The Portland daily press., 1889-02-09

of our present chief magistrate our city
machinery has broken down, and we have
been obliged to oil and bring into service our
old rusty town machinery idle for more than
fifty years. Are we In the metropolis OF
Maine, shortly to become the capitol Of the
State, or has time rolled backward and we
are good old Falmouth once more? Twice
have the mayor and aldermen faltered in the
performance Of their official duties when
taking any decided stand on pending petit
tion would expose them to the disapproval
of large number OF citizens. Routine bus-
ness Is glibly transacted, but when pressure
is brought to bear, when the people take
sides and the merits Of proposed measures
are gone into, In two recent instances the
city system has not borne the strain put on
1t. Admit the matter In dispute Is within
the Boards jurisdiction, that its merits are
set forth, that members Of the Board have
opinions on 1t and that the. Board
were elected to pass upon 1t, some
from disagreeabe dilemma and what bet
ter one than to resort to popular vote.
The Portland 81 Rochester railroad amend
ed its charter In 1887, so as to build an ex-
tension to the Union Station. provided the
Mayor and Aldermen of Portland approved
the location of the new road. The present
incumbents Of those places were elected with
full knowledge that that location would
come before them for their approval, and
yet they undauntediy became candidates. So
promptly on what very casual examination
would have shown TO be q most important
measure affecting, as 1t did, Deering's Oaks.
the City Farm and the future growth Of the
city, but as soon as the remonstrants ap-
peared on the scene the problem suddenly
became too difficult to solve. A small delib-
crate body, able to meet and confer with the
railroad officials, represent the position Of
the city and adjust conflicting interests,
threw up its power and left the whole ques-
tion to the collective wisdom Of seven thou
sand people who could only say yes and no.
This was a bad scrape to be left In, we
being obliged to ballot the ship round Cape
Horn when the officers had refused to help
with their instruments and knowledge OF
navigation, but this was not the worst Of our
peril.
If our boards had simply refused to do
what the special act called on them to do we
could have acted for ourselves, but not con-
tent with their dereliction they must needs
volunteer to perform an act entirely out Of
their province and our situation Is ptlable
in the extreme. The Mayor and Aldermen,
with no legal authority, vote an amendment
to the act of 1887 and that amendment is sent
to the legislature as the act of the city of
Portland. 1t is passed through the railroad
committee and reported because it purports
to emb0Jy the wishes and desires OF the city.
For the second time remonstrants represent
ing citizens before the committee of the leg
islature are told they areastopped to oppose
what the city through its officers has sane
toned and that citizens are bound to submit
to what the board has voted. The assump-
tion of an unauthorized power does not ex-
cuse the refusal to exercise an authorized
one when such exercise was required. Bet
ter not take on new functions before old
ones have been exhausted. We will stand
behind our agents when they bind us within
the limits imposed by our statutes AID char |
ter but when they exceed those limits their |
action binds them alone. The action of the
board can no more give the proposed amend
ment character and standing than If the acts
Of seven citizens taken at random. That
board was citizens who happened also TO be
aldermen but had they been butchers, bak-
ers and candlestick-makers instead their act
would have had the same validity.