Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-06-25
"Buyins and Selling"

ness 10 get up petitions for a referendum
on the public utilities act, although no
saying by whom he IS empioyeu, wiz, re-
referendum petitions for the purpose
suppressing them is without doubt
crime and punishable by law, ever
though there is no specific statute feiae
ing to the same
II is absurd i'm the first place 10 asser
that any one is buying up petitions ina
have been secured by Mr.. PIPER or an.
of his paid agents for referendum OF
the public utilities act. for those whom
the law was intended TO benefit and vii
benefit have neither the money nor tn
inclination to seek TO suppress petition:
in This way but even if it were done i
is a question whether there Is very mucf
TO choose between buying petitions IN be
half OF referendum or buying them fol
the purpose of preventing one.
There is ON popular sentiment In TIM:
State against the public utilities law ane
there has been no voluntarily uprising
of the people. The corporations are op
posed to il and for reasons that are very
apparent, and they are willing to pay
TO have ii annnlled. They would have
opposed il before the Legislature but
they did not dare to do so openly. sc
strong was the sentiment In favor of IL
Since then they have found few who
We're willing to make political capital Dy
striving to defeat the law and ii is quite
the money to secure the signatures IN
their petitions. We say that 1t Is quite
apparent, for someone has done II and
there Is no one else. who Is sufficiently
interested to go to that pains. Securing
names i'm this way is as We have said, in
violation of the spirit If not the letter of
the referendum law and II is pfostitutine
il TO an unrighteous and unfair use.
1t may be wrong TO buy petitions that
the corporations have paid for or are
willing TO pay for and there may be a
law against il as Mr.. Piper says. but buy
ing them for a referendum as the cor
porations through their paid agents are
doing or buying them up and suppressing
them in order to prevent referendum
are about on a par. However. as We said
at first, it is absurd to say that any one
is paying money for suppressing any of
Mr.. Pipers petitions because those whom
the law will benefit and who want the
law have no money to spend in that way.
As for getting the names in the first
place il is easy enough TO do that If one
wants to spend the money to employ
soiicitors.-Portland Press.
Surprising. isn't it, the amount of
overwhelming loyalty to public inter
ests, possessed by some men, OF course
ment against a public utilities law.
The good people of Maine thought they
wanted public utilities commission
put they didn't. OF course they didn't.
And Kingsbury B. Piper, ex-editor of
the Pattangall-Cy Davis organ at Wat
erville, knew they didn't. and that they
ought to be told about it and urged to
make 1t plain through petitions that
when they were calling for public
utilities law last year. they were la
boring under temporary alteration.
And 50, Mister Piper took it upon him
self to set them right
No one could ever accuse MIR Piper
of representing the bloated corpora
tons. He is not corporation lawyer
any more than is Dingley. Piper makes
no pretensions to being anything but a
loyal citizen, working in the public in
terests--and, very decidedly, after he
collects petitions in the peoples inter
ests, he doesn't want those petition:
bought away from him. no sir.
Of course one might be forgiven fol
suspecting that Mr.. Pattangalrs posi-
ton on the public utilities question, al
a corporation lawyer, might be ;
slightly selfish one, but his former edi
for, never. One might almost suspee
that some of Mr.. Pattangall's corpora
ton friends could be accused of at
tempting to influence the stand of tn
Waterville organ of Mr.. Pattangall, OF
the public utilities question; but tina
isn't Piper. who is giving 10000 peopl
opportunity to set themselves right be
fore the world.
We would not for the world have
hint get abroad that Editor Dingley @
the Lewiston Journal. who is workin
so hard to defeat public utilities, coul
have any selfish interests to serve b
defeating a law which he has so Wild
demanded in recent years. The law, I
course, is all right but he just natural
ly hates that committee. They are a
men and he had no hand in their MAX
ing and he wasn't consulted as
their appointment-so they have bee
dumped into the Hale Bailey-Ald
rich Hanna Lodge Penrose- Littlefielt
Taft-Cobb- Swasey- Guernsey Burleig
class. Dingley would willingly sacr
flee a perfectly good law to get rid {
the men who, he says. are not livm
for great principle"
Editor Dingley is working for
GREAT principle" and so he wou
defea. the law if possible. 1t is info
funate, of course, that the great LIB.
Dingley corporation Is so closely allie
and that the Dingley son-in-law ar
business manager of the Lewistc
Journal. is the agent of great Lewi
ton mill corporation-but then, tn;
doesn't connect Dingiey with any sci
ish corporation interests, any mo
than Ii connects Mr.. Piper with u
Pattangai corporation selfishness.
Dingley lis working for GREA
''principle." The Libby Dingley Da
property, the Libby Dingley Portlar
TO Lewiston electric railway, and Il
Libby Dingiey Mill property at Levi
ton. have no bearing on the Libby Din
ley uncle. editor-in-chief and pa
cwner of the Nelson Dingley newsp