MAINE: Skirmish on Munjoy Hill

Like many another U.S. city, Portland (pop. 77,000) worries about its people's failure to take much interest in town affairs. Only 25% of its citizens bothered to vote in recent elections. In their search for a cure, Portlanders recently reinstituted an old down-East tradition, the town meeting. They began holding three a year, each in a different section, with the idea of covering the city's twelve chief districts in four years.

Last week the town meeting was held at Jack Junior High School on Munjoy Hill, an old, rundown, Irish-leavened working-class district. The...