The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-01-23

BIB O'CLOCK.
TWO MEASURES.
A Police Commission and
Returning Board.
Bill For Latter NecesSitateS
Constitutional Amendment.
No Haste to Create New Control Of
Police Department.

l~icitors, Mr.. Colwell and MIR. Baker, has
already asked the General Assembly to
pass four bills for acts which the City
there are several moro TO zone before the
provisions Of last year are all carried out.
The two most important ones yet TO come
are: First, q bill for an act which will
constitute the board OF canvsssers and
registration az a returning and county
board; INT second, a bill for an act which
will result in more @ comprehensive legis-
lstion in criminal matters and enable the
| city police to deal more advantsgeously
with suspicious persons and II also asks
for che adoption OF q law in this State
similar to the hatitual criminal act of
Massachusetts.
There is nc opposition whatever from
any source to this measure and it is prob
able hat the present General Assembly
plant of the police officials that there is
not enough law back of them.
WHAT THE CONSTITUTION SAYS.
AS to the bill to establish a new order
OF things in the counting OF ballots cast
in this city there is a wide difference OF
opinion. All city Democrats are opposed
TO 1t on principle tecause there is no pro-
vision in the bin that their party shall
be represented on the board. Neither is
there provision for any party being repre-
scented as II was designed by the trainers
of the bill to create a non-partisan COM
mission.
There is one feature OF this bill which
is not generally understood, either in the
City Council or in the General Assembly
and that is that its adoption necessitates
an amendment to the State Constitution.
The dill provides for the counting OF bal.
lots cast in the State and city elections
by the proposed Board. This could be
done SO far as the election OF local officers
is concerned, but in regard to the cleo
tion OF State Senators and Representatives
the Constitution says in Article s, Section
g.: SIN the city of Providence, the polls
for Senator ana Representatives shall be
kept open during the whole.time Of vot-
ing for the day, and the votes in the sew
eral wards shall be sealed up at the close
of the meeting By the wardens and ward
clerks in open ward meeting, and after
wards delivered TO the city clerk. TIE
Mayor and Aldermen shall proceed to
count said votes within two days from
the day of election" Therefore, to quail
ify the present commissioners OF registrs-
tion to count ballots cast at all elections
the bill must be passed at this session Of
the Assembly and at the May session OF
the bers elected nextApril and then
submitted TO the people.
The bill authorizing the city Council
OF Providence TO elect three commission.
ers to control the police department,
which was introduced yesterday and re-
fcrred to the judiciary committee, has not
yet been officially considered, and, as
stated in The NEWS last evening, there
will be no haste on the part of the COM
mittee TO recommend anything so far as
this particular measure is concerned. The
committeeman attach more or less signi.
ficance to the fact that of the City Coun-
cilmen who asked for a police commits
sion practically half failed of reelection
and that their successors would vote
differently on the same matter. The bill
has not come before the judiciary com
mittee OF the Senate, but several gentle
men on that committee have expressed
opinions relative thereto. One OF them
said today that there is no protection for
the country towns in the matter of
police department control and he said
several other things that might easily be
Inferred to mean that the Governor of the
State should appoint Providence police
commissioner IL there are to be any.
Another Der of this same committee
said that there is too much politics In the
control Of the Providence police force and
that there always will be so long ss the
Council has anything to do with IL
whether its head Is n chief or n board of
commissioners. The idea OF SLOWING the
States executive officer to appoint com
missionsrs for the principal city is not at
all unattractive TO the out-of-towr AS
semblymen.