The Portland daily press., 1898-03-22
A CONSTABLE SESSION.
How Many Shall Portland Have and
/. Who !
CITY COUNCIL DEBATES QUESTION
FOR TWO HOURS.

Alderman Rounds Thinks the Character
of the Officers should Be Looked Into
Committee for This Purpose Fail to
Report.
There was special meeting of the city
council last evening called for the purpose
of listening to the committee appoint
ments, electing subordinate city officers
and incidentally doing such other busl-
ness as might legally come before it. The
question of the election of the consta bles
was the central event of an interesting
evening, and it was the occasion of con-
siderable oratory and some lively bal
lotting with the appointment OF an in
vestigating committee which was dis.
charged before it had any opportunity to
do any investigating.
Other matters of business presented in
cluded a petition from most OF the call
men in the fire department. asking that
they be given an increase in pay of fifty
dollars year.
THE ELECTION OF CONSTABLES.
1t will be recalled that at the last meet
ing a committee was appointed under an
order introduced by Alderman Rounds
calling upon the committee to investigate
applications for election as city con-
stables The order was probably intended
to include something more than mere
investigation of the applications but it
signally failed to show just what it did
mean and so the committee made no in
yestigation as to the fitness of the candi-
dates. They asked the city solicitor for
an opinion as to the right of the city
council to elect constables and they made
certain recommendations. The report
was accepted and the committee dis
charged. Then both boards passed an
order creating the old committee over
again this time with authority to inveati-
gate the character and fitness of the can
didates, after which in joint convention
the city councilstoo up the names of GER
tain of the applicants and acted upon
them, the result being that as there was
nothing for the committee to do after that
it was discharged and so 1t did not in
vessigate anybody after all.
The question came up first in the hoard
of aldermen when Alderman Rounds pre-
scented the report Of the committee ap-
pointed at the last meeting. The commit
tee said that the order under which they
were appointed was so indefinite In It's
terms that they could not decide what
were the scope of their duties. They
boz n a
tons: ltl
/. Applicants for appointment as con-
stables should file their applications in
writing with the city clerk. giving their
full names and residence. M
.. These applications should be referred
to q committee Of the CITY council for in
yestigation.
8, The committee are not In favor OF
the indiscriminate appointment of con-
stables and would recommend that the
number be limited.
The repor. was accepted and then
Alderman Rounds read an opinion given
the committee by the city solicitor declar-
ing that the city council had the authort-
ty to elect constables.
In his opinion, City Solicitor Morrill,
replied to the question propounded blythe
committee: 'sCan the city council of
Portland legally elect constablesP MIR.
Morrill, quoted section six of the city
charter as providing that subordinate
officers, except officers Of the police and
health departments, shall be elected in
Joint convention Of the oityscouncil. He
then argued that q constable was subor-
dinate city officer as meant in this
section, and cited the statutes and the
action of the courts in support of this
view. The amendment to the original
charter providing that two constabies
shall be annually elected in each ward
does not in the opinion Of the solicitor
limit the number of constables which the
city may have, nor does 1t take away the
right of the oity council to elect the
additional constables.
Then Mr.. Rounds delivered his opinion
ON the opinion Of the city solicitor. Be-
ginning by reference to section six of
the charter Of 1882, the gentleman from
three said in substance:
81 don't find nothing about appointing
constables, but there is something about
widening streets. don't care what his
opinion is at all, but it don't seem to me
that we have any more powers than the
inhabitants do. Inhabitants have to
give so many days. notice and don't see
why we don't. The question is whether
we need SO many constables. will state
for the information of the board that
there were 40 last year. Now we must be
a very bad city if we need as many as
that. The trustee law has been changed
so that there amt more than one-half as
much work for them as there used to be. I"
Mr.. Rounds next introduced the order
for the appointment of a committee with
mower to investigate the character and
fitness of applicants for city constables.
The order was passed and the Mayor ap-
pointed Messrs. Rounds and Merrill. In
the lower board President Gerrish and
Messrs. Sloman, Pierce and Driscoll,
these being the members OF the first com
mittee.
After this had been done, Alderman
Dow moved that the aldermen request a
Joint convention and the request was
x.-x4L ~ %ba 1ouuar HoarJ