Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-03-24

! of the committee on judiciary report
! ing Ought to pass" on Resolve in
! favor of the Austin w. Jones Com
pany, Veazie, Maine, reimbursing for
property destroyed by fire. Report
signed by the following members.
Messrs. Gillin of Penobscot
t Parent of Androscoggin
of the Senate
Messrs. Maher of Augusta
| Buzzell of Belfast
| Cole of Eliot
! Murchie of Calais
! of the House
Minority report &C the same COM
mittee, on the same bill, reporting
same in a new draft, under title of
! Resolve authorizing Austin w. Jones
Company to bring a suit at law
against the State of Maine" and that
! lit ought to pass" Report signed by
! the following members.
! Messrs. Harrington of Kennebec
/ Of the Senate
! Messrs. Hinckley of So. Portland
Gardiner of Gardiner
Wing of Auburn
| Of the House
! Came from the Senate majority re-
port accepted.
! Mr.. WING of Auburn: Mr.. Speak
er, l move that we adopt the minor
! ity report.
/ The SPEAKER: This is the resolve
authorizing the Austin w. Jones
Company to bring a suit at law
against the State of Maine. The
question comes on the acceptance of
either report, the majority report,
signed by six members of the COM
mittee on judiciary, ought to pass, as
printed: the minority report, signed
by four members of the committee,
ought to pass in new draft; and the
gentleman from Auburn, Mr.. Wing,
moves that the minority report,
ought to pass in the new draft, be
accepted
Mr.. WING: Mr.. Speaker and gen.
tlemen of the House: If you will turn
to Your Senate Documents and look
at Senate No. IA, you will see the
measure that is before the House,
and | call your attention to the state
ment of facts appended thereto. Now
when a divided report comes into the
! House, it is but right that the differ
ences between the two reports should
be fairly stated so that the House
may judge of the merits of either
report. I felt myself unable to join
with my colleagues in the majority
report, which was a report in favor
of the resolve; and it is for you gen.
tlemen to determine which of the
two reports is the better procedure
and the proper thing to do. This is
a case where you must not allow
your sympathies to run away with
your Judgment, because there are
certain principles involved here
which have a very far-reaching eff
feet You will observe that this re-
solve calls for the payment of a sum
Of money which was a loss sustained
by two men as the result of buildings
being burned by an unfortunate in
sane man. This man had been com
mitted to the hospital at Bangor. He
was paroled on the oath day of April
and during his parole he ran amuck
SO to speak. He committed an as
sault upon two women, and he said
that he burned the buildings of the
Austin w. Jones Company Now
have no fault to find with the amount
|
SAYS is due them, but ] do call your
attention to the fact that on their
loss there was paid by the insurance
company the amount of $4,000. You
will see by the figures at the bottom
of the statement of facts that the in
surancc company paid $4,000 of this
loss.
AS the matter was presented, or as
it presents itself to my mind. / felt
if this resolve passed, that if the in
surance company had paid on ac-
count of this trespass, it likewise had
Il claim against the State of Maine
for the money that it had advanced
and paid as the result of this unfor-
tunate act. I also felt that others
who suffered from the acts of this
man would present claims.
Now this matter was heard twice,
all ex parte the first time, no one ap-
pcaring in opposition. Afterwards it
transpred that the trustees of the In
sane Hospital wished to be heard in
the matter, and they presented the
superintendent of the institution who
paroled this man. AS the matter
turned in my mind l began to feel
that there was a principle involved
here which required more than the
hearing which was given it in this
legislature and by your committee.
I think matters of this kind should
tbe determined upon principles at law
in a court, where either side may
cross examine witnesses, where the
witnesses themselves may be under
oath, and where neither side is sub
jccted to the influence of interested
friends; and l felt that, unfortunate
as was this loss to the Austin w.
Jones Company, they should seek re-
dress for their wrong in a court.
Now I have nothing but sympathy
for the unfortunate men who have
suffered this loss, but if the state of
Maine is to operate highways, is to
take charge of unfortunate insane
and feeble minded, does it at the same
time become an insurer for every act
of an insane person while in its Gus
tody, and does it become an insurer
for every act of its servant while in
the prosecution of public business
It seems to me that as the state goes
on taking over these various activi
ties there will grow up as between
the state and an individual a system
of law which will take care of the
rights of the individual as against
the state. So l felt that the proper
thing to do was to allow this COM
| ~ Y,raSant ifc o1oir,, in court