Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-06-01
LILLEY'S TURN NOW
EdllOr Osborn Says Ii Is Time
 For Bim 10 Speak Up.

have been again criticised for attempting to fathom the probabili- ties of the problem necessarily in Volyed in the repudiation of Repre- { sentative Lilley by the committed appointed to inquire into the charges he brought against one of me submarine boat builders. Why
 l should be I cannot understand, for It would seem that such, an incl dent In the life of a public man was Of itself sufficient to demand the most careful consideration of his usefulness in public station. In pro- posing to nominate MT Lilley for governor under existing conditions IS later to certainly run the risk of having closer examination of the committees report bring embarrass- ment to the party responsible for him.
 NO one can read carefully the re- port of the committee, which abounds in voluminous quotations from the testimony, wherever essen tial to an understanding of the find- ing, without feeling that the public has clear idea of the case and with out being convinced that before the incident can be said to be closed MT Lllley must explain himself further. The Hartford Times, in its com ments upon what I wrote and print ed in last Sundays issue of the Con- necticut edition of the New York Herald, says: ''The committee has made the impression of shutting of inquiry whenever it turned in di- rection that seemed to promise re- suits. Of its hostility to him as the person forcing an inquiry there has been no question" I do not say that these statements are without ground to rest upon. The public was either led to believe or itself reached the belief that at the outset everything was done that could be done to place obstacles in the way of MT Lilley proceeding with his case.
 It is an open question whether upon reading the report made by the committee, and not being con- tent with the condensed chapter printed in the newspapers. an im- partial man can conscientiously conclude that either the committee on rules, which authorized the in- vestigation, or the committee which conducted the inquiry exhausted its power to embarrass MT Lilley. The claims of the committee to the contrary are impressive in their statement and must necessarily stand until they have been refuted by MT Lilley or by some one author ized to speak for him. The commit tee asserts, for example, that it summoned every witness asked for by Mir Lilley, submitted every ques- tion propounded by him and urged him to bring forth every scrap of evidence in his possession. It inti- mates in no uncertain manner that had he succeeded in establishing any of his charges the committee would have acceded to his demands for the books and papers of the offending boat company. It is by denying, specifically and categorically, every, assertion Mir Lilley has made that he has been deprived of a chance to dig out the truth that the com mittee raises question of official usefulness which neither Mir Lilley nor his political friends can afford to ignore.
 The Hartford Times goes on to say: ''If he had had full opportun- ity to pursue the inquiry and had then failed it would have been fair to argue that he would lose infiu- ence and credit through the failure"
 But this is just exactly what the committee responsibly says he did have. It solemnly declares that the doors of the inquiry were thrown wide open to him and that he failed to prove single one of his charges. The report even goes so far as to say that he canno. complain of be- ing deprived of eminent counsel. The testimony taken shows on their own testimony that from start tU finish he was in constant consulta- tion with the attorneys for the Lake company. men skilled in the knowledge and practice of law. It is because these assertions are made in the manner and spirit in which they are made that 1t is ineonceiv- able that the candidacy of Mir Lil- ley should be permitted to rest in peace without further inquiry. He should promptly meet the assertions of the report with a report of his own, and then if he can show that he has been badly treated and that he was deliberately cheated of his opportunity to prove his charges he will not only deserve the nomination for governor at the hands of his own political party but an indorsement from the democrats and a unani- nous election. It is plainly time for Mir Lilley to speak out so as to be heard.
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