The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1904-02-06
SIMPLY A
POLITICAL
MACHINE.


appointments at the meeting at Bell
street chapel held under the direction of
the practical work committee last night !
IIo was introduced by George f.. Bell and
said In part as follows:
The governor OF Rhode Island has no !
appointing power. He, therefore. has no
executive power. and section OF article
7 uf' the state constitution, which reads:
lf'The governor shall take care that the
laws be faithfully executed is a dead
| letter.
| Prior TO 1901 the governor made quite
number of important appointments
which required no confirmation by the
senate. among them being the commits
sonsr Of industrial statistics and the
| two factory inspectors, three officials last
year elected by the senate. Such OF the
appointments as required confirmation
were, prior TO three years ago. only sub
ject TO rejection by the senate. In case
of such rejection the governor presented
another name. As a matter OF fact
think but one appointee OF any governor
in recent years has failed Of oonfirma-
ton. and that was the appointment by
Governor Davis OF John McWiiliams upon
the board OF state charities and correc-
tions.
ELECTS SOMEONE ELSE.
All this, however has changed. Now
the senate lays an appointment it dis
approves upon the table for three days,
and then elects someone else.
At the beginning of the present session
OF the general assembly there were four
persons I'm office who had been appointed
by me to fill vacancies namely Mrs
Ada Wing Mead. upon the board Of fe-
male visitors to Institutions where women
are imprisoned; Charles Sisson, as pilot
commissioners Matthew j. Cummings,
upon the board of state charities and cor
rections: and Sam III. Bullock, upon the
board OF police commissioners for the city
OF Providence The law requires the re-
making of these appointments within the
first seven days OF the January session.
!. This was done but none OF the four were
confirmed by the senate.
OF the 15l gubsrnational appointments
30 expired this year, and persons We re
D named by mo TO fiji the positions. ' re-
4 appointed q. In six instances / named
\ new men, namely Joseph II. Boucher of
Woonsocket upon the board OF state
state charities and corrections; William
-, II. Lawton OF Newport. upon the board Of
public roads: Joseph Haire, as police ccm-
: ! missioner for the city OF Newport, Frank
/, +. Grinnell. as police commissioner for
!. the town OF Tiverton; Edward Butler
Of Pawtucket as railroad commissioner
. Sam H. Bullock. as police commissioner
II
: / new appointments were confirmed, the
Il | senate instead electing its own candidates
: POLICE BOARDS POLITICAL MA
I CHIMES.
OF the q re-appointments, 10 were mcr
and eight were women. Seven of the
. women compose the boardof female vlsi
: tors to institutions where women are i'm
a prisoned and they were appointed by M
!, last year some OF them being re-appolnt
LII tkxaf. Ia
;. or power. These were confirmed by th
"A senate.
- or the 10 men re-apponted. is were tn
:, appointees OF former governors. ana o
these II were confirmed. The eighteeHtl
-, official was Thomas II. Donahue OF Provi
/ dence. a Democrat who has served faith
: fully upon the returning board. He wa
y, not confirmed The nineteenth appoint
~ ment. that Of Thomas r. McArdle
~ Pawtucket owing to an oversight in tn
~ law creating the board OF examiners
BARRIERS did not require the advice an
consent OF the senate. Otherwise IL Is pe
g lieved that Republican would nave bee
m elected in his stead.
In the six instances in which reall
w exercised the appointing power, trying
n replace officials by better men, not on
was successful In otlfer words. have eX
m excised no appointing power whatsoevel
, The pollce commissions both Of Newpor
-, and Tiverton. are charged openly with
failure TO enforce the laws impartiallN
9, The high standard at first set up as
u, matter OF policy. for the Providence pc
ar lice commission. has been lowered, an
that body is clearly TO become, what ORIG
inally IL was intended to be, a powerfl
political machine to control elections
that city.
In order to FIX the appointing power /
the executive department OF the stat
government a constitutional change
necessary; and the speediest and sure'
h, method OF bringing about such chang
I'M seems TO be through the Constitutions
Ii Initiative Amendment now pending In III
General Assembly.