Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1921-01-04

i On Wednesday OF this week the legis.
lature elected In September will assemble
at Augusta for the regular session. Not
much prediction has yet been made that
this is to be "short session." and 1t is
likely to be OF about the usual length.
Two years ago the session was fourteen
weeks in length. If everybody had paid
fairly good attention to business, the
work could as well have been done In
twelve weeks, possibly In eleven.
| Unless something unforeseen should
occur, the two houses will organize on
Wednesday. 1t is understood that Hon.
Percival P. Baxter of Portland 10 prac-
| tically assured of being elected president
Of the senate, and that Hon. Charles P.
| Barnes of Houlton, formerly OF Norway,
will be speaker of the house. Mr.. Bax-
ter has had several terms In the house
and one in the senate, and Mr.. Barnes
has been in the house as representative
from Aoulton for the past two terms,
and was the Republican floor leader In
the last house.
| On Thursday Hon. Frederic 81. Park.
hurst of Bangor will be inaugurated gov
ernor, and state officers will be chosen,
For secretary Of state Hon. Frank w.
Ball, the present incumbent, is the only
candidate. For state treasurer Hon. Will
liam L. Bonney of Bowdoinbam is ex-
pected to succeed Hon. Joseph w. Simp-
son of York, the present incumbent.
Oxford County has candidate for at
torney general, Frederick R. Dyer Of
Buckf1eld, who is sure OF good support,
and will have the enthusiastic backing Of
the Oxford County delegation. There
are several other candidates for the posi-
tiOn, and the contest is likely to be the
prettiest fight of the week. Mr.. Dyer 10
feeling confident.
There will also be Q contest over the
Office of commissioner OF agriculture.
One of the candidates, who II he had
lived would probably have been the lead
ing candidate, Frank s. Adams of Bow
doin, died q few weeks ago In Boston,
having been taken III there while attend
ing the National Grange. The other
candidates, some OF whom are quite act
iv., are George A. Alden of Gorham,
member of the last house, Howard L.
Keyser of Greene, for some years men,
ber of the board of state hospital trus-
tees, and Frank P. Wsshburn of Perry,
q member of the house for the past three
terms. All are practical farmers.
As the presiding officers of both houses
will have been practically assured OF
their election for some time before the
legislature meets, it is likely that the
makeup Of the committees has already
been nearly completed, 80 that they can
promptly be announced, and the legisla-
ture can at once get down to business.
And there is no donbt as what the
most i'm portant and the hardest work OF
the legislature will be. 1t will be to
make such appropriations as are neces.
sary, and keep them within the revenue
of the state, without making an excess
i've state tax rate.
Two things are as safe to forecast as
cold weather In January-flrst, that the
appropriations will be materially less
than the total asked for by the various
state departments and state and state
aided institutions, and second, that the
state tax rate will be increased. The es-
Inmates and demands will be reduced,
but not enough to keep the rate at what
it has been, even though many think 1t
is high enough now. In connection with
the matter of the Portland tax rate,
Mayor Clarke Of Portland In bis recent
inaugural said that the members OF the
city government are not miracle work
ers. Neither are members of the legis-
lature. The regular and permanent
charges against the state already exist
ing are sufficient to keep the rate up,
a-or ka -nrL of tha to mot
tended by one additional employe or .
single new building. This Is an era OF
spending, both by individuals and gov
ernments of every form, from the town
up. Under present prices and cOndi-
tious, no man is wise enough to make q
budget for Maine that will keep the rate
down, without radical change OF pol
10y. We may some day come to that
change of polioy-msy be forced to it
but when it comes 1t will be revolution
ary.
While it is the legislature which makes
the appropriations, that branch will be
greatly aided and to some extent guided
by the report submitted by the budget
committee. This committee Is COM
posed, under law passed at the last ses-
sion, of the governor, the state auditor,
the state treasurer, and the senate and
house chairmen of the committee on ap-
propriations. For some weeks IL was
engaged in giving hearings to the differ
ent departments and institutions which
require and ask for appropriations of
state money. There is certain weary
monotouy Of the most monotonous kind
about these hearings. Representatives,
of the various departments and instttu-
tions appear and assure the committee
in each instance that If the work of that
institution ia to continue, 1t must have
largely increased appropriation, and fur
tbermore, that there is nothing more I'm
portant than the work OF that particular
institution-and the hearers are inclined
to think that they are about nine-tenths
right. No wonder the present budget
committee began to shout "Help! HelpP
in the middle of the campaign, and
wanted to call conference-which was,
however, called off instead.
The report of the budget committee 10
supposed to be delivered to the legisla-
ture within five days after the opening
of the session, and the present commit
tee will probably be on time. Then We
shall see what we shall see.
Making the appropriations, though, Is
not all the legislature will do, Grist In
the form of bills will pour into the shop
per'-which 10 tall box with big slot
IN the top of it-in steady stream for
some weeks. The already overgrown
statutes of the state will be tinkered ex.
tensively. and probably some amend
ments to the state constitution will at
least be proposed, even II none of them
are submitted to the people. The legis-
lature will work rather leisurely at hrst,
speeding up little as the weeks 60 by,
and running tho business through with
almost feverish haste after about the
tenth week. And in the closing days OF
the session, the grave and serious legis-
lators will throw of restraint and act
much like fourteen-y ear-old bOys--and
be about as anxious TO get out and get
bone as those same boys are to get out
Of school.
Service in the legislature seems to
have its attractions. OF the thirty one
members of the incoming senate, at least
sixteen, and doubtless more, have had
pr,vious service In either one or the
other of the housey. OF the 161 members