The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-04-13
THE COMMISSION AND THE LANE

Under the rules ordinarily applied in
constituting possible conflicting statutes.
it is Dy no means clear that our street
commission is in danger of emasculation
under the so-called LANE law" This
latter is general statute clearly apply
ing to the class of officials created under
municipal charters and called municipal
officers.
AS effect can be given to it through
such application it may we'll be quess-
toned whether it can be further extend
ed and made to apply to an officer Great
ed under special statute, enacted by
the same legislature and Hereunder
charged with well defined respor bill
ties and as clearly clothed with specific
powers and rights. The legislature may
fairly be presumed to have intended
something by each Of those laws and is
not to be lightly charged with the in
tent of indirectly undoing that which 1T
had just specifically done.
II the lawyers who represented Port
land in both branches of the legislature
and the lawyer-governor from Portland
who sat in the executive chamber and
who approved the bill, could not see any
conflict between the two laws it is prob
able that those who now affect to do SO
have q PURPOSE i'll view which they are
not prepared to avow. Whether the object
is to attack the legislature as body, or
the Portland representatives, in both its
branches, or in the executive chamber,
all or either OF them, would not be
proba bly, admitted by them and may not
be lightly charged-lEvening Express.
The object, SO far as the PRESS is con-
cerned, is to state the facts. as near as it
can ascertain them. If the facts appear
to reflect unfavorably on any persons, let
those persons show thaG it is appear
rance merely. Now it is a fact that the
judiciary committee reported bill Gre
ating a street commission for the city of
Portland and that the legislature passed
it. 1t is fact too, as the Express itself
well says, that this commission was
rights" 1t is a fact that on the last
night of the session of the legislature a
bill was approved by the judiciary
committee, two of the members of which
were representatives from this city, spe-
ciScally placing all su bordinate city Off
GERS "under the direction and control" of
the board of Mayor aud Aldermen; and
it is fact that this bill was passed by
the legislature the next day and became
law. There is no dispute but this act
takes away from the lower board of
every city council in this state all right
to participate in the direction and con-
troll of all su coordinate city officers. There
is no claim anywhere that this bill was
recommended by the judiciary commit
tee on account of any request for it from
~ ir.+ 4of., A sYrcfa
and there the request was, so far as has
appeared, made by one man only. No
intimation was given the municipal
officers OF the people of any city that
any such legislation was contemplated.
Powers exercised for years by common
councils III every city in this state con-
jointly with boards of aldermen were
summarily taken away without any
notification of such intention, without
any consultation with the officials or
the people of any of the cities affected,
on the last night and day of the session
when, as every body knows, the legisla-
ture has ceased to be deliberative body
and has become almost mob. Now if
this were all that this legislation ac-
complished it would be enough to con-
denim it, and to convict the men respon-
sible for it of gross carelessness or in
difference to the opinions of the people
they represented. 1t is the custom of
the legislature ordinarily to refuse to act
en- rhe most inconsequential matters
without giving the parties a hearing.
Yet here was an act affecting every city
government in the state rushed through
the Judiciary committee and the legisa-
ture at the very end of the session, SIM
ply on the statement.of an Augusta rep
resentative that it was needed to clip
the wings of some officer of that town
who was inclined to be uppish. Will
anybody undertake to say that such leg
lslating as that is good. is defensible?
But this is not all this eleventh hour
legislation accomplished. 1t practically
nullified the central idea of measure
which had been passed by the legisla-
ture three weeks before, on the recon-
mendation of the same committee which
recommended the later law. We refer
to tho Portland street commission bill
And this is where the special RESPONSE
bility of the Portland representatives on
tie judiciary comes in They were I'M
der especial obligation to scan closely
any general legislation relating to city
governments, lest il conflict and destroy
the special Legislation that had been en-
acted in regard to their own city. Now
we claim that this general law does
affect the street commission. precisely to
what extent may ultimately be for the
courts to decide. But it affects it, and