Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-03-02

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Maine, are against extravaganza.
They are against a general increAse
| in salaries. / am opposed to it and
you will Ind before you get through
here that am sincere in this: but,
men, these judges Of the supreme
court for II years have received this
same salary. Every man knows they
are entitled to more; there cannot
! be any argument against IT, You
know that they cannot live and keep
| up appearances as they should on
that. The doors are closed and that
| is not always understood. The doors
of their Offices are closed when they
go on the Bench. They cannot take
| retainers, they cannot give advice.
| They are there to administer your
rights and my rights and to protect
them all the way through.
I certainly hope that this House
will be big and broad and do the right
| thing in this matter and vote against
this proposition to indefinitely post
pone, and then pass this matter along
and enact it into law, as you men
know you should do. (Applause).
| Mr.. BREWSTER of Portland Mr.
| Speaker, feel that the House will
1 perhaps agree that the committee on
Legal Affairs is entitled to three or
! four minutes of your time inasmuch
as the gentleman from Perham, Mr..
| Bragdon, has intimated that we have
performed a political somersault. and
| even Mr.. BuzzeH Of Belfast could not
| characterize it much better than q
rather late repentance. As a conse-
quence, I think ii is fair to the COM
mittee and to the different members
of the committee that their action
should be plainly understood ] do not
see that it has any special relation to
the matter under consideration, but ap-
parently it has operated in the minds
of some of the members that in some
| way the salaries of our justices and
our action in relation thereto was to
make it with the action of the conf
mittee on Legal Affairs in relation to
not what the fees should be but what
the Legal Affairs made a report upon.
1t has for. I think, some 500 years
at least been a matter of record that
there is more or less opposition against
the lawyers. One certain Mr.. Watts
started rebellion in England and
his first proposition was Lets kill
the lawyers" and from that time as
the years have gone on there has been
| more or less criticism Of both the
Bench and Bar which We all run into
from time to time. / want to tell you
just one story which illustrates the
only reply that we have been able to
make to that criticism of the profes.
sion to which I am proud to belong
David Harem told us: You shall
have an honest boss race when you
have an honest human race" and sc
have always said you will have all
honest lawyers when you have all
honest clients. The average of human
nature does not differ within the pro.
fession and without. ! hold no bfiei
for myself or my profes sion. but dc
say that we simply average as well
as others. Many times / have seer
attorneys resist the opportunities OF
their clients; perhaps you have seer
them Yield. But. coming back to the
| Legal Affairs, lawyers have faults like
other men. and SO when this bill came
into the Legal Affairs committee II
took its course. In the first place you
all know that there seems to be a
sense Of pressure in our business fol
all OF us. We all have a great man,
people pres sing upon us with one
thing and another and matters do not
always get the consideration to which
they are entitled. Every one of us
has been obliged. to dismiss some
proposition that came before you
without giving it the time that II
needed. Secondly, this bill came over
from the last Legislature as has been
| said. and l wish you would all turn
over in your minds that proposition
and see if you can discover within
your recollection of legislative affairs
| q bill referred from a previous Leg
islature about which anything has
ever been done. j have no recollec-
ton of one. 1t is q common and a
polite way of disposing of matter
So that came TO us in that way. In
the next place the hearing was duly
advertised and held. No one appeared
at the time it was CALLED. I believe
as the result of page being sent out
the gentleman from Perham, Mr.
Bragdon, appeared before the commit
tee that afternoon and spoke in favor
of the bill but not with the eloquence
which we have seen here today; not
| with the earnestness which we know
he possesses. In fact. the only propo-
! sition which sticks in my mind which
he presented was that he attended as a
juror a term of court in Caribou last
year, I believe. and that it cost him
$26 dollars a week, if remember cor
rectiy, for his board; and that is one
of the. reasons that he mentioned. The
committee discussed the matter. Some
OF the members of the committee felt
that something should be done; others
felt that if there was no reason for
action two years ago, when the peak
of prices had nearly been reached
there was no reason for action at this
time when matters were very much
| changed However, 1 do not think ii
received in committee the considera-
tion to which it was, entitled. The re-
port came in here and the minute II
struck this House, we knew some
thing had happened 1t was very evil
dent that there was substantial feel
ing on the part of the members of this
House that something should .be done
on that matter 1t may seem that the
desire of individual members of this
Legislature does not bear upon the de-
STABILITY of legislation. We all know