The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-02-14
IT Is UN-AMERICAN
Congressman McEwan De-
nounces the Secrecy
Idea in Public
Affairs.
GLEDHILL COMMITTEE'SDUTY
Let the People Know It ALI
Worst Abuse Of Our
Public System.

Congressman Thomas McEwan is OPP
posed to secret sessions of the Gledhill
Investigating Committee or of n other
legislative body. He declares that secret
sessions are wholly un-American and are
a danger to the people. He maintains
that it is the right of the public to be
acquainted with all that their rulers do.
He spoke freely on the subject when in
terviewed at his home last night by a
reporter for The News
MANY of the evils from which this
country is suffering at the present time,
he said, may be traced to secret sessions.
1t is wholly un-American to have secret
sessions of legislative bodies or investi-
eating committees. Secret sessions of
any public body should not be allowed.
The only exceptions / make to this rule
are the deliberations of grand and petit
juries. I an a firm believer in letting
in the light in dark places, consequently
1 am utterly and entirely opposed to
holding secret sessions of the proposed
Investigating committee which is coming
to Hudson county.
IF there is anything wrong in the body
polite the people ought to be quick to
know it in order that they may hold the
punishment upon them. To have an in
v~estigation made by a partisan commit
tee and conducted secretly will take from
it any confidence in it by the people. They
will not enormously say that it is done
for partisan advantage and when men of
the opposite party are charged with guilt
by a committee holding secret sessions
the people will be apt to say that they
are merely political charges made for
effect in a campaign and will entirely dis
card them.
"On the contrary, if the sessions of the
can give forth minute statements daily of
the evidence given, the people will be able
to form their own Judgment of the guilt
or innocence of those charged. OF course
the partisan newspapers would in their
editorial columns and their comments be
likely to twist he evidence to the advan-
tage of their respective parties, but most
newspapers try to give the evidence given
in any proceeding fairly in their news
11,-,.,- a,,5 L., +lo.o n x. ~,
my judgment, sift the evidence them
selves.
ut is utterly foreign to the American
feeling of manliness to countenance any
thing that savors of an attack in the dark.
Secrecy in legislative matters is a positive
evil. Why could not the Senates of the
United States and of the States them
selves have open sessions for everything?
This would result in having our rulers
make better nominations for appointees
for office than they now do because the
appointing power would know that the
character n life's history of the nonli-
nees would be discussed in the hearing of
the whole State or nation, and they would
therefore be more wary in their selection
Of men.
again and finally, who for one moment
doubts but what if there were no secret
sessions or executive sessions of the Unit
ed States that Cuba would not be free.
The bugaboo of what is divulged in ex-
ecutive session is held up as a reason why
this cannot be done. I am of the opinion
that if the doors and windows of the Sen
ate were opened the reasons against ex-
tending a helping hand to Cuba would be
found to be so weak that the common
people of the country would sing aloud
for Cuba Libre.'"