Daily Kennebec journal., 1925-03-28
Senate Rejects
-.
Proposed Child
LaborAmendment
CITE GAMES CHANCE
when LINCOLN FAIR
SEEKS ITS STIPEND

Edward II. Emery of Sanford, SUI
perintendent of the Christian Civic
League Of Maine, at hearing be-
fore the committee on claims Fri
day afternoon, on a resolve to pay
the Lincoln county Fair Association
the sum of $130, the amount of it's
state stipend for 1922, testified that
that on the last day of the fair in
that year that he played two punch
boards on the midway.
Il played the punchboards and
then seized them" said Mr.. Emery.
II then spoke to the deputy sheriffs
and the two men operating the gam
bling devices were brought into
court and convicted. No one on the
midway of this fair tried to stop
gambling.
did you make any complaints to
the fair officials about this matter?"
asked Senator Cram Of Cumberland,
the chairman of the committee.
mo, I did not" replied the wit
ness.
did you see any one play the
punchboard?" asked Kendall M.
Dunbar of Damariscotta, who con-
Quoted the case for the proponents
of the resolve.
mo one. but myself" replied Mr..
Emery.
You were the only victim, then ?"
mo one else had chance to play
the punchboards because I lugged
them off,
Mr.. Dunbar said that he knew all
the officials of this fair and he was
positive that they would not know
ingly and Intentionally allow any
thing unlawful to take place on these
grounds.
Because some one comes along
and violates the law is no reason
why the stipend should be withheld"
said Mr.. Dunbar. 1--WE come here
because we believe that we are
equitably and justly entitled to this
stipend"
Senator Forrest H. Bond of Lin
coin county, who was sheriff of
that county at the time of the fair
in 1922, testified that he told Com
missioner of Agriculture that If
there was anything wrong with the
fair to let him know, and the fair
officials had told him that they want
ed the show conducted within the
law.
Commissioner of Agriculture
Frank P. Washburn, in Opposing
the resolve, stated that a public Of
ficial must do his duty, no matter
who is affected. He visited this fair
on the second day in 1922 and OBJ
served games of chance, including
at least 10 so-called wheels of for
tune in plain view. Other games
were seen running on the midway
which are prohibited.
Commissioner Washburn also tes-
tilted that he saw two young women
in his opinion conducting an i'm
proper exhibition, but this booth was
closed shortly afterwards by the
fair officials. Two members of his
department went to the fair grounds
on the following day and found
punchboards in operation. AS a re-
suit of activities two men paid a
fine for conducting gambling imple-
ments at the fair.
Commissioner ,Washburn read a
letter from Rev. j. L. Corson, of
Rockland. superintendent of the Pc
nobscot Bay Bethel Mission, saying
that gambling was conducted on
these grounds at Damariscotta on
one day of the fair in 1922.
with all the facts before me, I
could not approve the claim of the
Lincoln county Fair Association for
its stipend" said Commissioner
Washburn. ''The Fair association
shouldn't look to the sheriff or his
deputies or the department of agri-
culture to regulate their midway,
they should look after it them
selves"
Sheriff Ward Wescott's Claim
Representative Foster of Els
worth conducted the case for the
proponents in the matter of the re-
solve in favor of Ward w. Wes-
colt of Bluehill, formerly sheriff of
Hancock county, for partial re-im-
bursement for expenditures in i'm
peachment proceedings against him
in 1923 when he was acquitted by
the governor and council after a
hearing of failure to enforce the pro-
hibitory liquor law.
1t was stated that the sum asked
for in the resolve was Sits, al
though Mr.. Wescott spent more than
that for his defence, but he had no
vouchers for it.