New-York tribune., 1878-09-28
WHAT BUTLER Is ATTACKING.

! STATE INSTITUTIONS WHICH ARE SAID TO BE EX-
TRAvAGANTLY MANAGED - RAILROAD ENTER
PRIsEs, ETC.
IFROM STAFF CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNEl
PITTsFIFLD, Mass. Sept. 24.-The crisp, clear air
of the Berkshire Hills with just enough frost in it
to touch the naples and give us a fOretaste Of the
! gorieS Of the Autumn, has sufficient vitality in it
! TO start the most sluggish blood and make simple
existence positive pleasure here in these late Sep
tember days. don't know where you will find a
more beautiful mountain town at any season of
the year than Pttsfeld, but in the Fall, when
| city folks who have sought health and pleasure
during the Summer in its hospitable homes pack
up their trunks and go back to the eternal din
and clatter of the metropolis to take up the work
| they have tried for q month to forget, it puts on
ITS holiday DRESS and renewed vigor pervades the
air, If to tempt the departing visitor to prolong
| his stay and make him look back with greater re-
gret after he is gone.
few minutes walk down one Of the broad streets
that lead from the public square, in Pittsfed, past
many beautiful homes, which, with their smooth
lawns and inviting shade, are monuments of the
/ thrift and industry as well as the cul-
| tivated taste of their owners, brings one 10
| the comfortable residence Of Senator Dawes. The
old, weather-bcaten sign in the village reminds the
stranger that the Senator is still member of the
Berkshire bar. but suspect that he finds his cosey
study at home more attractive than a law office
after the fatgues of Congress- At any rate, found
him there. yesterday afternoon. in apparently bet
ter health than for years past and sat before
the cheerful open wood-iire, which was not uncom-
Portable in spite Of the bright sunlig outside,
discussed, for an hour, in familiar way, the re-
markable campaign now in progress i'll this State,
and touched briefly upon some questions OF National
politics that are just of popular interest. am
permitted, in tins and succeeding letter. to repeat
in substance tho more interesting portions of our
conversation
Butler LOSING GROUND.
Senator Dawes SAID that It seemed to him that
General Butler had been losing ground in this State
during the past week. lie certainly was not as
strong in Berkshire County as he was before the
Worcester Convention. and he believed that he was
weaker also in other parts of the State. " l sup
posed" said the Senator that it was his intention
to get the nomination OF the Democratic oonyen-
ton at Worcester. and then decline it on the ground
that he wished to be independent Of both the old
parties, and would appeal to the people for support
not as a Republican, not as a Democrat, but as a
'reformcr' That would have made him very
strong for he would have been in a
position 10 trade with the Democrats and
give them the support of his friends for
their Congressional candidates in exchange for
their votes for him. The temptation for the Demo
Gratis tOmake such an arrangement would have been
very great. There would have been the possibility
of gaining several members Of Congress and perhaps
majority so rs to control the vote of the State in
case the Presidential election should be thrown into
the House of Representatives. besides a fair pros
pect Of beating the Republicans in this State, which
would, Of course be gratifying to Democrats. But
il any such plan formed, 1t was spoiled by the
nd ia lpg9 lisUO-
sition now, among the Democrats, to have
anything to do with Butler. l know there
is in this part OF the State. | sus-
pect too that the tone Of the Democratic
press outside Of this State which has been almost
unanimously against Butler has discouraged some
who were disposed 10 support him. Many Demo-
cratic newspapers in other States have advised their
party friends here TO vote for Talbot If they
not beat Butler In any other way. There is no
spirit Of compromise among the Democrats of Berk-
shireD
''How do you interpret General Buffers evident
desire 10 avoid discussion Of financial issues and to
talk about questions Of State policy only y asked
the Senator. continuing the conversation.
81 know Of no explanation" ho replied, except
that he must have come to the conclusion that his
view Of the financial question is not popular IN Mas
sachusetts But he has not been able to give to the
not intended by those who are opposed to him that
he should do so. He has himself touched upon some
branches of the subject he has sought TO avoid. lie
has spoken of the United States bonds in some of
his addresses and in the West the financial question
has been his principal topic"
ia there anything in the policy of tho Republi-
can party in this State which gives General Butler
an advantage in discussing il exclusiyelyP
"There have been some extravagances which
might be fairly criticised. The Worcester Asylum
and the Danvers Hospital for the Insane, well as
the new Concord State Prison. have been enormously
expensiye TO the Commonwealth. Years ago there
was but one insane asylum in the State. the small
one in tho centre of the City of Worcester Greater
accommodations were needed, Tor the number of in
sane persons In Massachusetts, had increased enor-
mously and IL was thought best to build large
asylum at Worcester, the expectation being that the
site of the old one which was then very valuable,
could be sold to advantage and that the proceeds
would 20 far toward paying for the new insttu-
tion. But when the new building had been COM
peted il was found that both the old and the new one
were needed and besides real estate deprecated
40 much in value that the site could not be Sold 1t
was also intended to sell the CbarestOwn State Prs
ON when the new one at Concord was completed, but
the change in the times prevented that too. So'
Won see the state has been rather unfortunate in
this respect We have now five insane asylums, the
two at ,Worcester, large one at Danvers which
cost 81, 100000 one at Northampton and one at
Taunton, and all Of them seem to be needed.
although some of them have probably cost too
much"
docs General Butler advocate the sale of either
of these institutions u
mo 1 think not. You remember that Governor
ClaAin in his speech in the Worcester Convention,
last week, asked which of these institutions it
was proposed to close"
"Why are not the Republicans in the State in as
GOOD condition as the Butler party to meet this