The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-06-22
The Board Of Mayor and Aldermen


The Board Of Mayor and Aldermen
The recent controversy between the mayor
and the aldermen as to the right of appoint
ing liquor agent has interested the public
as to their relations to each other and to the
government of the city. Even among the
most intelligent citizens there is great mis-
apprehension as to the functions and duties
OF the mayor. There is a vague idea that he
occupies the same relation to the aldermen
that the President does to the senate and the
Governor to the council. But this is very
great mistake. While the mayor is the
''chief executive magistrate" whose duty it
s to execute and enforce ordinances and regu-
ations. and supervise officers, yet the City
Charter says in express terms that ''the ex-
ecutlve powers of said city generally and the
administration of police and health depart
ments, with all the powers OF selectmen, ex-
cept as modified by this act, shall be vested
in the mayor and aldermen" And this idea of
vesting the executive power in the board
prevails throughout the whole charter Be-
AVAO ehO yOdi lCOO tu0 LldyOI anu dlucTIQGu
used to meet as board and appoint by reso-
luton or by ballot the marshal and deputies
and policemen and health officers. Towards
the close of Mayor McLellan's administration
the mayor wan.ed to remove policeman,
and the aldermen refused The act of 1866
was then passed, and the policeman went out.
This appointment of liquor agent has for
long time been a matter of contention be-
tween the mayor and aldermen. In 1866,
May 7th, "Lorenzo Hamblen was appointed
AGENT by the Board. In 1868, May 4th, by
the records, edward Moore was appointed
liquor agent'; how, it does not appear,
except that the language of the record is
the same as that describing the appointment
of Hamblen, who certainly was appointed by
the whole board. In 1869 the Mayor ap-
pointed W. Fl. Walker, and the aldermen
consented" In 1872 the Mayor nominated
Edmund Winship and the aldermen refused
to concur, and two months afterwards the
records say-and it IS all they say-"After
balloting seven times, William Weeks was
elected agent for the sale of intoxicating
liquors." The next year, 1878, the Mayor
appointed Weeks, and this being agreeable to
the aldermen, he became agent. The next
year, 1874, the record says, "The Mayor
nominated Chas. H. Green, liquor agent.
Non-concurred: nays, yea. Alderman
Sampson nominated for candidate William
Weeks, and on balloting was declared elect.''
These extracts from the records show that
the question of who had the right to appoint
the liquor agent has been a disputed matter
between the mayor and the board for some
time. If Mr.. Richardson or his friends think
there was any political issue about the late
dispute, they are plainly mistaken. 1t was
an issue between the mayor and the alder
men as officers of the city, not between them
as Democrats and Republicans. Of course,
when the mayor was of the same party as
the aldermen, he had little motive to con-
tinue wrangle, and in all cases yielded As
appointed liquor agent. Efforts have been
made to take advantage of this dispute about
authority 10 close the agency, and keep il
closed. There seems to be no reason why
this should be so. The city has stock of
liquors on hand, purchased according to law
foe lawful purposes. Even the Prohibitory
Law recognizes the necessity of their use for
medicinal, mechanical and manufacturing
purposes, and provides but one way to obtain
them. That way is from an agency. 1t may
be worth while to consider whether it be-
hooves the city of Portland to refuse to allow
its law-abiding citizens the rights which even
the Maine law gives them. 1t is hardly worth
while to be more prohibitory than prohibition
itself. Even if the Board of Mayor and
Aldermen were desirous of closing the
agency, it is poor time to do it with stock
on hand.
1t has been stated with somewhat of
flourish that the ordinance of Jan. II,
1871, provides that none OF the money
realized from liquors shall be paid out unless
the bills are approved Shy the mayor" So
it is declared in the charter that ''no money
shall be paid out of the City Treasury except
on orders drawn and signed by the mayor"
Those who believe that Mayor Richardson
will refuse to audit an honest Indebtedness of
the city because he can refuse, any more than
he will refuse to sign warrant, simply be-
cause he has the power, do him more injus-
tice than any opponent ever did. An iDtima-
tion has also been made that if the agency
be opened. a search and seizure warrant will
be sworn out. If this is done, it will involve
twelve or thirteen hundred dollars worth of
property belonging to the city of Portland,
and will be done only through malice and
partisanship, for if any man, honestly belev-
ing he is right, wishes to test the opinion of
the City Solicitor, it can easily be done
otherwise without danger to the city or risk
Of its property.