Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-02-24

route every half hour. especially on Sun
days. and often three or four cars IN a
section running out and back every half
hour, and it win be practically impos-
sible for any company operating such q
line to put toilets on those open cars,
and il they were SO equipped i would like
to see anybody with nerve enough to get
into them. 1t is simply ridiculous idea
as applied TO our locality; it may do
back in the country where the lines run
through sections where there are woods
but in our locality all our electric roads
go practically IN the highways Now,
with that machine going through our city
from one end to the other, and by all
our houses, It would simply be a ridicu-
lous idea: 1t seems to me it would be a
ridiculous idea If we should have such
spreading machine going through the
thickly settled portions Of our city and
through our country, too. I do not think
the bill has any merit in itself. If the
gentleman from Auburn tMr. Brown
has any road running out of Lewiston
that requires such a provision, then let
the people of that city go before the Pub
lie Utilities Commission and show that
there is demand for this thing for those
country IOdCS- pul III Tue Clt1eS dli0 eAiOA4e
our thickly settled country roads l do
not think it is wise.
Mr.. HARADEN of Bath: Mr. Speaker
as a member Of the committee which con-
sidered this matter I wish to state a few
things The gentleman from Auburn,
Mr.. Brown, has stated that this is a peo
pies measure. The gentleman appeared
before the committee himself, and he
was the only person who did appear. and
there was nobody to back him up. l
asked the superintendent of one of our
roads during the hearing if he had ever
had this request made of him before in
any way for these toilets, and he said no:
he further said that his line did estab-
lish them once between Yarmouth and
Brunswick and ran them for about a
year, and then they because such
nuisance that they were obliged to re-
move them from the cars. While the
gentleman from Auburn, Mr.. Brown,
stated 1t was a peoples movement. there
was not a living individual of the State
Of Maine who appeared before the com
mittee in behalf of this measure except
ing the gentleman from Auburn (Mr.
Brown himself.
Mr.. THOMBS of Lincoln: Mr. Speaker
and gentlemen of the House, want to
remind you gentlemen that this is the
first time during this session that this
House has been called upon to turn down
| a committee report Without going into
the merits of the matter which has been
SO ably argued here this morning, / sim
ply desire to say to you that in my own
opinion you are establishing a dangerous
precedent if you take such action. At
the beginning of the session of this Leg
slatIre the presiding officers Of the two
! branches gave the matter of selection of
committees very, very careful consider
ation and ! am very sure that you will
all agree with me that the committees
have been patient and have attended well
to the duties that have been assigned
them; and ! wish to ask you, gentlemen,
this morning at the beginning Of the
enactment of legislation wL.-I will re-
quire our attention for the next three or
four weeks to carefully consider every
request that is made of you to turn down
a unanimous report of one of your com
DO it in this instance
Mr.. PLUMMER of Lisbon: Mr..
4 Speaker, had no intention of entering
] AiIIc li4IS NlSSASSlOI4s bul Out VI lWO
points have been brought up that it
seems to me are perhaps worthy Of
/ consideration. In the first place. the
point raised by the gentleman from
Brewer. Mr.. Higgins, and the gentle
man from Lincoln. Mr.. Thombs, in re-
gard to substituting the bill for the re-
port of the committee, or taking any
action different from that recommend
2 nj l1-% Ino
was that we should hesitate about act
ing differently from the report of the
committee. 1t is true that in any case
where such action is opposed, the bur
den of proof might properly be laid on
those who wish to make the change;
but it is not true, gentlemen, that we
are here to be bound to the action Of
any committee to which matters are
referred. If that were true, we might
as well resolve ourselves into those
committees Of which we are members,
and let those committees take the ac-
ton clear through. That is not, gen.
lemen, i submit, what we are here for.
I We are sent here to use our own judg-
ment in SO far as we can get at the
fact or the merit of any particular case,
| and not to act upon the judgment of
( ally ClliSl lhtIiioS1 Vi lIl1S I1OUS6, now
ever able he may be. AS TO the point
made by the gentleman from Portland
, (Mr. COMEDIAN l am strongly of the
/ impression that my friend from Au-
/ burn, MIR. Brown, is correct, if / under
stood this statement Alright; that in the
waiting room at Portland there is no
toilet. Am ! correct in that, Mr. Con-
nellan?
I MR.. COMEDIAN: think you are
| MIR. FLUMMER: So that the people
of Portland, or the company which OPP
crates the Portland Railroad, certainly
needs some advice from the Portland
delegation or somebody else, because
all you gentlemen who have been
there
/ Mr.. ROBERTS: l will say to the
/ gentleman there is a toilet in the wait
/ ing-room at the Union Station and at
/ the car station
/ The SPEAKER: The Chair will state
that the gentleman from Lisbon (Mr
Plunmer) has the floor.
/ Mr.. PLUMMER. l yield to the gen.
! tlenan, Mr.. Speaker. / would like to
understand what he said
! Mr.. ROBERTS: will say that in the
! waiting-room at the station at Port