New-York tribune., 1891-05-08
ry,r DEuOCRATYC ADDRESS.

Democratic newspapers are Poin'ine "-
nr;de N the address which their party repre-
sontatives in the Legislature put forth dlrecty
os,or tho adjournment. This address is directed
- " tbe neople.v and il " the people were SIM
NV 90 many marines it might possibly prove
an ofect;ve campaign document. But as IL
Is II will merely serve to convince lnteihgeno
voters that the Democracy has no case,' so lar
as the last Legislature is concerned.
lot ne look at some of the gems OF this ad-
dress ave have given the people the shortest
legislative session in seventeen years" say 'heSo
Democrats. "Wer is good. Do "we' imagine
that the people are ignorant OF the fact tha' .ro
LEGISLATURE is composed of two branches ~
% ,re,, imagine that the people are ignorahC %
tho fact that the Senate OF 1891 was hepuo-
Tcapq Do eve" imagine that the people are
ignorant of the fact that it is impossible lor one
branch of the Legislature, all by itself, withouO
the concurrence of the co-ordlnate Di"nUa, ~
render session long or shortT no 80
that "we." as used in this address, III .he 'on.
tence quoted and elsewhere, Is an n'ui' W
intelligence Of " the people" uo
"In etfeoting this low tax-rate
have not found II necessary" etc. Inc a''onp,
to show that the Democrats are 70 oe cioui.ou
with tax reduction is as has already Deeh po1nO ~,
oa ont a oonspicuously false pretence' ,no
history Of legislation in this State estaOiishe'
that taxes have been highest when the Deino
crafts had complete control Of all brancnes "a
thn government. Nor is it true even tha1 tne
oamocr,t;c members of the last Assembly useu
their mower as majority in the interest Oh ecoii-
omv r. was shown in the letter OF our Albany
onS nndent which we printed yesterday that
tho Finance Committee OF the Republican oen-
ate killed useless or extravagant app'opi ia'O
which had passed the Assembly, amouhVl.s :"
,,iI,;oro of dollars. awe" Democrats OF the
legislature might as we'll claim to have wrlteeh
Shakespeare as to have put down the taAes'
Every davis session of the Lc 5lslature," says
the address. "costs the people between o4,ooo
ord SIX 0OOD Ii the Democrats had Deeh
sbrovd tbey would have concealed these figures.
For "the people" will be apt to put to them
tho embarrassing question If legislation COSTS
between S4 900 and $4,000 day, did you hoo
commit a great outrage upon the taxpayers IN
hoId;no the Senate in deadlock for two weeks
~ tbn demand of a canal ring which could not
stand investigation? Another maladrolt reler-
ence in the address is the one III re'a'ion
,he massage by the Assembly of an Enumeration
bill, for 1t Is notorious tidO IhO i'~ ~
lature of 1885 passed an Enumeration plil
oorrosnondinp to the one which Governor liiush
s;cnod and that Governor Hill, igncrlng dl-
roct mandate Of the Constitution, vetoed IL sili-
nlv because he thought it gave too much patron
. 90 to tbe Republican Secretary OF State or
tho first time in recent years" the auuresS
o,oims the election of q United states sen
otor was accompanied by no charge or Suspicion
of corruption" This assumption Oh virtue 70
very drolI. coming from the representatives. "a
. nartv which has carried the State electiohs III
recent years largely by means OF corruption
fund raised by the saloon ring ana the cah'''
ring and whose unsavory choice for the senate
was "Whiskey's Governor" Smith "eeo
u;n smile audibly when he reads this boast OF
Democratic legislators. The address character-
izes the infamous Rum bill which passed the
,esomblv rs ian equitable revision OF the eX-
c;so laws This also is an insult to the pop
mar Intelligence The bill in question was d
brazen attempt to destroy the excise laws. IL
was condemned by the reputable men OF ooth
narties. It was so Hagrantly bad that peutionS
against its passage were suppressed
There are other gems in the address, ouc ,nese
,,iIl do for this time. II the Democrats nave
M better argument to present to the VoVerS-
ond of course. if they had better one tneS
would hardly withhold it-they may well leel
depressed They will 20 into the campaign
roalzinp that they have forfeited the confidence
Of the people, that their course III tne '"sO
Legislature has made votes for the hepuDii'''N''