Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-04-02

cOu0uCteO the campaign were resi-
dents of the town for only two years.
and that is used as a blot against
them and as q reason why the town
should not be divided. These are
young men. Is it a crime to be q
young man? I think not. Our state
spends q good deal Of money on the
education of its young men. The
strength of a community, the strength
of a nation exists. if it exists at all,
in the character and strength Of it's
young men.
But that fact is not true. There
are men engaged in this division who
have been residents in this town for
thirty years-that fact is not true,
but 1t is put out before this 'Legis-
lature. before this Senate at the elev-
enth hour as q reason why this town
should not be divided. / submit to
you. gentlemen. in all fairness and in
all candor. that that Is not a sub
stantial reason. Now let me say~an-
other word in behalf of these young
men. These two young men were in
the service. They fought for their
country. One was in the army, one
was in the navy. One was a volun-
teer. and the man in the navy was
in the draft. I submit, gentlemen of
the Senate. that If they come back
here they are entitled to some con-
sideration. and If they happen to set
tie in the town of South Thomaston
Apd come here expressing their dis
satisfaction with the present method
OF municipal government, they are
entitled to receive consideration.
ask you, gentlemen, in the spirit of
fairness. If this thing should be
rushed in the Senate by such litera-
ture as this. Now they are poor. 1t
is no disgrace to be poor. Being poor
has its disadvantages but it is not a
disgrace. If men who have come to
live in small town believe that they
are not being fairly treated. they
have right to come to the Legis-
lature and explain their views and
ask for the righting of those wrongs.
New SO much for that. l submit that
it is no disgrace, and they come here
as fair petitioners, asking for a fair
thing. Now that raises the question,
how long has a man got to live in a
town before he has a right to petit
ton? l leave that to the Senate
Now who has maintained this lob
by here that has changed the vote of
this one man here who is a member
of the town and the House? The rec
ords of the Knox County registry
show that two of the men who are
fighting this division have real estate
mortgages to the amount of $4,000,
which escape taxation under our law
Do you wonder that these men do not
come here and plead for this, these
lobbyists? How much tax do they
pay? AS I say, the records of the
county show that two of these men
who come here in the lobby and fight
against this division, have $4,000 of
mortgaged property on the records of
Knox County. At the rate of taxa
ton of South Thomaston, 81 mills,
that would amount to $1,000 a year.
over $1,000 a year Now their answer
to that is, l suppose, that this prop
erty is exempt by law. That is true.
They have taken advantage of the
law. But the reason why they come
here is that they can engage the at
tention of the Legislature on some
thing else, on the question Of division.
while they escape their taxes On
the other hand, these young men in
business down at Owls Head, all the
property they have is exposed to the
sunlight and rain, to the gaze and OBJ
servation, and they pay d substantial
tax, tax of over $500. And they
in,
season of the year when they re- en-
gagged in the fishing business, they
have a pay roll of s1100 a week I
submit, gentlemen, that that entities
them to some consideration, and that
is a thing that should be taken into
account in this matter. You can rea-
Oily see why these men who hold $780,
600 in untaxed mortgages should be
willing for the town to stand togeth-
er and not be divided. That is per- :
fectly natural proposition.
But these men say, these men who
seek division come into the Legisla-
ture and say that they live between
four and five miles from the city of
Rockland, that the roads are in bad
shape; they say they have been ne
elected. 1t happened while this mat
ter was in the hands of the commit
tee, about three or four weeks ago, as
] was going home one Saturday night. !
two men sat behind me on the train
between Brunswick and Rockland, |
and this matter of the division of the |
town of South Thomaston had been
engaging the attention of the commit !
tee and that matter was under dis !
cussion between the two men in the !
seat behind me. One man said to the |
other, Didn't you own cottage |
down there to South Thomaston?" He
says, Yes, / owned one but the roads
were so poor and it took SO much
time to go and come that I sold it, |
overheard that conversation, gentle |
men. Now these young men have to |
go over these roads, such as these |
men on the train described. They |
are in the fishing business. They can
not get the roads in the condition |
that they want to go over there-they |
have TO depend upon their own re-
sources largely to get their roads and
to get to market. Personally l have
been over those roads myself, and if
they were a fair sample of the roads !
in Maine, you want to be careful how |
you ride over them, and as you ride |
over them you can well say, God |
save my neck!" and if the roads in |
the State are like what they have you |
In foS Of