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


that action because they believed 1t
proposition up to the House for us
to act upon rs our Judgment dictated.
Our good judgment dictated to re-
commit the matter to them and now
they have reported it back here. I
for one am perfectly willing to con-
slider each proposition on its own
merits, but is $500 year out of the
way as . salary for . supreme court
judge in the State OF Maine? In that
out of the way? That in the ques-
ton. We are living, my friends, and
I wish to emphasize this, in different
times today than we were a few years
ago. Who stands between US? Law
and order Who are the men who
grace the bench and pass out in their
dignified way their rulings that gov
ern US from day to day? We are a
country that is growing very fast.
Far different conditions occur today
than existed twenty-five years ago.
In. 1903 the salary of judges was
$4,000. How much does $4,000 buy to-
day as compared with that time ?
Now it is all right to talk about a
decrease in the cost Of living. 1t is
all right to say that in a short time
We are going to get along without
expending any money whatever,
hardly: but I fail to see any great
difference in my grocery bill. fail to
see any great difference or decrease
in other bills that have to pay, and
I think that is true of the judges.
hope, my friends. that you will not
consider this bill as I feel it is being
considered here. 1t is not a question
Of laymen against lawyers; it is a
question of what is right: and want
to go on record that I favor an in
crease in the salaries of the judges of
this State to the extent of $7500--not
an increase of that but to that total.
That is not because I am q lawyer
but because feel that they ought to
have it, and / am in favor of their
having it.
Mr.. MAHER of Augusta: MIR.
Speaker and gentlemen: Realizing
that the time is rapidly moving along,
and that you have all heard this dis
cussed at considerable length, 1 shall
refrain from adding anything par
ticular to the length of time. and per-
haps nothing to the argument; but
have patiently listened here to the
presentation in order to ascertain
what the real argument against a
unanimous budget report, supple
mented by a unanimous committee
report, could be for such unprece-
dented opposition. and l am frank to
say that l am entirely disinterested
on the proposition from any angle of
it, except the angle of a representa-
tive and servant of the people. I
do not get the force of the last speak
er's suggestion or inference that there
could be any friction between lawyers
and laymen in this regard or that a
lawyer would have any particular or
peculiar interest in this measure. 1t
is not so. 1t might seemingly be so.
Certainly, it would not be particularly
and peculiarly and selfishly matter
that would interest q lawyer that this
measure should pass. because the
Constitution of this State has wisely
provided that no member of the Leg
islature shall be eligible to appoint
ment to any position the emmOlu-
ments of which have been increased
during his term of office: so in Ger
tain sense the lawyer of ambition for
judicial service, if he would look at it
from a selfish angle, personal motives
would impel him to opposition. / do
not believe that any man approaches
this from a selfish angle. l am sure
that my friend and associate from
Aroostook (Mr. Bragdon) is looking
at this thing just exactly in the spirit
of desire that the best in
terests of the State of Maine
shall be upheld: but none of us
have a monopoly upon excellence of
judgment any more than upon ex-
cellence of motive and desire for
economy. Economy is an attractive
term that does not always mean that
which it is literally defined to be by
the dictionary. The gentleman from
Aroostook (Mr. Bragdon) who elo-
quently opposed this proposition of
an increase, by his very argument
if you will permit an attorney to meet
him in argument should have
caused the unanimous action of this
House to defeat his motion. Now
in that increase or not, aside from
the gentlemen from Aroostook (Mr.
Bragdon). must have noted that the
premise of his argument was that he
himself believed that the salaries
should be increased, and parentheti-
cally, he suggested perhaps one thou
sand dollars a year, and he address,
es that premise that he has given to
mis- House in good faith his own
judgment that the salary should be
increased perhaps one thousand dol
lars year by the legislative motion
to indefinitely postpone and kill the
whole proposition. Now, gentlemen,
I know that he intends the fair thing
and when ne says one thousand dol
lars year increase. he establishes
at once working basis that there
should be some increase; and that L
assume is the attitude of his constitu-
ents that there should be some in.
crease. Then it comes to the uues-
ton of relatively, how much in
crease; and you have the committee
report. experimenting the budget re-
port, and corroborated by the state
ment of House Chairman Murcbie
that not a word in opposition to this
proposition was advanced, but that
the committee of its own motion re-
duced the budget recommendation five
hundred dollars per wear nor i,St;oo