Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-08-27

| license or authority beyond tnat OF any
| private citizen to act In that capacity.
| 1t is no more the duty, under this law,
of the license commissioners to admins
| ter IL or to institute prosecutions under
IL than il Is the duty and privilege of
every citizen and Of the local option
league, except to perform their duties az
commissioners These duties are purely
statutory and the provisions of the statute
cannot he extended or enlarged and IL
they should exceed their authority they
would subject themselves to just crit-
cism
"As to the search and seizure referred
to, 1t Is true that a warrant may be is
sued by the commissioners for that pur-
pose, but such warrant can only issue
upon proper complaint In writing, under
oath made to the board, otherwise their
complaint would be made in the capacity
of a private citizen. These complaints
searches and seizures and prosecutions
are usually made by the officers having
authority and whose duty it is to attend
the examination and prosecute, to whom
fees are allowed for that service. 1t was
never contemplated by the Legislature
that the commissioners should assume the
duty Of the States attorney or other
prosecuting officer, or that they could
spend their time in investigating and de-
tecting crime, except such as is properly
laid before them for considerable under
pensation for such service, and without
some authority for so doing"
The lawyer in question may be "one
of the most prominent legal authori-
ties in the State" but when he says
that license commissioners are not
made a detective bureau" and "have
no license or authority beyond that of
any private citizen to act I'm that
capacity" he shows that he has not
carefully read the act in question. Sec
tion SIS names the different officers who
may enter license premises any time
ito observe how tho business Is con-
Quoted" and 1t concludes as follows:
Members of a board of license COM
missioners shall do SO at least four
times a year
Now it is hardly conceivable that the
Legislature made it incumbent upon
the license commissioners to do detec-
tive work in licensed places at least
four times a year for their health or
the mere purpose OF enabling them to
put in tho time necessary to earn their
compensation. hut for the purpose of
seeing that the business was con-
Quoted in a legal manner 1t follows
as Il matter Of course that the COM
missioncrs would hardly be expected to
be accompanied by brass band on
these little incursions to herald their
approach.
But the foregoing is not tho only
provision relating to tho duty of license
commissioners in connection with the
punishment of violators of the law.
Section IS of the license law provides
that upon receipt of information or
complaint by either officers or any citi-
zen as prescribed in preceding sec
tons the board shall Immediately in
vestigate and ascertain if the COM
rlaint is well grounded so that the
receipt of information concerning VIC
lations OF the law is sufficient to war
rant the action of the commissioners.
Section so of the license law provides
that "a license commissioner who re-
fuses or ncElects to Investigate any
complaint of viola ton Of the law, made
with the offer Of competent evidence
10 support it, shall be fined three hum
drcd dollars to be recovered by an ac-
tion brought by the selectmen,' the
latter meaning in the cases of cities
the city council.
1t is evident from all this that while
the commissioners of Rutland appear
to be lame in their defense, the Rut-
land Herald has within its power
every means to secure the enforcement
Of the law, even though the commits
sioners refuse to act of their own
volition