Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-03-31

of the Revised Statutes. as amended by
Chapter 81 of the Public Laws of 1919,
relating to salaries of reporters of the
supreme judicial court.
The motion was agreed to. and on
further motion by the same senator
the vote was reconsidered whereby
this bill was passed to be engrossed. q
The same senator then offered Sem
ate Amendment A to Senate Document
126. and moved its adoption.
Senate Amendment A to Senate
Document No. 126.
Amend title of Senate Document No.
126 by adding after the words RE
vised Statutes" the words 'as amended
by Chapter 216~of the Public Laws of
1917. and
Also amend the enacting clause of
Senate Document No. 126 by adding
after the words Revised Statutes" In
the second line thereof, the words "as
amended by Chapter ZIG of the Public
Laws of 1917, and
Senate Amendment A was adopted
and the bill as amended was passed to
be engrossed.
Mr.. THOMBS of Penobscot: Mr..
Pres ident, I move that we take from
the table the resolve in favor Of the
town of Prentiss.
The motion was agreed to.
Mr.. THOMBS: Mr.. President is not
the report of the committee ought to
pass in new draft?
The PRESIDENT: That is correct.
Mr.. THOMBS: Mr.. President, /
move the substitution of the original
resolve for the report of the commit
tee
The PRESIDENT: The Chair will
state that the original resolve appro-
priated $1S25.25 to be paid to the
town of Prentiss. The new draft ap-
propriates $790.5O
Mr.. THOMPSON of Knox: Mr.. Pres
ident, the amount of $3.50, or whatever
it IS there. is the amount of the re-
solve in new draft, the report of the
committee after hearing.
/ think there were two committee
hearings on it, I know there were.
At the first hearing l was not pres
ent. as l was engaged in some other
committee. AS the result of the second
hearing. the committee talked it over
in executive session and decided that
the amount reported in a resolve in
new draft was sufficiently large to pay
for the damages that were suffered. 1t
is the same story that has been re-
hoo re
the deliberate judgment Of the com
mittee that that amount was nearer
the amount that the law contemplat-
ed should be allowed to any party.
Hence we reported as we did.
Mr.. THOMBS: Mr. President and
fellow senators, in order that YOU
may vote intelligently upon this mat
ter l feel that it is incumbent upon
me to make plain statement of the
facts as l understand them.
/ think you will agree with me that
1t is not often l attack a committee
report. l never do unless L feel that
am as conversant with the facts as
is the committee itself 1t so hap
pens that in this particular case l
have that justification for asking the
substitution that / have.
Gentlemen of the Senate, let me in
troduce to you the little town of Prem
tiss away up in the northern part of
Penobscot county; little backwoods
settlement. if you please. and I am IN
formed this morning by the State as
SCISSORS and the latest returns 81 tn!
census. that if YOU should * ur,
there you would find living in 1920, 373
people; in 1910, they had 412, and in
1900, 502. So. gentlemen, as far as
population goes you are introduced to
Il town that is gradually wasting away.
It's valuation, as returned to the State
assessors for the year 1920 is $212,-
sos. I do not believe that there is
senator within the sound of my voice
who lives within a town that is so
little in valuation and so few in pop
ulation.
Gentlemen, further let me say this
town, as l said, in the backwoods, a
town that is surrounded by boundless
forests, and that is one reason, as
will appear later. why this particular
matter merits consideration and mem
ton.
At the beginning of this session one
tiss came to Lincoln and interviewed
me regarding this claim that the town
of Prentiss had against the State of
Maine. He told me that in 1919, that
calendar year, the selectmen OF the
town of Prentiss had paid out from
the town treasury, as they believed
they were authorized by law so to do,
the sum of S1,S05 and some cents in
payment of sheep, neat stock and
fowl that had been destroyed by wild
animals in that year. And found
on talking with him that they had
in the regular way made a request
for repayment from the Governor and
Council. And 1 found that payment
had been refused by that department.
/ questioned him further about it.
and he said they had written a num-
Der of letters to the department but
they had not received very much sa-
tisfaction. Now I told him that 1
thought the best thing to do under
the circumstances was for me, when
I came to Augusta, to take the mat
ter up with the committee on the
Governors Council that first passes
upon these claims. I did so very ear
ly in the session, and those gentle
men inform me that 1t was a large
claim, and 1 admit that. that 1t was
a large claim, and that they, on ac-
count of its largeness. they were
somewhat suspicious of it's correct
ness, and their authority to make
rai m hl1rSnrananf I ruonf ouof. tho M