Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-05-07
STATE HOUSE.
Every Automobile Must
Have a Separate Number
Adj. Gen. Green|aw and Lieut..
Butcher Inspecting the Guards
Fishway Asked at Outlet of Lake
SebastIcook.- .corporations
STATE HOUSE CALENDAR.
Regular Meeting of Governor and
Council Will Be Held at 10 A. M.
Wednesday, May 27.

Garage owners must have a separate
registration for each car and will not
be allowed to register their cars under
general distinguishing number, &C
cording to an opinion handed down
Wednesday by Attorney General Scott
Wilson of Portland. The decision was
rendered at the request of Secretary
of State Joseph E. Alexander.
Attorney General Wilson's opinion is
as follows:
i understand your question to be
whether or not a garage owner keep
ing and operating AUTOMOBILES for hire
shall be allowed under Section 8 of
Chapter 1872 of the public laws Of 1911,
to register the cars so kept and OPP
Grated for hire as dealer; that is,
whether he shall be allowed to regis
ter his several cars under a general
distinguishing number or be held to
the requirement of a separate regis
tration for each.
Il think that there is no doubt but
that he should be held to a separate
registration for each car and that sec
ton nine, which provides for dealer s
registration, is meant to apply Eek
Guiding manufacturers) only to per-
not to the renting and hiring of the
same.
THE method of registration is set
forth in Section eight of said chapter
as follows: The owner or person in
control shall apply for registration
setting forth certain material facts,
the fee for such registration shall be
determined, first, by the horse power
nf H.
to which said car is to be applied. I'm
der this section there is no provision
by which more than one car could be
included in any registration, and each
registration would require a separate
statement of facts and a separate reg
istration fee. Section nine then goes
on to provide for the registration OF
a particular kind by particular class
of persons and by its terms is limited
to every manufacturer of or dealer in
motor cycles
1T will not be contended fer q, mo-
ment that garage owner comes with
in9the first of the descriptions Of that
section, namely, q manufacturer. He
can expect the benefit of the exception
only, if at all by qualifying under
the second of said descriptions, that
is. dealer. BY reference to the die
tionaries and decided cases, find that
the term dealer is universally limit
ed to persons engaged in the business
of selling commodities. The Century
Dictionary and Websters Dictionary
define a dealer as a distributor: one
whose business is to buy and sell goods
or who makes a business of buying
and cling goods. ETC. In Words and
Phrases, under the term dealer num-
erous cases are cited, the substance
of which is the same, namely that
a dealer is one who makes success
full sales as a business 81 Mich. SEE
The trend of the authorities would
seem to negative any construction that
would permit the including of garage
owners within the particular class OF
persons who were meant to benefit
under this section.
Turning TO the act itself, we find
that in sections nine and 10 which
speak of manufacturers and dealers
and create this special right, refer
ences are made to sales by these part
les. The registration provided is by
its own term declared to terminate
when a sale is made. In Section Il
certain duties are imposed or manu-
facturers or dealers at the time Of
making such sale.
These things would seem to show
that the intent of the act is to conform
to the accepted meaning of the terms
dealer and manufacturer, and
have no hesitation in advising you that
the garage owners throughout the
State should be held to the same re.
quirements in the registration of cars
as any private owner who maintains