The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-01-21
NEWS HND COMMENT

The commissioners of Clearfeld county
having recently refused u newspaper IN
that county access to the records or thelr
office legal proceedings are to be insti-
tuted to test the law on the point. The
case at issue will, according to the phil
adelphia Press, probably be the hrst one
that ever became necessary to determine
the rights of citizens so far as these APP
ply to the commissioners offices. The
privilege of newspaper publishers to copy
the marriage license record for pubhca-
ton has been twice before the lower
courts, and once the right TO examine
and copy the liquor license records was
passed upon atlirmatively by judge OF
the common pleas court. n decision
was also made by Judge Audenried, of
Philadelphia, that n citizen had the rlght
to examine all the records of the comp
trollcrs offices with reference to the
payment of taxes. This jurist said:
1T may now be regarded as settled law
in this country that every corporator or
citizen of a municipality has the right,
on all proper occasions, to inspect and
copy its records, books and documents
The Supreme court of Pennsylvania, too,
has declared that 1.-The right TO an Of
flee is not the right of the incumbent 10
the place. but of the people to the office"
Finally may be quoted the rule laid down
by Judge Dillon in his work on "Munici-
pal Corporations" viz: "In this country
the records, public books and bylaws Of
municipal corporations are of a public
nature, and if such corporation should
refuse TO give inspection thereof to any
person having an interest therein,
whether he had any special or private
| interest or not, a writ of manddmus
would lie to command the corporation
| to allow such inspection and copies to be
| taken"
| The New York Sun gives some timely
| information In arithmetic bearing upon
| the conversion of measures under 1he
metric system into figures moro easily
| understood by Americans. "Thcre are
| says that excellent paper, Few things
| more simple than to evolve square miles
| from square kilomcters. A square kilo-
| meter is 39-l00 Of a square mile. Just
| multiply the number Of square kilomcters
| by the decimal 80 and you will have the
area in square miles. A klometer is g.
| 100 of a statute mile. Simply multiply
the total kilometers by 90 and you have
| the distance reduced to~milcs. Some OF
| these results are not exact to the inch,
| because the deCimals may be extended.
| But they are exact enough for purposes
| that do not require the most minute COM
putation, and they illustrate the fact
| that it requires very little figuring Ia
turn other peoples expressions for area
and distance into denominations we may
I better understand
| Senator MCLaurin, of South Carolina,
paid a high compliment to President Nc
| I<inley when he recently said: There
ought to be law that no one can be a
candidate for president of the United
States until he has served at least one
term in the senate or house of repre-
sentatives, in order that he may know
by experience the troubles and the trials
-t~NNr
and the difficulties of the members of the
coordinate body. If President Cleveland
had enjoyed the benefit of COMPRESSION
al training he would not have made SC
many enemies. His lack of experience
his lack of sympathy, his inability to ap
preciate the situation Of the members OF
congress was the rock upon which III
was wrecked. On the other hand {
large degree of President McKinley''
popularity is due to the fact that he has
been through the congressional mill anC
knows how to deal with senators and rep
resentatives. He understands their diff
ficultes, and in trying to satisfy thei
constituents he helps them as much al
he can, and they thoroughly appreciate
it. Mckinley has got more friends il
congress than any president we have hat
for a long time"
On account of the alleged dissatisfac
tiOn of the administration with Genera
Miles course, some of the officials in
terested have been looking up the law
defining the status of the major-gepera
commanding. General Miles cannot b.
deposed or supplanted as commandini
: general without the formality of trial b.
court martial. He may, however, be re
; lieved from duty and ordered to his hom
: by direction of the president. lie can
not be ordered to duty elsewhere 8
commanding general because it is specific
ally provided by law that the headquar
ters of the army shall remain in Wash
ington. General Sherman, while servin
as commanding general of the army, ha
trouble with Robert It. Lincoln, secrctar
of war, and was ordered to st. Louis
where the headquarters of the army wer
, established. This outcome of the frio
tion between Secretary Lincoln and Gen
eral Sherman caused congress to enaC
the law establishing army headquarter
| N W1ShinptOO nprp1gnapt1Ny