Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-03-10

laymen do. Ii he is selected and ,...s
to court and there is reason wbe
should not continue there. he
place his case before the justice - 80
siding and everybody. who Ia.
tended upon an opening day OF co.,
has noticed a number, from one !
half a dozen, of the jurymen sn,s
moned in there. making known I'M.
excuse to the presiding justice: ana,
have yet to know of a justice bs..
so unreasonable that any fair -
reasonable request was refused =
you see, gentlemen. that the iurr,.s
has several avenues of escape A.
jury duty, If he so desires.
But, gentlemen. I believe that ~.
is something behind jury service 4. j
sides the mere matter Of commas.
ton. quite agreed with the g.
ator from Piscataquis when he 81,
he was firm believer in jury dp,s
am. 1t is the best system yer =.
vised for settling civil and crir,a.,
matters. And. gentlemen, | beTsr.
that juryman appreciates the IN
portance of his part In judicial ~
ceedings. and I further believe tb..
the great majority OF them called +,
on to give to their State few dss.,
service, do not consider entirelv q.
matter of compensation.
Why, l think they consider II ra,,
er as public duty which
they are called upon to discbars.
There is not man in any profes,;o,.s
the doctor is called upon to give i,
many instances of his time where !.
knows full well that he may NOT \.
| compensated in dollars and cent?.
and if l do say it, gentlemen. thin
that the legal profession in man,
| many instances give freely and GLAD
~ Of their time where they knox
they are not going to be compen.
stated. And the reverend clergyma,
fr every town dozens and dozens ~
times in each year wends his way N
some household to offer words ~
consolation or to perform some otbe,
happy ceremony, and his compensa.
ton, IL anything, is mere pittance
So, gentlemen. i believe that juryneu
are not the only people who sacrj.
fee something for the welfare of
the State and community in which
they live.
There is another phase Of This
matter, and if you will pardon a Der.
sonal experience ] will briefly call
your attention to that. have had
many time a gentleman in nv
town come TO me and ask il I
wouldn't see that his name was
placed on the jury list and brought
before the annual meeting. Gentle.
men, those men were men who toll
in the mill and the workshops, men
who are not able to take vacation
at any season in the year, men with
families, but who believed that if they
could get Il few days of change Of
work. that it would be something Of
a recreation to them, and they see
that avenue and are glad to accept
the, service. Now, gentlemen, / do
not want you to think for a moment
that I have any personal quarrel
with the gentleman who has pre-
sented this amendment s
I want to call your attention to the
fact that there are other cases which
should be remedied that to my mind
are quite as important as this. DO
not believe that there is an attorney
in this room who during the last
three or four years has had occasion
to summon a witness to court whe
has found that the witness fees and
travel that he paid his witness com.
pensated him for the time and pay
that he lost. Now gentlemen. |
stand for fairness and squareness'
and I believe that If you are going TO
honor the request of the jurymen,
believe that it is well worth our
while to stay here n time longer and
see If there are not other gentlemen
and othr services in the State Of
Maine that should be further recon.
pensed.
In closing, let me say to you. Mr.
President and Senators. that this Is
not personal matter with me. ! am
not the self-constituted guardian Of
the treasury of the State of Maine,
This Legislature before final ad-
journment will have determined
what it's policy will be with respect
to these hundred, aye, thousand and
one requests for raises in salaries.
AS an object lesson let me call your
attention to the advertisement Of
coxlmittee hearings for tomorrow
morning by the committee on Sal.
aries and Fees. There is line that
a~fando fhn 80
of the paper. There are very, very
many requests from Office holders In
the State of Maine. and. gentlemen
IL you will take time and go up to
that committee hearing tomorrow,
venture to say that after the hearing
is over, it will be exceedingly hard
for you to determine what mans re-
quest should be honored and what
mans refused. I have no doubt
that there are other men in the State
of Maine that have legitimate reason
and argument for being here.
This legislature finds itself in this
position: 1t must as best it may take
these various requests under consid-
GRAFTON, and as / had occasion to say
some days ago, it will be necessary
to establish policy granting an ad-
vance all along the line, in which
case you will go back to your homes
to meet criticism or appreciation as
the people receive your acts. You
may adopt the other extreme and 50!
to there hundreds of men who have
come here, No, your salary is ad+
equate. We. will turn the deaf ear
to your requests - Or you may adopt
a mean between those two, and you