Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-02-19

SIX hundred Of them that win say tha,
Is Time honored prineiple. and
W whlch we must be guided. This
,1"' as mas been said, was initiated Nv
e peopie. 1t was carried by the peo
pie oy tremendous majority. Whether
ue rtsnt or wrong whether 1t works
ven or III Is not for US to sav. A
IA once enacted should rerna;n love
enough to get it permanently estab-
iished' If enacted by the peonle and
II they desire II changed ,hera s,a,,ia
a change. Ao
l speak Of this as but one Of many
,"Ms acted upon by the people in the
idsl lew years, and when the neon,e
iiaNe once passed upon a subject tha,
oeslre certain law to be en-.
acted do not believe It Ia visa ~
proper for the Legislature to Keen re-
turning TO the people whatever differ.
eht members Of the Legislature NAV
ieei is not according TO their desires
vi "lshes. The people have smoke,
ms matter within four years. The
800 nave spoken upon other matters
'"'n TOUR years, and II we are 70
submit TO the people every two or three
eaIs every question that comes IN
oeiofe US for our expression nv that
may come into the individuals, rp,,a
mat he desires upon the statute hoohs
zen we would have no permanencv
ana no sta ability to government
rof this reason ! at the presen. TIM.
90 not believe that the nr,r,ar,, 80
sAould be resubmitted TO the neonla .,d
"eIie'e II is wise for the Legis-
@1N'e 70 enter upon the principle of re-
ter'4hs 10 the people laws upon which
'"e people have passed within two
TREE or four years
30 LAT as the primary law is concerned
count whether We can stand m and
say honestly that il has carried ont the
Will OF the Ileople to greater degree
l-iaH your old caucus system. T,hara
were bosses then, If you choose. TO cal1
them That. bat they were men OF hon
esty and ability and character. They
played the political game as we plav il
Today; hut ! don't believe there is a man
=! lAls Legislature 70 whom the pec9Ie
came III body and demanded that he
serve them. think the most OF US nut
our records before the people and asked
them to send US here and some oe us
had great deal Of difficulty in proving
10 The people that we were better than
the other fellow
IL lsH-t great ranacea for all Ills.
II IS an Improvement. but I can see in
the primary law the greatest defeat of
the people that can possibly be cast up
on them. AND let me show You one
point.
We understand that the strength of
our people tod~y, perhaps, lies In the
rural vote. Il has so been stated by
several senators. At the present time
rye are voting on the popular vote in
counties
Suppose in my own county, the cities
of Blddeford and Saco and the town Of
Sanford, which make tp the three large
towns o. the county, should get together
and divide up the Offices. and suppose
that Sanford should say: Il will take
ali the county Offices" and Biddeeord
should say ! will take the three senat-
ors and suppose Portland should say
II will take the four senators from Cum
berland County il might do
and suppose that Lewiston should say
y viii take the two senators from An
should say that Waterville should have
one senator. and Augusta one. and Gar
diner one and suppose you should go
through the state until YOU get 10 Pc
nobscot. and Bangor and Brewer should
say I'VE will divide the offices right
through, and they should endeavor to
enact laws against the country towns.
M President. there is danger which
must be overcome, but We haven't as
yet arrived at that point. ] look forward
10 the time when the beauties of the
primary law will be seen in all their
weakness Unless we reconstruct our
statute SO that senators viii come from
certain specified districts, We cut OUT the
country towns, and leave ourselves IN
the minority. We Will have laws for
the hcneHt Of the cities and against the
country ] don't believe In standing up
here and saving that the primary law
was the finest thing that ever was, and
thar nil the past was cursed and I'M
halv ! believe the men who sat IN the
Governors chair, and in your chair, MIR.
President and in the Speakers chair
In the House, and the men who occupied
these seats, VINO were our fathers, were
JUST as Iu4lSSt e~atN J''SN e~~ SS~N 49, " -
ere. and they worked as hard for the
State Of Maine as we will work while
we are here. l don't believe that all
the past is bad and all the future is
good. Human nature Is a great deal the
same wherever we view 1t, and we are
sitting today not in condemnation or
the past or praise OF the present We
are sitting here more upon an act, more
upon a policy, whether when a law has
once been enacted, but has not disap-
nroved itself. whether It Is right and
lust that we should forever Keep our
people in a ferment, or whether we
should have some stable form of gov
eminent: and until there comes de-
rnand. then II is our duty to go along
in the same old way, and do as We
have been doing. live up to the prln-
cip,es that we have, until we can i'm
prove upon them.
One thing more along the line OF the
beauties of the primary. and want to
ask YOU. Mr. President, what chance the
poor man has to occupy the chair OF our
Governor, ! want 10 ask you how a poor
man can ever get into Congress? But
there was a time when a stone-cutter
could 90 TO Congress and represent the
peorle among whom he lived Can he
do IT today II costs money to travel in
ny1H