Daily Kennebec journal., 1926-09-09

Hon. A. NJ Spear. retired Active
Justice of the Supreme Court, makes
the following reply to Mr.. Payson
Smiths advocacy Of the Maher
Amendment:
Sept. :, 1926.
To the Kennebec Journal
In the Lewiston Journal of Aug.
30th is what purports to be an inter
view with Mr.. Payson Smith,
Superintendent OF Schools of the
Commonwealth Of Massachusetts.
The report of the interview does not
purport to quote the language OF Mr..
Smith. and is. in my opinion, in some
respects erroneous, as an analysis
OF the reported interview will clearly
show.
Mr.. Smith is made to say: Again.
said Mr.. Smith. in the matter of
teachers there had been a difference
in the practices of the two states,
under the laws of Maine any
person who could pass the examina- =
tion and secure the certificate could
be employed as teacher in the
public schools, A Catholic nun. a
Baptist preacherS> Jewish rabbi.
any of them We're eligible.
In Massachusetts they, as said, could
not be made use of. Here was one
of the first changes which the adop-
ton OF the Maher Amendment in
Maine would bring about"
AS a matter of law and fact how
ever. the Maher Amendment, neither
directly nor indirectly prohibits or
modifies the employment of any OF
the representatives of the sects above
named, nor of any other person.
white, black or yellow. cannot
think that Mr.. Smith ever intended
to make such a statement. Whether
he did or not II is equally misleading
and equally calculated to prejudice
and deceive honest minded people.
II this is a sample Of the interview
II is of little or no value. But let
us proceed under the assumption
that the rest Of it is more nearly cor
rect. =
The opinion of Mr.. Smith as to the
operation of the Maher Amendment
is entitled to weight. like any other
expert opinion. only so far as 1t is
corroborated by the presence Of facts
and experience.
I think it fair to say that the
opinions of Mr. Smith are based
largely upon the workings of the
constitution Of Massachusetts of
which the Maher Amendment Is a
copy. The headline Of the inter
views states that the Massachusetts
Commissioner explains how Similar
Law has acted in the Bay State"
Accordingly, when he predicts that
the amendment will prove bene-
fetal, give satisfaction. and prove
the solution Of grave problems" he
does so from the viewpoint Of the
operation of the law in Massa
chusetts.
A man from Massachusetts might
just as well have said that license
and local option worked we'll In
Massachusetts; that the refusal of
Massachusetts to raise any mill tax
for the support of the common
schools worked well there.
Maine, however. declined to follow
the example of Massachusetts, on the
cd our policy and seemed "bene
ffcar to a large majority OF our
people for more than a half a
century. Maine also declined to fol-
low Massachusetts in omitting the
mill tax for the support of its public
schools. a method Of raising money
for the schools of Maine. without
which our school system would have
been a sorrowful failure for the
want of sufficient funds to maintain
the rural schools.
The great men who formed our
Constitution, and no period of Maine
or of New England has ever had
greater. understood the geographical.
climatic and physical conditions Of
Maine, and anticipated its CONNER
cial and industrial future. with the
Massachusetts constitution before
them. and made the wise provision
which enabled the raising of suf-
ficient money for the establishment
and support Of the common schools,
the academies. senninaries. colleges
and other institutions Of learning.
which their wisdom and foresight
predicted might be necessary for the
development Of the strong men and