Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-04-06

state of confusion. Municipal owner :
| ship has been advocated the trans
portation of electricity beyond the
| borders Of the State has been urseu
by men whose loyalty and devotion 10
! the best interests of the State can py
no means be questioned; while large
number Of others declare that the
| nolicy of the State is we'll fixed ana
defned-that no electric current shah
be shipped beyond the State line
Those who are opposed to any in
vestigation, outside of the Public Uth-
tiles Commission, are MAINTAINING
short sighted policy. They may nave
the power to defeat any other lnVes-
tigation, but in doing so they must III
yite the criticism of number OF our
neople who believe in radical meas
ures: who desire to bring about mu-
nicipal ownership and pubic trading
The attendant disasters of this policy
will result in consequences so Iar
| reaching and serious that we shall NOT
recover from them for long PERIOD
of years.
NV view is to get the facts as pro-
posed by the resolution and let the
report of this legislative committee be
submitted to the next Legislature
This would seem to be fair. just and
comprehensive way to get before the
people the facts and information
which are necessary at this time, and
which surely must aid in bringing
about a clearer understanding of what
! is required for the benefit of all the
! people.
Mr.. DEERING of York: Mr. Presl-
dent. do not intend to make any cX-
! tended remarks at this time. but many
matters pertaining to the same subject
matter, about which my friend. Senator
! Davies has spoken. have come up at this
! Legislature for our consideration ana
| in the course of the consideration OF
those subjects. we have in some places
I been treated with. extreme unfalrness
We have been treated, perhaps, with
misunderstanding by some parties. we
have been treated SO. in very many IN
stances, by people who did not know
whether electricity was q solid or
LIQUID or a gas, whether it flowed over
the outside expanse of wire or whether
it was some substance which flowed
through the wire itself. We have dis
cussed these matters very fully in the
Senate and in the House of Representa-
tiVeS. but at the present time l DO not
feel as though our discussions. and the
evidence and the knowledge that has
been brought before us, is enough for
us to go ahead and carry out policy
which we are all sure of. There have
been various commissions proposed by
various people, some understandingly
dow -tsp,d oy1 a n
, this matter before the people in a much
more comprehensive way. l believe,
however, that this particular resolution
introduced by the gentleman from Var
mouth Senator Davies. comes nearer to
meeting the approval of some of us who
understand the matter but pGrty, than
any other particular resolution that has
been introduced.
I understand that the resolution in
troduced in the House, if l am correctly
informed, is a resolution proposing that
the Governor appoint commission from
this Legislature. Am l right?
Mr. DAVIES: That, Mr.. President, is
a resolution which provides for the tax
alton
The PRESIDENT: For the appoint
ment of commission, as the Senator
urged a little while ago. of a new com
mission to investigate this matter.
Mr. DAVIES: That was the resou-
ton which provided for the appointment
of a new commission-was that what
you referred to- Senator Deering?
Mr. DEERING: Yes, but l believe
that Legislative committee appointed
eating an alleged case of neglect of do
H.,
pointed. can accomplish more and can be
more legally constituted appointed, in
this way than by any other resolve that
l have heard.
| now desire at this time to second
the motion of the gentleman from Var
mouth, Senator Davies.
Mr. BUTLER of franklin Mr.. Pres
ident 1 should rather approve of this
resolution than to accept any Of the
others that might look worse to me than
this one. But l am not at this time
sufficiently frightened to accept this for
fear that we might a little later get
something worse.
A surveyor running a line, after To-
eating his compass upon the ground,
always waits for it to settle before
he starts with his line. With the minds
of the people as they are at present
time, | think that the first thing that
we have got to do is to let the compass
settle. have a good friend living in
the town of Temple that wants to live
in the town of Pennington. to move
into the village. He is afraid to sell
his farm until he buys a house in the
village. He does not dare to buy the
house until he sells his farm. He is
, tied up at the present time.
| think that is our status here in
the state. And ] think we will have
ample time. after our minds settle and
we can decide whether we dare stand
behind the bond issue and develop the
water powers that we know we have
got or whether we dare let outside
capital in and develop these pOwers--if
we reach Il point where we can accept
either proposition. l think then II
/ would be well to go ahead and nves-
tigate and which one. But al the
present time we know absolutely that
we dare not accept either one. And
what money we have that we have not
already squandered ] would propose
! we keep to pay our bills with "a the
close of this Legislature.
I hope the motion will not prevail.
The PRESIDENT: The Chair was
under little misapprchension at first