Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-04-18
HAS SECRET BUDGET BEEN
CONSIGNED TO FLAMES?
wee Commissions Resistance to Its
Surrender Lends Color to
This RumOr.
COMMITTEE MAY DEMAND IT
alderman Workman Declares His
Intention to Insist on Il Vote OH
Motion Calling for Delivery OF
Suppressed Evidence.


Has the secret budget" OF the Vice
commission been destroyed?
mo suggestion is gaining credencc
mat the 800 pages Of miscellaneous in
formation concerning vice conditions In
richmond were consigned to the flames
"i'cr All that was considered "evidcnce"
was extracted.
alderman Workman's repeated de-
hiahds throughout the inquiry for the
secret budget and the stubborn re-
'IHtancc offered to every proposition
.alllnS for its delivery by Attorney
Murray VI. Mcclure, counsel for the
Vice Commission. is responsible for the
popular belief that the papers in ques-
non are no longer In existence
Aaditionai color Is lent to the be-
llef by the fact that shortly after the
.,ns or Report No I. with Mayor
hinslie, Chairman Ashton Starke. of
me vice Commission. In a public state
ment, expressed the hope that the evil
oence collected by the commission
might at an early date be consigned
10 the flames.
COMMITTEES MAY DEMAND
SURRENDER OF REPORT
On tho question OF callin. upon tho
vice Commission TO deliver the cvi.
dence for examination, either for tho
private Information or the Council com.
thlttee Investigating the Police Depart.
open sessions. the committee Is an.
parcntly hopelcssly divided until Alder.
man II. Wavcrlcy Melons position Is
made known. When Mr. Melton Is con-
suited the committee may decide. by a
vote OF to 3. to demand the PAPERS
AT the session held last Friday night
three OF the investigators expressed
their uh"illingncss to compel the Vice
commission TO produce the 500 pages
or me secret budget" carrying a mass
"a tivr 10
private citizens. IL the budget Is in
existence. They are Chairman Barton
II. Grundy, Councilman Edgar II Fer
gusson and Councilman Edgar B. Eng
msh. three others expressed their de-
sire to Inspect the secret budget, for
their own Information and In order
that they might Judge for themselves
whether tho Vice Commission had given
all the Information desired by the in.
vestigators.
SAYS COMMITTEE Is
ENTITLED TO EVIDENCE
We want IT," Alderman Workman
lteratcd and reiterated. THE city OF
Richmond paid for that evidence. The
council and this committee IS legally
entitled TO H."
Alderman Workman vas OF the opin-
ION that the Vice Commission had no
right TO assume FOR itself wisdom or
discretion beyond that with which the
members OF the Investigating commit
tee are endowed. He contended that
the members OF the Vice Commission
were no better qualified to slit the
wheat from the chan than the .nvcs-
tigatng body. He suggested II was
even possible that Information passed
by AS immaterial by the Vice Com
mission when the sitting was ia prog
rcss might be regarded in ouite n
Inherent light by the Investigators
Alderman Workman gave notice that
ne would insist upon the production
or the secret budget until the In
HestiSating body voted down his mo-
toh' ana then he would call for
recorded vote. He conceded that there
might he mass OF testimony i'm
material TO the cause at issue. and that
no good can he accomplished by ex-
posing the misconduct Of private citl-
zcns, but he argued that the invcst!-
gators have the same right to be
trusted with this information as the
Vice Commission members. He re-
scented the fact that the Vice Commits
sion refused to place this trust in
the members OF the Investigating COM
mittee.
MEMBERS WILL EXERCISE
PROPER DISCRETION
III we decide to withhold from the
public any or all OF that information
after we have inspected the documents,
not one word Will ever pass my lips.
and ] am sure that the secrets OF that
punSet VIII De just as JealOQSiy guard
ed by the rest OF the members The
city OF Richmond having borne the ex-
pense Of the Vice Commissions quest,
maintain that the information oh
tanned should be given to this body
representing the Council, which appro-
priated the money. I was a member
of the Finance Committee which recon-
mended the appropriation. ! expected
when the appropriation was agreed
upon that we would get what we paid
for. Therefore, cannot accept the
theory that the Vice Commission is In
position to tell us just so much as
that body may consider good for our
understanding and no more.
The commission Is holding back, as
l understand it. some 500 pages of
memoranda. testimony or reports from
private detectives who have left the
State after being paid for their work
with the city's money. That budget
of information belongs to us. We want
It,"
MELTON IN FAVOR OF
INSPECTING" EVIDENCE
Alderman Melton. who has been out