Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-03-21

eXnlDltS. 1 can see no emu 10 WHdI
the State may be asked to contribute
if this building is once started.
Mr.. Speaker and gentlemen Of the
Legislature. you have had a shining
example OF the State building pro-
position recently before you. I re-
fer now to the State Pier at Port
land. Probably no state in the Union
ever received SO near one hundred
cents on the dollar for money spent
as has been received by that pier. l
doubt if you. could find a board Of
directors in the State Of Maine who
would so faithfully. efficiently and
conscientiously perform their work.
Yet this Legislature has been asked
for $3.50 to finish the job. If that
pier had not been built. would this
Legislature have ever started this
proposition?
Members Of the Legislature, we
have fifty fairs in the State Of Maine
poor. struggling. starving fairs.
Their benefit no one will deny. /
personally would rather distribute
this $4,000 among those fairs for I
believe that 1t would do more good.
Finally, Mr.. Speaker and members,
we must admit, each and every one of
us, that we came here pledged to a
program of economy. Perhaps some
Of you are already pledged to this
resolve. There might be a question
as to whether or no you are not
pledged to pledges, there may be
two pledges. OF the two evils
choose the lesser. I believe that true
economy consists in the taking care
Of the property which we already
have and not expanding into a build
ing program calling for large over
head expenses.
Mr.. Speaker and members Of the
Legislature. 1 can picture two years
from now that some of my colleagues,
/ hope the most of them, will wish
to return here to the. Legislature. I
can picture them going out on the
stump with drawings. blueprints.
photographs of this building and that
will presumably be all the advan-
tages and beauties of this building
that ninety-nine per cent of the peo-
pie of the State Of Maine will ever
see: and 1 can sec you telling your
constituents that you voted for this
building. Gentlemen. had you not
better stop. look and listen?
Mr.. DOUGLAS Of Lamoine, Mr..
Speaker, 1 only regret that 1 am
hardly in physical condition today to
answer in full. would like to say
that the last speaker, by his vote two
years ago and by his work. upheld
this and voted for it to go over the
veto. Until two weeks ago l had
no reason to suspect anything other
wise than that he was in favor of
this bill. Why he dayes not go home
and face his constituency after voting
for this measure. l cannot under
stand. Every organization of any
kind that is organized within the
State is in favor of, and has gone
on record as in favor of. this build
ing. The gentleman (Mr. Phillips)
belongs in rural district. and l
know that his constituency. through
the Grange. has gone on record. and
if he cares anything for the boys
and girls. the young men and young
women. of this State. that they can
have a chance to show what they
can do-perhaps am reiterating here
and perhaps 1 am not holding exact
ly to the line of argument that
should were l in q little better con-
dition,-but l will answer a few of
his arguments. He stated that we
denied the State Prison it's resolve. l
House nor the Senate denied it If he
has a pet academy that wants money,
l will vote for it. ! have no pet; l
have no pet measures and nothing
but just what is good for the State
of Maine. as I believe it: but if his
pet academy wants money. l will vote
for it and l will pay my share of the
taxes on account of ii.
Tl,oco
tendency to advertise. We have lived
too long within ourselves and have
never advertised the things that we
are capable of doing, either in an
agricultural or an industrial way.
Our fairs have been running for
years and years and I surmise that
every particle of the opposition that
there is to this measure has come
through some fairs, or perhaps per-
ssonal animosities. However, there is
no question in my mind but what this
is an absolutely pure investment. and
| wish to reiterate the things that l
said the other day in speaking of it
that it is an investment that will pay
for itself. if the Commission lets the
space, in four years. and if it &C
cepts money as it has in the past
for space. it will pay for itself in six
years. In regard to building hem
houses. if it were necessary, l would
vote to build henhouses there If the
boys and girls who exhibit there
could sell their product or advertise
their State. Now 1 cannot say any
more. I am not able to: but 1 hope
that the motion to indefinitely post
pone will not prevail.
Mr.. HOBBS of Hope: Mr.. Speaker,
I have been here going on now twelve
weeks and 1 think the most 1 have
done is to stop, look and listen. and
I. as one of the agricultural repres-
entativcs of the State, am heartily
i'll favor of the passage of this bill;
and I am in favor of taxing property
that has been exempt from taxation
years back. ! am in favor of taxing
hens to pay for it. If we have to
build henhouses, all right; If we have
to tax hens. all right.
Mr.. HAYES of Chelsea: Mr..
Speaker. + am glad that this has got
in position where we can at last
talk on it. What 1 wish to say in
regard to this matter has been pretty
well brought out by Mr.. Phillips. I
do not believe that it is time for us
to come here and build this building
out of the State. one that costs so
much money and one that would cost
so much money to maintain. when
we have buildings in our own State
that are much more needed. This has
been very well pointed out happen to
be on the Committee on Sanitoriums
and a lot of buildings have been put
UP to us that ought to. be built this
year. We considered that and we
considered it deeply. Finally we
would say it ought to go. and then
we would turn around and look at
the tax bills and we would say it
could not go. In that way we sifted
it down to a very few. This bill in
here that Brother Douglas says Mr..
Phillips was in favor of two years