The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-03-20

should have the right 10 determine whether
or not each city desires to leave It's police
system in the hands OF ITS council, which
costs nothing. or to Police Commissioners
who will cost 8 600 or s. 600 per annum or
more To say they shall necessarily have a
Board OF Police Commissioners they do not
want and that majority OF the people are
opposed TO. is thing / do not believe we
have right to force upon them. In Rich
mond there Is only one dissenting voice
against 600 who say they do not want such
a Metropolitan Police bill. The principle is
wrong.
Mr.. SMITH, OF Jay, moved to amend by
appropriately inserting the words less than
o Geo. in the first section.
Mr.. NULL made an Intellectual motion
yeas. -: NAYS. 22-to Substitute the minor
ity for the majority report.
Mr. THOMPSON. in explaining his vote,
said: was very much opposed TO the Met
Topoltan Police system when first intro
duced. but IL has worked so well that l am
in favor Of il nov, aad snall vote for its in
PRODUCTION elsewhere The minorities OF all
cities should favor the Metropolitan Police
system. Strangers and all classes Of people
should be proted, aud in my opinion YOU
can not get local police that will 10 Justice
on election day. / have seen the police ar
rest men in this city and keep them in du-
Tess for hours simply 10 influence elections.
/ vote no"
iiv report by substituting the words Board
OF Alderman aud Common Council Of said
city" ins tesd of the words Governor, Sec.
IetaTy and Auditor of 5 late, and providing
for the election OF said Commissioners by
the Alderman and Council, and fixing toe
number of inhabitants at % 600 to which
the bill shall apply. He said: | concur in
the sIstene nt that the people of every local
ity should decide for themselves what is best
for their own good. ! am utterly opposed to
the Metropolitan Police bill being extended
TO q single city in its present form. Ny
amendment only applies to the two cities
now provided with Metropolitan Police
system. Under my amendment the minor
ity in the Common Council can designate
their represen tative on the Police Board.
Mr.. SMITH, of Jennings: In principle /
am opposed to this kind OF legislation. Mat
tiers of local Importance should be controlled
by the psopie OF each particular locality. l
challenge history to chow where local self
government has ever been denied the PEOPLE
except by Republican legislation. We 90
not have 10 60 far back to find acts OF Con-
gress that have disfranchised whole States.
and the inhabitants thereof have been ruled
by those who were not inhabitants OF those
States. And it was question whether free
government would live or would perish ct
tie hands OF eminent civil service reform ers
like the Senator from Wayne. Home role
has been adhered to by the Democratic party
since America tCOE ler 6IRQQ among the
nations OF the earth. You gentlemen who
talk about homo rule aud self government
are frcm that party which has denied the
people selfgOvernment. In the days OF re-
construction negroes fresh from slavery were
put IN legislative balls st the Doint Of the
bsyonet. U. troops armed and equipped
marched into the legislative halls OF Louisi
ana and installed usurpers in the place CT
duly elected representatives OF the people.
You have been IN favor OF local sell govern
ment when it would make votes for the RI
publican psrty and opposed to it when it
would lose votes. / sat in this hall two years
| ago when it was full OF policemen, armed
with revolvers and sand bags kept here by
the Republican party represented bY the
then Lieutenant Governor when the friends
of the civil service reformer was trying TO
talk time to death. The necessity of Met
ropolitsn Police bill in Indianapolis grew
out of the condition of affairs because Of Tuis-
management of the Republican party. Mat
ters got SO corrupt an election was known to
/ be q Repu blican election, and every Rspub-
! llcan policeman was understood to be worth
! twenty-five votes There never was 4 city
so badly eisgraced by police force was
! the city OF Indianapolis. 1t was that there
should be change for the better that the
/ people of Indiana demanded there should
/ be police bill for the city OF Indianapolis.
4 1t was not an appeal for relief from Indian
apolis alone; / saw appeals from papers out
side, stating that unless better government
was had country merchants would not come
here to buy their goods. If localities will
not protect the people, power above it must
! do so. The Metropolitan Police bill was a
godsend to relieve them from the bonds OF
tyranny and corruption that held them down
to the ground. No citizen of Indianapolis
who pays tax and has due regard for his
rights would come in here and ask for the re-
peal OF that law. The Senator from Marion
/ (Mr. Winter) desires by his amendment 10
pass these good results to the cesspool from
which they sprang. / hope the amendment
will be defeated, and because / do not sac
I the necessity for any more Metropolitan D
lice bills in Indians hope the bill will sleeD
the sleep that will know no waking til the
gavel falls at the last hour of this session.
Mr.. MARSHALL: l rhink the amen =.
ment is fair and just, and hope it Sill BE-
adopted. As a Republican among the oths;
I hfteen on this hoor, Ne have been cOntinu
ally hearing from the Senator who has ius
! spoken that the Republican party have been
/ preventing the people from governin :
themselves. deny that, il the people have
ever been denied self-government, it has
been done by the Republican party. AS a
Republican, Young IN those days | find
nethIng in the history OF that party where
il has DISTINGUISHED the people on any oc.
casion. The whole trouble OF the election
in the Southern States must have been COM
mitted by Democrats, because I have heard
/ on l0lb llOOT the Stdtcnent l1ak the majority
| OF the soldiers were Democrats. Talk about
taking the rights of the people away nv
when the colored people were knocking for
sdmission a Democratic Senate in Indiana
/ broke q quorum and went home in order to
/ defeat a measure TO enffanohise them. The
resolutions and platforms Of the Democratic
/ party about 1860 aud after stated thu va
was failure and they wanted peace. /
would as soon expect to 6ud reform IN the
| Democratic party as TO ind en- iceberg in
/ Florida or an orange blossom in Ice and.
! Laughter
Mr. SELLERS moved a substitute for the
amendment by lDferting and less than 20.
/ 500, and in all cities having population OF
/ over 20 0O0," and demanded the previous
/ question.
The Senate refused 10 second the demand.
/ Mr.. HILLIGASS: L have peculiar ideas
/ upon the organization OF the police force,
and believe the State should make IL a
- L.. IL.