The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-02-28
Very Uneasy Time for the
City Solicitor.
A Bay State Sealer of Weights
and Measures Trials.
Oldest Building in the City Used for
School Purposes.

1t may be safely assumed that City so-
licitor Colwell didn't feel very comfortable
at the hearing given by the judiciary
committee OF the house yesterday alter
noon on the bill to authorize the City
Council OF Providence to appropriate
money for the relief of policemen or fire.
men injured or incapacitated while In
the performance of duty. First he was
told that the committee couldn't see the
necessity for the bill he had prepared be-
cause the city already had all ard even
greater power than that conferred by 1t
under an act passed some seven years
Rgo. That was somewhat OF damperer,
but wasn't half as bad as the subsequent
declaration of Chairman Bio gett that al
though policemen and firemen are paid
according to day rate they are stl
salaried officers. This opinion is directly
opros To that which the city solicitor
has given to the city fathers and which
has result i'm the dropping from the
pay rolls of both departments the
names OF those who are injured or IN
capacitated. Chairman Blodgett Is
lawyer himself, and recognized he State
over as very sound one. his expression
OF opinion, therefore, in opposition to the
one held by the city solicitor, was not
calculated 10 make the latter feel as COM
Portable as he would had his opinion re-
ceived endorsement from the same source.
However, the effect of the hearing will
doubtedly be to give a law which Will
enable the city TO make fair provision
for those who are injured in her SER
vice and one about the construction OF
which there Will be no question or doubt.
One thing was made clear, end that Is
that service pension for police and fire.
men is not even within the possibilities
at least for some years TO come. Perhaps
when that happy time arrives when the
treasury wi overflow something will be
done In this direction, but that will be
in the dim and distant future when mum
icipal debts are no more and Goo Coos
cease from investigating and lef'slating.
The sealer of weights and measures in
one of the small towns outside OF Boston
has been creating some thing OF stir, and
unless all signs are at fault he will be the
subject of an investigation, but for an en-
firely different cause from that for which
the Providence sealer was put on the rack.
1t appears thatin the town in question IL
has been the custom to elect sealer every
year, but so little Importance was paid
the Office, or perhaps, the possible
emoluments To be derivet were so insig-
nificant, that none of the persons elect q
saw fit to qualify. Thus it is related that
for thirty-one years this particular town
has been without SeHlcf W no Se8leu. Inc
latest one elected, however, seems to be
made Of different stuff from his predeces-
sors. At lesst he thought public Office con-
ferred some powers on the holder and
ought also TO contribute to his support. Fo
the amazement of the merchants of the
tosn the new sealer began crusade
among their scales and measures, thing
that hadn't been done for three decades
and more Amazed as they were at this
unexpected activity on the part OF the la
test sealer they were still more astonisbed
to find that he didn't know how to seal.
He didn't know the first principles OF
the business, but that didn't deter him a
bic. When he got stuck he called on the
merchant whose scales he was working
on aud Induced him to put things 10
rights. But this service wasn't rewarded
by any diminution of the fees charged.
The scale owner had to pay the
fealer just as much as though
the latter and not the former
mad done all the work. Naturally this
method OF making good thing out of
the Office caused no end of discussion,
but no active steps were taken until the
other day when the new sealer went to
the postoffice and insisted on scaling
Uncle Sans scales. The postmaster, a
man OF choeric temper, seized the Off
cious sealer and threw him bodily out OF
the office, and now to make things still
more unpleasantly interesting, the sealer is
to be investigated to see If he knows
quart measure from quadrant.