The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-03-15
INQUEST OF THE INoUIsIToRS.
MORE LIGHT WANTED ON THE Po-
LICE COMMISSION AFFAIRS.

Another Meeting of the Investiga-
ting Committee to Be Held To-
night-One of the Commissioners
Complains of the Position in
which the Commissions Are Placed
by the Committee.
The investigating committee of council
will met this afternoon or tonight and
discuss further procedure in the inves-
tigation of the police commission. Sew
eral matters were brought up at the meet
ing of the committee with the police com
mission Friday night which the commit
tee desires to investigate further.
It will require one or two more sessions
with the police commission to dispose of
that body for the present. The plan Of
the committee is TO hold three meetings
a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday
nights. Wednesday being ST. Patrick's
day. however, the committee will hold no
meeting that night.
Both committee and commissioners were
very much surprised to see so full a re-
port Of the meeting Friday night in the
Morning News Of the next day. The
members OF both bodies were very much
worried to think that any member of
either body should have treated the other
courtesy as to furnish information of the
proceedings, after it had been agreed upon
that the hearing should be private. No
member of either body, so far as known,
was guilty of such discourtesy. Neither
did the stenographers give the secrets
away. There would certainly be no i'm
proprety, however, for the chairman of
the committee, or any member deputized
by hir, to give a general idea of the scope
OF the investigation of each meeting with
out going into details.
There is nothing going on in city
afrairs just now in which the public
is so much interested as these in
vestigations. and unless some information
is given as to the progress of the work
or the committee all sorts of I'M
founded rumors are liable to be put in
circulation and accepted by the public
1t is true that the investigation is being
conducted by a committee of council. but
aldermen have not hesitated in the past
to discuss matters referred to their COM
mittees and to express opinions, unless
there was some special reason for secrecy
A member of one of the commissions in
speaking of the investigation, said that
the commissions had been placed before
the public in the light of being suspected
of being guilty of unknown offenses
which the investigating committee is seek
ing to prove. He did not believe that any
authority could be shown for such an
Investigation, he said. The grand jury,
the highest inquisitorial body recognized
by the law of the state, cannot examine
witnesses, he said, simply upon a general
suspicion, but must investigate specific
charges. The committee appears, he said,
to be seeking evidence from the commits
sioners by which to prove the commits
sionerS guilty of something or other
which would disqualify them for their Of
fees. There is no warrant in law for
such an investigation, he said, and the
talk of placing the commissioners under
oath is nonsense. 1t is optional with the
commissions whether they submit to such
an investigation, and to request them to
give evidence under oath when no charge
has been preferred, is to imply doubt
of their veracity.