put men out on the con-
stitutional construction and the say
SO of the gentleman from Augusta.
have the pleasure of presenting TO you'
this morning, letter voluntarily writ
ten by one of the most learned men
in this branch of knowledge that we
have in the State of Maine, PROFESSOR
Little of Bowdoin College and mem
her of the Maine Library Commission,
and without further preliminary | will
read it to the House:
Hon. John A. Peters,
Augusta, Maine.
Dear MIR. Peters: Permit me to call
to vour attention the following reasons
for believing that by the word post
officers used in Section IL, Article " of
the Constitution the trainers of that
document meant the persons we now
term postmasters ard mail contractors.
I. The word post officers though it
is now obsolete, was regularly used
in the sense IF "an officer or official
of the post" from 1863 to 1S43. See New
English Dictionary, Vol. Z, Page 1175. /
In 1920 besides the postmasters there
were many mail contractors who were
regularly entered in the United Statea
Register as government officials. BY
using the one word post-ofticers this
large body of citizens was allowed to
be members Of our Legislature.
II. If postmasters We're not ex-.ll
cepted by this word, how did it hap.
pen that in the Legislature of 1924. so
soon after the adoption of the State