The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-02-23

by the house the Woods bill for
an investigation of state departments
and institutions is fraud. 1t is
but another piece of tricleery such as
tbe desperate plJtteils Of the state
Repnbllcan machine have been wont
to practpe upon the people in the
past few years na
Pretending to give the governor |
enlarged powers OF investigation into
the conduct of state departments ann
III abTidges and makes
impOtent the limited authority vest
ed I'm the govemoN by existing stat
utes TO personally examine the audi
tor's office and TO cause an official
examination of the state treasury.
Instead OF giving the governor
proper authority to inquire into any
charge or complaint made against
state department or institution, the
Woods bill as passed by the house
wdIld take all such power out Of his
hands and confer 1t upon two men
to be named by him subject to APP
prUval by the senate. In other words
the governor could not make inquiry
into the most tativial complaint or
| follow up a suspicion or clue he may
have found himself without summon
ing a special court of inquiry ere
ated with the advice and consent
OF THE senate" and ask that commit
tee to investigate, subject to all the
technical ramiGications of an inquisi-
| tion.
Further than 20 start an investi-
Cation the governor would be absoln-
! tely pOwerless, so completely would
IBIS hands be tied by the Woods bill
Take for instance the cruelties at
Newbulg asylum, which led to grano
! jury Indictments. The governor could
do nothing except to summon two
men OF opposite politics "with the
advice and consent of the senate.
at the next session---and turn over
his authority to them. II such a
SCANDAL were TO occur after the ses-
sion next year, there would be no
session at which the committee coulo
be confirmed by the senate, unless q
special session we're called at extra
ordinary expense 10 the state. with
out sudh confirmation a legal tech
nfcality would aiise ON which to base
Idnjunction proceedings. IL the in
Ivestiga" ion were permitted to go on,
the governor would be stepped from
taking any action to purge the In
stitutiOn pending the result of the
Investigation. In fact II wchtld be a
question, even II the committee were
to discover guilt, whether the COVER
nor could do more than transmit
The commfNuee's report TO the legis-
lature, so that swSh an investigation
afs a bipartisan committee would
make undell the circumstances would
be abCrtlye.
lmagme also, the summoning of
such an inquisition 10 investigate the
bilth Of child az the Athens hos
, pftal; Or complaint that % steward
was talking tips; or thht a rocking
chaB' bought FOR some institution had
been sent to somebody's residence;
or the thousand and one things re-
ported TO the governor which could
/ be investigated in no other way than
by a committee Of two men of on
posiite pol,tics--s'wLth the advice and
-. consent OF the senate"
All that Governor Harmon asked
: In his message 10 the Legislature wa,
e that funds might be provided foi
such inqu1y as the chief execution
of the skate should haVe authorit,
o to make into the conduct OF thC
states affairs in the various depart
ments and institutions.
! This Is what tine Woods hill I'm n!
oiJgnal form presented TO do with
an allowance of $25, 900 for a funt
!, to be wholly at the governors dis
n posal. Here Is where the chicaner,
of the whole proceeding begins. Mr.
II Woods introduced bnl whf,l
ostenslhly proposed TO give the gov
ernor exactly the authority he ask
d ed. In it's original form the bill an
a peared 10 be generally acceptable.
TO all but the Republican machln
10 bosses. Mr.. Woods appB emily refuse
TO yield TO the dlItadion of the boss
es and his bin was put on the cal
e endar for final passage Just as II wa
n introduced and as IL appeared I'm IN
printed copies on the desks of tn
members. AT the last moment, with
out previous notice Of amendments
Mr.. Woods subm,dted a iist OF amend
ments nearly as long ais the origina
bill and changing dts original pur
3 pose ennely to meet the demand
r OF the bosses. The amendments wer
e too complicated TO be fully under
: stood and there was no time 4
It have the bill printed as amended 5
4 that the members could see now tn
a amendment effe2ted the bill.
n Mr.. Woods admitted In his remarl
J. that the attitude OF the Republica
y majority of the house in the Ia,