New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-06-10
THE G0rERYcR AND THE TAXES.

THE GOTFRNCR AND THE TINES
Governor Hill has passion for turning ms
State papers into stump speeches. number
Of his messages and memoranda relating TO
measures which have passed the Legislature
contain passages which might properly occur
in PARTISAN haranguc delivered before some
Democratic club. but which are grossly out Of
Mace in the public documents of the Chief
Executive Of Ncw-York. He has never hest
totod since he first became Governor to cheaper
and degrade his great office by this sort OF IN
dcccncv and impcrtnencc. No wonder, there
fore. that those who know him best style nm
4 peanut politician In the long line OF toy
crnors OF this Commonwealth there has been
no man except Hill who has not cylnced de-
cent respect for the obvious proprictlcS. lie
looks upon the Govcrnorship ~ he looks upon
an Elmira caucus-as something 10 he manIp-
ulated for the promotion of his selfish political
ends
Take the memorandum which the Governor
has lust filed with his approval Of the Annual
Supplv bill. To name il a stump speech Is
nroperiv to characterize it. Not content with
either signing or vctoing the appropriations
contained in the measure. he steps outside Of
his duty and proceeds to jueglc with tho fig
ures with the evident aim Of deprving the
Republican majority OF the credit which is ITS
due for reducing taxation. This Is OF piece
with his scandalouS veto OF the Census bill. IN
valuable disregard OF a mandate Of the Consti-
| tuition because he was afraid that II IT became
law the Republicans would havo too much
| patronage The great reduction Of the tax
rate which was accomplished by the Lcgislat-
urc Of 1890 was the death kncll Of any eX-
| pectation which the Democracy may have
| cherished Of carrying the a 'mbly this fall
Not uanaturally the Govemo feels depressed
| as he surveys the situation, and hence, with
the forlorn hope of improving IT, his stump
speech is attached TO the Supply bill. While
admitting that the taX-ratc of this year Is " "A
considerable reduction from tho tax-rate of
last wear" Governor Hill remarks that " it is
TO be regretted that the appropriations an
thorized by the Legislature this year are not
appreciably less in amount than those of last
ycarn There arc two answers to this. In the
first place, large number Of the appropria-
tons which the Governor vetoed last year were
rcappropriatcd, and have been approved by
that bogus economist this year. That is to
say, the appropriations of this year are larger
than they would have been but for the Gov
ernor's senseless and demagogic vctoes in 1889.
In tho second place, the Governor simply
falsifes his own record in rcgretting that the
appropriations Of 1890 care not apprecably
| less in amount than those of last year" On
the 3Ist Of March he addressed the following
letter to the chairman of the Ways and Means
| Committee Of the Assembly:
Nv Dear Mr.. Fish: have to-day approved the an.
nual Appropriation BILL without finding single item in
IL which, in my judgment, deserved 10 be vetoed.
desire To congratulate you and Senator sloane upon the
care and watchfulness with which you have prepared
! the bill / have seldom had the opportunity Of APP
proving so perfect measure since 1t hlns in every
respect what an annual Appropriation bin should be.
IL gives great pleasure thus 10 bear testimony to
your pralseworthy services upon this measure. Yours
very truly, DAVID Is. HILL.
In the circumstances, the Governor would
have done his party better service if he had
contented himself with simply approving the
Supply bill. His stump speech has served to
direct the public attention anew to the clean
and frugal manner in which the Republican
majority of 1890 at Albany handled the money
Of the taxpayers. No one Of the fiscal bills
of the session contained job any item ap-
proximating to job. They were probably n
! near being model measures as any bills that