The morning call., 1895-01-25
LExUW1NG By RULE.


LEXUWING BY RULE.
There Viii Be Lac Calling for a Stand
ing Committee.
SACRAMENTO, Jan. "a. = The purpose
Phelps had in asking that the Lexow
proposition go over from yesterday until
this morning was made apparent immedi-
ately after the journal was read this morn
ing in the Assembly. They did not wait
until the hour of IL O'Clock, for which the
subject was made a special order
Waymire introduced at once a substitute
for the Ewing resolution, which latter
merely provided for the appointment of a
committee to make the appointment, giving
it, of course, all the power that resolution
can. But last night Mr.. Phelps, Judge
Waymire and t. V. Gator got together and
prepared a resolution which took stronger
hold of the subject, and as they think,
made it effective where the other was
not. In presenting it, Waymire ex-
planned that the Lexow committee,
which had sunk graphing hooks
into the corruption of the New York Police
Department, had acted under the au-
thority of law, and therefore accomplished
its purpose. There was no law covering
the situation in California, and it would be
necessary to make one. Any committee
merely appointed in response to a resolu-
ton would be handicapped and would fail
The resolution presented calls upon the
Attorney-General to prepare an act for
general law under which committee, to
be composed of four members of the AS
sembly and three of the Senate, to be APP
pointed by the presiding officer of each
body respectively, shall have the power to
investigate any department of any city or
county government in the State upon
reasonable evidence being shown that any
form of corruption or fraud is practiced in
its operation.
The committee shall have the powers of
a judicial body in so far as summoning
persons and papers is concerned, and may
exonerate and exempt witnesses from
prosecution who may give valuable evil
dence looking to the conviction of the
principals in any such fraud, and shall also
have power to punish for contempt any
who refuse to appear to answer questions,
or to punish for perjury those who testify
falsely. The committee shall be authorized
to employ necessary clerks and steno-
graphers. twill be a standing committee
that may be called to act at any time
during their two years term of Office, or
until their successors are elected and quail
fed. They shall make their report to the
Governor, and he will report to the succeed
ing Legislature.
The substitute met with no material OPP
position. Brusie declared that it was an
insult to the committee on public morals
that the whole matter should not be left in
their hands as it was essentially the bust
ness of that committee and declared his
Astounding confidence in il, declaring he
would be willing to trust his life in its
hands as indeed he would in those of any
committee of this body, which would indi-
cate that none ofthe members of them have
any particular grudge against him SO far as
he knows.
Powers made another little speech to the
effect that a general law which provided
for the springing of a Lexow committee at
any unexpected moment upon any de-
fenseless community at the expense of the
State and the possible aggrandizement of
the committee might be a very good thing
in its way, but that so far as San Fran
cisco was concerned she could be depended
upon to do her own lexowing.
The substitute resolution passed. Ewing
made no protest, although he was not
especially taken into the confidence of the
little gathering of last night which pre-
pared this flank movement. The fact is
that the bill is already drawn and by the
same -Waymire, Phelps and Ca
tor. They presented it to the Attorney
General to-day and he is now studying its
provisions.