Daily Kennebec journal., 1917-12-28

up TO this time by Governor Mifliken
under judicial opinions quoted re-
duces the total number from, 1920 TO
1884. But Governor Miiliken goes still
farther and quotes the following from
the ia Maine:
Question !.
Should names be counted if at
tached to petitions where town clerk
has certified that the names of the pc
utioners appear on the voting list of
ihls city, town or plantation. as quail
fed to vote for Governor but the sig
natures TO which petitions are not veri :
fled as 10 authenticity by the oath Of
any petitioner certified thereon?
Answer. We answer in the mega
tive"
Ten petitions are affected by this
ruling. In seven of them the vertical
tion was taken before Charles P. Le-
maire. mayor of Lewiston as justice Of
the peace and three of them before
Charles T. Reed of Biddeford. Testi-
mony was presented at the hearing to
show that the verifying petitioner on
each of these petitions did not appear
toned. These ten petitions by be-
ing thrown out reduce the number of
electors by 695 names and bring the
total number of names allowed down
to 9279
In concluding his decision Governor
Milliken says:
The petitions filed asking for ref
erendum of this Act. including those
which l have already discussed and
considered. on their face present very
strong indications that many names
were written by one and the same
hand and are not original signatures
In my Investigations prior to the pub
lie hearing, | sent out many letters
asking the persons whose rames ap-
pear to have been signed whether OF
not in fact they had personally Writ
ten their names on the various peti-
tons. Replies to these letters con-
frmed the indications presented by
the petitions themselves, and Informed
me that name after name had been
written by someone other than the
person to whom it belonged. AS un-
derstand the opinion of the Justices of
1917 am authorized to make a thor
ough investigation and ascertain Just
what names are original signatures
and what are written by someone 9th
er than the purported signer. but to
establish the truth as to these sigma
lures it would be necessary to summon
all individuals whose signatures are
questioned before me and eXpend much
more time and money in determining
iS w.,
necessary in view Of the fact that it is
apparent that ten thousand electors
have not addressed me asking for a
referendum of this Act by valid peti :
tions and by signatures of persons who
are on the voting lists qualified to vote
for Governor
Il therefore base my conclusions
only upon the evidence now before me
and find as q fact that it does not ap-
pear that the effect of "An Act to Pro
vide Q Police Commission for the City
of Lewiston and TO Promote the Eff
ficiency of the Police Department
Thereof" has been suspended by pc
tition of ten thousand electors ad-
dressed to the Governor and filed in
the offices of the Secretary Of State
Hllliii iillltlN ddN , s!lttI lllt recess OIL
the Legislature requesting that such
Acts be referred to- the people"
The opinion by Gevernoy Milliken
in the case of lNe referendum petition
On the Sea and shore Fisheries Act is
almost identical with that on the Lew
iston Police Bill. The number Of names
is reduced from l2,300 to 9672
The formal decision on the other two
questions takes up most of the points
mentioned in the Lewiston measure
but does not go into the question of
duplication of signatures, because it
was determined that there were less
than the ten thousand electors legally
signing these petitions. The number in
the case of the Inland Fisheries and
Game Acts is reduced from II $50 to
9269, and in the case Of the State pa
per from II ASA to 9475