The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-11-24
Fact that He Owned stock Did Not
Make Him Guilty of Having Deal
ings with His Municipality.
MORE LEGISLATION NEEDED
TO RESTRICT THE POWERS AND OP-
CREATIONS OF TRUSTS.
Two Court Rulings in Suits Growing
Out of the Promotion of In
dustrial Combinations.

ALBANY, N. Y, Nov. Ex-Governor
Roosevelt tonight gave out his decision in
the application for the removal from Of
flee of Mayor Robert y. Van Wyck, Of
New York city. He declined to remove
the mayor On the ground that while he
was undoubtedly a stakeholder in the
American Ice Company there has been no
proof that he willfuly violated the law for
bidding a public officer to be a stakeholder
in a corporation having dealings with his
municipality. The Governors memorandum
says:
THE brief presented by Mr.. Hayes, of
counsel to the World, undated, but re-
ceived in this office Nov. 20. contains no
additional testimony or indication where
additional testimony can be obtained. The
situation is therefore unchanged from what
it was on Oct. A. 19Oo when the attorney
general wrote his letter to me. There is,
therefore. as stated by the attorney general
in his letter Of Nov. %, little to add to
what was contained in his letter of Oct. 3.
/ concur in the attorney generals opin-
ion. My judgment is that the so-called
ice trust is not a corporation in which the
mayor of New York should have stock.
But no proof has been offered of any will
full violation of law on the part of the
mayor such as would justify the drastic
measure of removing him from Office. The
power of removal from elective offices
should be treated much as we treat the
power of impeachment. 1t is an extraor-
binary and not an ordinary remedy.
1.-The normal remedy for bad government
must be an appeal to the people, and only
to substitute for this appeal to the peo-
pie an appeal to the power of removal or
the power or impeachment. The case is
therefore dismissed"
In giving out his dispatch the Governor
said: There has not been an hours un-
necessary delay the part of the state
authorities. Fifty-five days elapsed from
June q when the World first filed its
charges, until July 27. when its amended
complaint put those charges in final FORM
and forty-two days elapsed from Aug. IL,
when these charges were served on the
mayor. until Sept. "a. when the mayor filed
his answer. The delay since then has been
solely due to the fact that the World at
that time discharged the counsel which it
formerly, employed and refused to go on
with the case, leaving it completely in the
air for the time being.
Although the matter of the trusts is not
directly involved in this decision, wish to
point out that the existing law of the State
even providing that under it the attorney
generals action against the ice corpora
ton should be successful, is not adequate.
In my last annual message to the Legisla-
ture I rec 'mmended the adoption of sys-
tenn which would secure reasonable pub
licity of such facts concerning corpora
tons as the public has right to know and
reasonable restriction of their powers
Events have shown. especially in view of
what has occurred in connection with the
ice trust that stronger action than what 1
recommended should be taken. Not only
should such provisions concerning corpo-
rations as above mentioned be enacted into
law, but there should be lodged somewhere
the power to prescribe the conditions un-
der which foreign and domestic corpora
tions can do business in this State, and to
deprive them of their charters IL they at
any time violate these conditions