The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-04-06
Our New MAYORS Mistake.

are public property, and If he commits a
mistake we shall cal public attention to it
with view to its correction. We live I'M
der government of written law, and we
shall insist that he administer the govern
ment in strict accordance with law. That
is our right-the right of every citizen, land
we should be recreant to our duty towards
the public if we failed to insist on the obe-
dience Of all our servants to the exact let
ter of the law.
Mayor Calf issued an order to the police
on Saturday to close all the saloons at 1l:30
every night. This is an assumption of au
thority unauthorized by law, and no saloon
keeper is under any obligations to obey it,
and should any attempt be made to en-
force it the saloon keepers would be justif-
ed in ejecting the Mayor, Marshal or any
body else from their premises who attempt
ed to execute that order Damages could
also be collected for interfering, under that
order, with the business of licensed saloons.
This is not question of high license or
low license, of the propriety of saloon
keeping, or of the hours for doing business,
or of temperance, or of anti temperance-but
is question of law and the observance of
law. Saloon keepers have precisely the
same rights as other business men-under
the law The Mayor has no power to do
anything except in accordance with plainly
expressed law, and there is no State law
or City Ordinance fixing the hours at which
saloons shall be opened or closed. They
have, therefore, the same right to keep
open all night, if they please, that hotel
has, or a restaurant, or a cigar store, or
any other business.
We suppose that Mayor Calf thinks he
finds authority to issue this order in Sec.
,, of AN Ordinance regulating the Po-
lice, etc, in which it is enacted that ''The
Mayor shall from time to time
take such measures as he may deem ex,
pedient for the preservation of the peace
and good order of the city, and the prompt
execution of the laws and ordinances OF
the city" But this gives him no authority
for any such order, or to make any other
order not authorized by law. His author.
ity TO enforce existing laws is
ample, but he has no authority to make
law, or do anything not clearly authorized
by law. He cannot even make any rule OF
regulation for the police, of which he /:
CHEF, except By the concurrence Of the cit
council In the same section to which WI
have referred, the mayor is authorized ant
required to make and establish police rule
and regulations, but these must be onl,
'aoith the concurrence Of the city council,
and must also be mot inconsistent Will
the laws of the State, or the ordinances o
the city These police rules and regula
tons which the law requires to be mad
(see Sec. Ia must be in writing and signec
by the Mayor, and filed in the clerk s Office
and each policeman must be furnished
with written or printed copy of TIL
same.
In cases of riot, or of danger of dis
turbance Of the peace, the city charter(s SCI
Art III, Sec. 81 authorizes the mayor It
call on any and all white male inhabitant
of the city or county, over the age of |
years, or even to call out the militia
what for ?-the law says ito suppress an
riot, or to aid in enforcing the laws of tn
State or any ordinance of the city'-bu
he has no power to call on anybody to en-
force any rule he may make He is onl
an executive officer, with no power or dis
erection which is not given to him by plain
ly written law He cannot make law
+ nor can he make any rule or order withou
the concurrence Of the council, nor can tn
council make any rule or order except
be consistent with and authorized by la,
or ordinance
The order given by the m ayor on Satul
: day was plain assumption of unauthor
lied power. There was no more danger q
a disturbance of the peace after II o'cloc
Saturday night than there has been ever
, night for years. The good order and quie
, of the city was in no more danger than
has been every night for twenty-five year
past. There must have been an extraol
binary emergency to warrant the order i:
r sued by Mayor Galt-and no such emel
t gency existed then or exists now.
D The propriety of closing the saloons at
10, II, or II o'clock, or at any other hour
is another question-but it is not que.
: ton for the mayor to decide. The counc
. only can decide that. and it must be don
a by ordinance