The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-04-03
Hover a wretched Failure.

ALVIN p. HOvEY has already proved
the greatest failure that ever sat in the
executive chair of Indiana. He is either
utterly incompetent to perform the duties
of governor, or he is grossly negligent of
his duties Probably he is both incompe-
tent and negligent.
When ALVIN p. HovEY entered upon
his office he gave the public to under
stand that he proposed to be governor
as was a governor. He proposed to be
governor who governed. He proposed to
govern people. He proposed to show In
diana what it was to have a man in
the gubernatorial chair who was cast
in heroic mold He would not be found
travelling in the beaten path pursued by
such commonplace persons as MORTON,
HENDRICKS, PORTER and GRAY. He was
inspired by the spirit of the great
NAPOLEON, and prepared to do such deeds
as would fasten the gaze of the world upon
HovEY and send his name laundering
down the ages.
HovEY had hardly got his seat warm
before he discovered that his official OPP
portunities for startling the world were
limited. There was nothing heroic, or
picturesque or dramatic in signing COM
missions, renting fines or pardoning
felons. And this was about all there was
for HovEY to do, except to run-a-muck at
the legislature. ALVIN p. therefore
made an onslaught upon that body. His
weapon was the pen. He used it to veto
things. He vetoed Fright and left His
vetoes, OF course, didn't veto, but they
kept HovEY in the public eye, and that
seems to have been their chief object.
But even HOvEY couldn't veto every
thing and SO he signed a number of bills.
There is no reason to believe that he read
them. In fact there is no reason to believe
that he read anything except the title of any
of the acts submitted for his examination.
He evidently didn't take time to read the
natural gas act, for he vetoed ii on the
ground that it contained a certain pro-
vision which is not to be found in it. He
vetoed another act which had not been
attested by the lieutenant-governor and
speaker, as required by the constitution,
but his veto was not put on these grounds.
He signed an important labor bill, from
which the enacting clause had been
omitted, which, of course, inyalidates It.
He signed the license act, which
attempts to amend law by referring to a
section of the revised statutes, instead of
to the act by title, as required by the con-
stitution. How many other imperfect or
l. II
signed, heaven only knows!
This man, who failed to observe such
palpable defects, sets himself up as great
constitutional lawyer and a stickler for
technicalities. Most of the constitutional
objections set forth in his veto messages
have been brushed aside by republican
judges as unworthy of serious considera-
ton. And now this Jealous guardian of
the peoples hberties-this Watchdog of
the constitution--this vigilant sentinel of
executive power against legislative en-
croachments-proves to have been sleep
ing at his post.aad allowing measures to
go on the statute, books: defects
so palpable that the. average Office boy
could scarcely have failed to detect them.
When GROVER CLEVELAND was governor
of New York he sent back TO the assem-
bly,, in a single session, seventeen bills for
correction. One of them was an inn
portant labor bill, and if Mr.. CLEVELAND
had followed the Hovey plan and APP
proved it without reading, it would have
been nullity. The difference between
Gov. CLEVELAND and Gov. HovEY is that
the former worked while the latter only