The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-05-22

| which completed lts lnNestigatioh-or,
rather, inquisition = OF the board Of
license commissioners month and half
ago has finally succeeded In completing
its report, and this was presented to the
Board OF Aldermen at yesterdays session.
To any one who VIII stop TO recall that
| the charges which this committee investi-
gafed were ,ast fall deliberately in public
speech, stated to be facts by Mayor. then
candidate, McGUiNNEss and other Demo-
cratic and Goo Goo candidates. and by
the Democratic and Goo Goo organs; that
much on the strength OF the improved
accusations, the Democratic and Goo Goo
campaign was carried to the success 1t
had, since the public had some faith that
the candidates who made the charges
were men OF integrity and fair amount OF
intelligence; that the justification of these
blatant partizans depended upon a find
ing OF "guilty" as a result OF the investi-
cation, and that the investigation was
the expression OF the last OF a series of
attempts 10 correct alleged evils and to
accomplish promised reforms, the Others
OF which had already proved abortive, it
may be readily understood why the in
vestigating committee should have been
so slow in making report that had only
one plain fact 10 Declare, and that, with
the trimmings OF certain recommends
tions as TO the license system provided by
the Stote OF Rhode Island and with which,
except to abide by IL, the license board
has nothing whatever to do, contains
only about thousand words that handy
man with lead pencil could have writ
ten easily within an hour.
Evidently, however, there predomin mat
ed in the investigating committee spirit
of fairness and justice. The report indi-
Gates that the majority OF the committee
sought to honestly find out II the changes
made could be substantiated and we do
not recall that any single member of the
committee made the charges on the stump
during the campaign, although more
than one OF them had partizan interest
in supporting them and justifying the
loose mouthedness OF candidate McGUIN-
NESS. II any ssrt of method OF proceed
ing could have secured verdict of
"guilty" against the pnembers of the IL
cense board that permitted to run riot at
the hearings would have accomplished 1t.
The people Will not soon forget the dis
graceful procedure that characterized the
ten long drawn out public hearings. The
members OF the license board were sub
jected to scandalous abuse and the FREQ
bullyraeging OF every irresponsible agent
of a erog shop grievance that cared to
"take It out" of them. Neither legal rule
nor common decency controlled the pro-
ceedings until public indignation called
a halt Had the members of the board
been finally convicted of every charge
brought against them the verdict would
never have justified the methods permit
ted in the edort to secure it and would
not have stood. As a matter of fact the
board is completely cxonerated.
Recalling the circumstance OF these
hearings how naive Is the observation of
Chairman FuLLER in his report that "the
fullest latitude of expression was allowed
at the hearings We should say II was.
And how amazingly frank is the valedic-
tory that ''your committee, however, are
convinced that the wholesale liquor deal
ers have exercised considerable influence
over he license commissioners. II is
certainly interesting to have had some
body on that investigating committee
stand by the Goo Goo colors to this extent.
II partizan "couvictions" counted for any
thing except to fool the people as they
did to an extent last fall there would have
been no need fer taking the trouble to
investigate. 1t is a pity though that the
report does not give us some information
as to the character OF this "infiuenoe.
There are influences both good and bad
and it is possible that even a wholesale
liquor dealer Is capable Of exercising the
former. But that this remark may per-
haps be regarded as covert attack on
the wholesale liquor dealers, whom the
COMMITTEES was not instructed to investi-
gate, rather than a slap at the license
board is indicated by the further state
ment that despite the convictions, /" "it
is evident that the commissioners must
be exonerated from any improper con-
duct or interested motive In the dis.