The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-11-25

The following announcement In the ad-
vertising columns OF the sunday Journal
was paid for By MATHEW J. CUMMINGS.
Overseer OF the Poor, and the bill ,.will
probably rot be sent TO the city treasury:
pronounce the charge made agaipst nc ~
to the administration of the Office Of the oyor-
seer OF the poor deliberate campaign lie.
absolutely false and malicious. The records
of my office show that the "Committes on
Poor OF the Board OF Aldermen" approve the
administration OF my Office. and these records
are open 70 the inspection OF every citizen.
MATHEw j. CUMMINGS.
Now, Mr.. CUMMINGS, you are at liberty
to "pronoupco" all you please, but you
know that the facts pre- ,nted in this
newspaper, constituting q charge against
your administration, are not campaign
lie" or any other kind Of a lie, although
it IS "deliberate,n made with due con-
sideration, and only after admissions
from yourself
1t is not unlikely that The records Of
your Office "show that the committee on
poor Of the Board OF Aldermen approve"
your admin inistration. As to that we know
of course that the people OF Providence
have on repeated occasions "approved
your administration. But as with the
people, so with the poor committee
they have been fooled, misled. They did
not know what you were doing. They do
not know. We have told them after you
hsd admitted to us that the facts and fig
ures secured by us were correct.
And the citizens need not go to your
Office to inspect the records. We are
printing them for public information as
fast as we can get hold Of them.
The first question, OF course, as between
yourself and The NEWS yourself and
the people who have reposed confidence
In you-is: Did you have the right to
board yourself at the expense OF the poor
fund? OF course you did not. There
never was warrant ana authority for It.
The people did not knew you were doing
il. The poor committee who audited
your bills, and so wero misleo into sap
proving your administration, did not
know it. You certified that the goods
charged had been received as specifed
they were all right, and those bills de-
manded approval. They did not suspect
that they wer, bills for your own table,
or for the man in the moon. As an honest
city official you were presumed TO send to
the poor COMMITTEES for audit and pay ment
from the roo. fluid oniy bills for goods
bought to support the poor No one
could undertake TO question that the
bills were for anything else unless they
became SO extrsvsgant that suspicion
would be aroused. IL you had bought p..
amos, or house and lot, or bicycle,
or silk hat, or a ticket to the opera,
such items would have commanded an
inquiry.
Whether you thought you bad the right
to board yourself a. the expense OF the
city is another question. We can have
no means Of knowing what you thought.
We do not, therefore, impugn the honesty
Of your thoughts. You had, however,
no earthly reason for thinking that you
had the right to board yourself at the
expense OF the city. BY vote of the peo-
pie, you accepted an office in the employ
OF the corporation OF the city Of Provi-
deIce at stated salary of sl4O0. In addi-
tion to that you were allowed office ex-
penses and perhaps other perquisites in
the unwritten contract. But you can no.
where find authority or moral right for
boarding yourself at expense Of the city.
Should II, at any time, have appeared to
you in the performance Of your duties
to the interest OF the municipal corpora
ton to have eaten at the poor department
dou ubtless your action would have been sp.
proyed- es IL could have reasona bly have