Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-07-25
THE ALBANY ELECTIONS.

L u - =
An Address to the People From the DEM
cratic Members OF the New York Legis-
lature-The WOODRUFF ssnator---The
Corruption. Disgrace and Loss to the
State for which the Republican Party Is
| Observation-Disclosures for Lapham.
| Address of Democratic Legislators.
| ALBANY, July 2S.--The Democratic mem
bers of the Legislature through their joint
caucus committee have issued an address to
| the Democratic citizens of the State of New
York and to the citizens of the State without
distinction of parry. The address says: eds
cords and quarrels in the Republican majority
have separated US from our homes and bust
I ness for two hundred days. The chief cause
of this uncalled for detention was quarrel
with the President of theU nited States on one
side and the ViceIP President and two Senator's
| from this State on the other. The source of
this discord wasa question of official patron
age, or tho spoils Of office. The collector Of
the port of New York was forced to resign
in the midst of his term from place where
he was serving with general
acceptance to the public and
appointed to place abroad uRcalIed for by
his friends or by the public, in which he has
no experience. This change, against which
the merchants of New York protested in large
numbers, was made in total disregard of every
announced principle of civil service reform,
ard was not called for by any principle of po-
| litical duty or interest of the public service.
| The purpose of the act seemed to be reward
| for those who had been personally successful
IN securing the Presidential nomination and to
punish those who had resisted, leading mem
| bers of the national Republican convention
| claiming the right of third term of executive
service for the President. The unseeming
quarrel at Chicagoin the summer of 1880 was
| transferred to Washington after the Presiden-
| tial election and the same strife has
heen continued with more bitterness at Albany
| through the whole of the present session of
| the Legislature is commenced with great We
| hemence of the Senatorial election in January
when third class candidate was nominated
and elected over first class competitors for the
| first office in the gift of the legislature and
| hardly second to any gift of the people of the
State The Office then flied, after great strife,
was vacated by voluntary resignation and
when it had only been held for less than one
fourth of the first year of the full six years.
constitutional term of service. The man who
| inspirad this resignation was Senator of the
| State who had been three times elected
| to the United States Senate by one
party of the State, whose longer
service he now refused, and simply owing to
the fact of a nomination to the Senate of one
chief officer who had opposed his ambition
and wishes at Chicago and elsewhere. The
useless resignation of these two has cost the
State not only a large amount OF money, but
what is more valuable, honor, dignity and
self-respect Two factions, known by the
vulgar but expressive names of stalwarts and
| half-breeds, have governed the Senate, Assem-
bly,, Republican party and State throughout
the whole session. The Democratic members
have many times asked and demanded an
appeal to the people, bat by force of num-
| bers, in defiance of public opinion, and in
denial of the opportunity OF timely public
judgment, the fact of leaving the State with
out its constitutional representation In the
higher branch of Congress-, the Republican
majority has refused to leave the choice of
succession to the people OF State. These de-
mands by the Democratic minority that an
appeal be made to the people, were not by the
| insulting declaration that the possible choice
of Dem ocratic senators in Congress would be
public calamity to the State, and this after
just electing Thos. G. Platt as successor of
Francis Herman. After following this success
sion with the chance of a man named Warner
Miller, a member of the present and previous
House of Representatives, where he was only
conspicuous as direct and personal benefi-
ciary of one of the worst monopolies in the
country, and where he has supported
that m monopoly by his voice and influence, and
with threats that other public interests should
suffer if his special interests in wood pulp
and the manufacture of paper were not pro-
tected. The most distinguished men of the
dominant party, not in public place, apart
from Conkling, but including men like Fish,
Wheeler, Cars. Rogers and others, who have
served the State with ability, have had to give
place to two men elected to Congress, and
their movement made an excuse for passing
law to fill the vacancies made by
their election, and for no, other reason.
These special elections, thus provoked, will
be untimely as they are unnecessary and ex-
pensive. The whole Senatorial discussion at
Albany disolves itself into three most dis
creditable conclusions:
First-A mistrust on the part of the people
of the State on the part of the Republican ma
jorlty in the legislature.
Second-A quarrel over the spoils of office
by two or three Republican factions with
practical contempt for every principle belong
ing to what is known and recognized as
civil service reform. $50,
Third-Abuse of power from its long use
and misue, until two of the least capable per-
sons have been drawn from the popular
branch of Congress to I'LL the highest places
of the State in Congress. t.i8Ei
Another most disgraceful transaction be-
longing to this Republican leg
islature is the evidence of bribery and
corruption on the part of the dominant party.
A leading Republican Senator of one section
ischarged by member Of the Assembly of the
same county and the same district, of the
other faction, with Offering and paying him
$4,000 for Senatorial vote, and the money
was placed in possession of the speaker, and
is now in the HANDS of the State comptroller.
Beyond this fact is the circulation of large
sums of money by prominent Republicans
pending the Senatorial election and, as many
believe, intended to control the result Of the
election, by which 5000, 600 people have been:
deeply wronged and disgraced, both by the
Republican Senator's action in Washington
and by the action of the Republican party IN
power at Albany. In one place the chief magis-
trate of the nation, for daring to put in practice
The principles of executive right and authority
IN choice of public officers nearly cost his
life. This sad and terrible crime came not
alone through the personal motives of sim
gle man, but from the personal fanaticism
which was and is the fruit of greed for public
Office, and false and dangerous political edu-
cation. Now if ever is the time to teach all
men that public office is the property of the
people, and that places of official trust can
only be rightfully distributed by men of noble
purposes, of pure lives, of wise experience,
and unqualified fitness for the work to be per-
formed. The Democratic party of the. State
desire to inculcate and enforce the doctrine on
which the Democratic party came
into existence, and which Jeffer-
son declared that the only qualification
for office rested on the wise, safe aud patriotic
platform of personal capability, honesty, and
fidelity to the constitution. The members of
the Democratic party serving in the legisla-
ture, who In one branch have but seven Dem
ocratic Senators of thirty-two. and in the
1vy h,,f font covyon If mn hmm md
twenty-eight, also feel called on to protest
against the special, personal and partisan leg
islation against public interests. The major
ity in the Assembly, by combined vote, with