The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-07-04

4 of the Mayor in what he offered to do
| But what | cannot understand is how
! the Mayor can be excused from a plain
| duty in this matter, by making surges-
| tious to other people, ssand then declaring
| that the nelecJ to accept the PROPOSE
| tion will leave a grave responsi hiIity
| resting upon the shoulders of those who
desire rigid enforcement I am free to
say to Mayor Baxter that if my fellow
| citizens had elected me for the purpose
| of accepting propositions; if it was the
| law that the one holding nv place
should accept propositions; # I had TAX
en- a solemn obligation to accept propsi-
| tions. / would do the best | could with
| all the power at my command at this
one. The peculiar position thus as
sumed toward the enforcement of the
| law by the Mayor, reminds one most
fore1bly of the way in which ARENAS
/ Ward regarded the late war of the rebel
lion. He was willing to put it down, if
he had to sacrifice all his wife's rela-
tives to accomplish the purpose. So the
| Mayer is willing apparently to sacrifice
| the existing force of deputy sheriffs; to
| sacrifice Sheriff Grants privilege of ap-
| pointing his own staff of officers-in a
word he is perfectly willing that every
| body but the Mayor as such and the po-
| lice force under his direction should en-
1 force the law. When the Mayor gives the
! police force one opportunity at this
| matter and they fail, then it will be
time to invent other expedients in
which our hiue-coated guardians of the
| peace do not count. In the meantime
there is =" a grave responsibility" upon
| one pair of shoulders especially selected
out of all the shoulders of Portland for
the purpose.
| Now what is the plain issue thus OBJ
| scured by grataitous defense of the
| police, a recital of difficulties in the way
of enforcement suggestions as to the
amendment of the law and playful al
lusions to anatomy These various parts
of the Mayors reply simply served as SO
/ many screens to hide that which is plain,
a simple matter of duty. The duties of
| the Mayor are clearly defined in the
third section of our city charter as fol-
| lows:
"The Mayor of said city shall be the
chief executive magistrate thereof. 1t
| shall be his duty to be vigilant and &C.
tive in causing the laws ofsthe state, and
| ordinances and regulations of the city,
TO be executed and enforced. to exercise
general supervision over the conduct
| of all subordinate officers, and to cause
! violations or neglect of duty on their
part to be punished
Now in order for the Mayor to feel ag-
grleved because he has been misrepre-
sented there are some things he must
show, and | will mention them:
1.-The Mayor must show that the pro-
hibitory law is not a constituent part of
the law of the State of Maine, or
2-He must show that the law is be-
ing enforced or
SHE must show that he has done
what he could do with the force at his
command.
If the Mayor can make any of the
above mentioned facts appear, then apol-
o9ies will be in order from those who
have made public utterances concerning
his dereli ction. But if the Mayor can
not defend himself along any Of these
lines, then what has been said concern
ing the non-enforcement of the law and
the Mayors responsibility remains un-
shaken. The facts in the case are
these:
lit is the Mayors duty " to be active
and vigilant in causing the laws of the
state to be executed.
2-The prohibieory law is law of the
state.
3-That law is being violated in the
city of Portland.
1.-THE Mayor has never given his
marshal an order, even, to try with the
police force to put an end to this viola
ton of the laws of the state.
Such is the plain, unvarnished state
that he has been misrepresented in the
least.
But the Mayor says this is not a ques-
tion OF anatomy, thereby attempting to
discount the statement that back
bone" is a very useful portion of pub
lie officials makeup. Mayor Baxter
thinks it is "a question of Judgment"
This is most peculiar statement. It
certainly is not necessary to call atten-
lion to the tact that in our government
| there are three departments-the legisla-
TIVE, the judicial and the executive.
Our legislators make our laws, and they
exercise Judgment to what shall become
the law of the city, state or nation.
Our judiciary pass upon these laws, de-
Gliding qustions concerning their consti-
nationality, etc. But the executive, as
the name implies, is for the purpose of
executing law. The manner in which
this shall be done is clearly defined.
The Mayor is given a mum Der of police
men in order that he may enforce the
law laid down by the legislative bodies
and passed upon by the judiiary, and it
is not question of "judgmentn with
the executive, as to whether he will en-
force the law, so long as the law rests
upon the statute books unrepealed as
does the prohibitory law. There will be
Judgment necessary as to methods of en-
forcement, but there can be no legal
assumption by the executive that he is
to use his judgmentn in deciding
whether or not he will attempt to en-
force law. And that is the use of
Judgment" which Mayor Baxter re-
serves to himself in this instance. Such
use of Judgment" on the part of the
executives of our country would mean
the overthrow of government as it now
exists, for it would render the legisla-
tor and judge unr ecessary, and rest all
the powers in the executive. Such mis-
take would simply be fatal to public in
terest.
In closing let me say that the Mayors
etter is simply an acknowledgements,
With explanations, as TO why be will not
undertake to enforce the law. In an
swering the popular pulpit" he has
verified the statements there made. He
even goes SO far as to say that he knows
that the Mayor can order the mar
sinai to close these places, but if he did
under existing circumstances. he would
De worthy of impeachment That is his
Judgment" notwithstanding it is
plainly written that the Mayor shall be
jactive and vigilant. The Mayor implies
thatsit is impossible to close up thesrum
shops of the city, and he asserts that
such a splendid achievement has new
er yet been accomplished" To this I
would reply that the Mayor might try.
No one asks of our Mayor anyS exhibit
ron ofEmiraculous power. No one asks
that all vice and crime except one kind
bo ir,parod put thhu Il A.