Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-03-02

tn0 pISC0uSnL DI JHuiCtdi proCcu"AS
judicial consideration. and judicial de-
cision, which the Bench has given US.
Now, further, are the salaries mete
for the position. I assume that Is the
primary question. II the salaries are
sufficient, that is the end of the mat
ter. The gentleman from Aroostook
(Mr. Bragdon) says they are not; !
agree with him. He says that one
thousand dollars q year is enough in
crease: disagree with him. The
committee has recommended an in
crease of twenty-five hundred dollars
a year. I agree with the committee;
I acquiesce. How are we going to de-
termine individually? Now this is a
committee of the whole, and do not
whether those salaries are sufficient
than by comparison; and when you
talk of economy and of the alarm of
the people, I regret, gentlemen, that
there was one note struck here. This
is no time for the intersection of par
tisanship. This is, no place, by direc-
ton or indirection, to urge partisan
like that note.
Now let US see how your constitu-
ents are affected by judicial expense
in Maine,-and ! presume we can get
no better authority on that subject
than the Census reports. Now in the
whole United States the expenditure
for court per capita was IA cents for
the last year--14 cents and a slight
fraction. In New England. with its
7,40o, 900 population. the per capita ex-
pense to the people of New England
was rs cents. II cents more than the
general average of the whole country
Now let US anaiyze New England-14
| cents for the nation. 26 cents for New
England-and let us see how the peo-
pie Of Maine are grooming under this
burden. t~..
In Connecticut the expense of the
Supreme Court was three cents per
capita and all other courts 40 cents
per capita. or 50 cents.
In Rhode Island. 10 cents for the
Supreme Court, So cents for other
! courts. SO cents for all courts per ca
pita.
Massachusetts,. two cents EXPENSE
Nor the Supreme Court, Is cents for
other courts, II cents for. all courts.
vermont - little Vermont - with
whom l presume we are able to COM
pare from a fiscal and from a finan-
ciaI angle. IL cents for the ,Su-
preme Court, 71.541 cents for other
courts, total of 50 cents Der canita
we" hampshire, six cents for the
supreme Court. II cents for the
other courts. II cents per capita.
so We have Them running from 80
cents per capita in Vermont To ~
per capita in Massachusetts and
New Hampshire, and then we turn
TO Maine, the last of the New Eng
iahu states, to see how we are groan
ing under the burden. Names
Supreme Court. nine cents per can
lta, other courts because the
supreme Court does the work of 9th
er courts) two cents per capita. II
cents, the smallest in New England
and the smallest in the country.
now are your people grooming I'M
der that? Do you think thew are
going to rebuke You for an increase
whlch amounts to $4,000 a year, less
than 1t will cost you to build one
mile OF State-aid highway, and not
use the cost plus system either?
Now compare the salaries thems-
selves: In the state of PENNSYLVANIA
and New Jersey $4,000, way out of
consideration, $4,000 in New York.
$4,000 in Massachusetts, $4,000 in
Illinois, $4,000 in Connecticut, IS, 500
in Wisconsin and Ohio. $4,000 in
Rhode Island, California, West Vir-
ginia and Louisiana, $500 in Mon
tana, Missouri, Delaware, Nebraska
and Minnesota, $1,000 in Michigan,
Georgia and Washington. $4,000 in
Maryland, $1,000 in Alabama, Texas
and Mississippi, $4,000 in Indiana.
Iowa, Nevada New Mexico. Okla
homa and Kansas $500 in North
Dakota and Tennessee, $3.50 in
North Carolina, 5000 in Virginia
and Oregon, $4,000 in New Hamp-
shire, Maine, Arizona, Colorado,
Idaho. Kentucky. Utah and Wyom-
ing. Now. with the exception of New
Hampshire, the State of Maine pays
its Supreme Court the smallest sal
airy of any state east of the Missis-
sippi Now, gentlemen, just a word
and then I am done. 1t is not a case
for comparison. Now what about
the court itself. what about the
work. The basic law upon which
rests the fundamental twelve tablets
Of the Romans was "salus populi
supren1a lex"-"The safety of the
people is the supreme law" Now
you want a Bench that not only will
function as it has, but will continue
to meet conditions: and I call your
minds back, gentlemen, to the open
ing day of this suspicious and UNI
usual legislative session, I call your
minds back there to the day when the
late Chief Executive was inaugural
ed. The Chief Executive and the
former Chief Executives We're here,
with the august senators in front,
and poised right between the two.
the Justices of our Supreme Court.
It was an suspicious, suggestive, Wis
IDLE lesson in government in this
very unusual and suspicious period.
We had the Executive, the Legisla-
tive, and between the two to preserve
the even poise, to give force to the
mandates that you make under the
direction of the Executive, those
laws which You pass which are to