Daily Kennebec journal., 1925-02-26

az to who Michael Burns js-but
Michael Burn, IL making his last
appearance here. in my opinion. to-
day.
There is only one man in the
House today who has attained his
age. Last summer he had shock.
He is in very feeble health and he is
a pethetic old man, today. Jie is an
inmate of the Soldiers National
Home at Togus. an inmate at the
hospital there. He hasn't a single
alone in the world. Gone are his
and his friends and he
realizes that this is the last time. if
justice is to be done him. that it can
be done.
But Michael Burns has not lived an
idle life. There was time when his
name would bring happy thoughts
and pride to those who knew him,
even as it does today. Michael
Burns served in the Civil War for
over four years. He was at the bat
tie of Bull Run-a defeat-and he no
doubt takes comfort in the memory
of other happy days of victory, but
the happiest memory that he has is
the day when he shed his blood for
us on the battlefield of Gettysburg.
And | submit that man of that type
is entitled to careful consideration
in any matter which he presents be-
fore this Legislature.
Now take the last three reports of
the Committee on Judiciary. There,
have been thirty signers. Twenty
five men have said that this matter
given the right to sue the State, and
five have said not. There have been
similar cases. and properly SO, where
men have been given permission to
sue the State of Maine. This mat
ter would not involve any great eX-
pense to the State. The evidence is
simple. The facts are practically
admitted. 1t would only be short
time before one Justice and the
matter could be determined. and if
Michael Burns has right, he should
be allowed to bring suit. and if he
has not. the Justice of the Supreme
Court will say so and the matter will
be ended; and that is all that he
asks. The expense of it is small.
There Is the DE Forrest Keycs
case, where Il man WAS allowed to
sue after being unjustly denied the
right for a number of years. There
is the Jones case. Precedent is alb
solutely in favor of Michael Burns.
That is all that we ask, that he be
to bring the suit. We do not
ask. on account of his advanced age.
any sympathy. We simply ask for
ordinary justice. and we ask of you
in this matter to let it be determined,
before it is too late, by the Supreme
Court of Maine
The SPEAKER: The pending
question is on the motion of the
from Augusta. Mr.. Mar
tin, that Report b. Ought to Pass"
be accepted. Is the House ready for
the question?
Mr.. HAMILTON of Caribou: Mr..
Speaker and gentlemen of the House,
l shall not attempt, in my feeble
way. to answer the splendid remarks
of my brother from Augusta. The
one thing that it seems to me that
we have to consider now is not only
the fact that many legislatures in the
past have decided that Michael
Burns should not sue the State, but
also the question of, whether or not
he has a just cause even after we
give him the legal right.
My brother Martin has stated truly
to You in regard to the circumstances
of the case. how under the Original
1
in the wrong. how afterwards by
change in the law of the United
States. Mr. Burns found that his
packages were not saleable
in the State of Maine. OF course we
will admit that that was unfortu-
nate. but we have many cases where
the State of Maine has taken action
against our citizens and after long
and tedious fights i'll the courts, it
has been discovered that the State
Of Maine was wrong. There is no
legal remedy for that. The injured
parties cannot come here and ask
you to give them rights.
Recently in our Court of Aroostook
County, l had an unfortunate gen.
tleman who had been arrested for
selling rum. He could not get his
bail and he had to go to Jail. lie
stayed there for many months AMI
when his case came up for trial the
county attorney admitted that he
did not have sufficient evidence to
convict him and let him go home.
1t seems to me that person had just
as much right to come down here
ami ask for the right to sue the
state for the unjust detention that
he had suffered in that Jail 1t seems
to me that Michael Burns has had
his justice when he has come before
the Committee on Claims in the past,
where they have attorneys. where
they have members such as you peo-
pie who are able to judge as well as
any jury. and in those cases they
have decided that Michael Burns hu1
no just cause.
And it seems to me that it would
be casting a reflection upon past
legislatures if we now should re-
verse the decision of those legisla-
lures and give Michael Burns this
right. 1t seems to me that we would
be opening the door to the persist
cnce of people who felt that they
had just cause to come down here
to future legislatures and, if the mat
ter was turned down. go on persist
ing in the hope that finally they
would get the opportunity to carry
the matter through.
1t seems to me that we should go
ahead this time and bury this mat
ter so deep that Michael Burns will
never have an opportunity or a de-
sire to come before any legislature
again on this matter.
The SPEAKER: Is the House
ready for the question?
Mr.. HOLMES of lewiston: Mr..
Speaker and members of the House.
/ wish merely to say that as one of
the members of the Judiciary Com
mittee who signed the report Ought
to Pass" l wish to sustain the mo-
ton of the gentleman from Au-
gusta, Mr.. Martin. and the prevailing
would be--and I think
should be with all of us-that there
have been gentlemen of such high
standing, both as lawyers and as
citizens, and whose loyalty to the
Law and the enforcement
thereof cannot be questioned. who
have voted in the past to give this
petitioner the right to sue the State,
u right which I believe should never
be denied when there is prima facie