New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-04-20

Senators, the question being the final passage Q
the bill
why, what are you dong?" Mr. Erwin eH
claimed. Are you trying to choke us of? III
bill has not been debated. | have an amend
ment to offer. Your boss, Mr. Croker, has de
clared in public letter that he is willing t
compromise on this bill, and l intend to propos
a compromise
It's too late said Sheehan; the roll cal
has begun"
What if it has? 1t was snap roll call
1t was not right This is simply dastardly. io'
are afraid to debate this bill. You have got
scheme here to steal the Presidency of the Unte'
States next November, and you are trying Il
prevent us from exposing it.
THE chair must rule said Sheehan, tina
the roll call cannot be interrupted except by unan
imous consent"
Then. as if ashamed of himself, as probably nc
was. he added But suppose there will he nc
objection to allowing the Senator TO proceed WIFI
his amendment
"Yes, there is; I object"
The entire Assembly turned in surprise and
disgust to the Senator from whom this ooJecuoi
came 1t was icClelland- McCielland. the indie
pendent, the rminded the heightened and the
just; the paragon of political virtue, who IS eter-
nally laying his hands upon his heart ana de-
claiming about his independence OF the posses
and about the elevated point OF view from WHICH
he contemplates men and measures. Inns man
arrant hypocrisy has begun to De lhtoiefaole'
Senator Cantor attempted TO induce nm 10 WIN
draw his objection. but he refused. Even Shechan
was disguised In tones of personal appeal, ne
indicated that Erwin ought to have at least the
onnortunitv Of presenting the amendment Nc
Clelland. however, was utterly obdurate' ana
Sbeehan having made the ruling, was forced TO
stand by it.
The roll-call proceeded. Under the rules, Seha-
Cor may ask to be excused from voting, ana may
state his reasons He may then withdraw MS IT,
G1,est and vote Under this old custom, se'efui
Of fine Republican Senators delivered themselves
Of intensely earnest speeches against the DILL anu
of sharp denunciation Of McClelland lheS euiu'
in words than which none could be palmer "i'o
il was not votes the Democrats depended on ior
victory, but trusty knaves 10 count them t""o
this measure was in keeping with their lrauuule"'
origin. the crimes out of which they were porh
and with all the outrageous legislation ol "hlch
they had been prolific; that, constituted ny re'o
luton their first fruits had been 1rauouieh.
Enumeration bill, enabling partisan bureau 10
take n partsan census, preliminary TO partisan
alteration of all ahe political boundaries IN the
State: that they had followed this with their
TO come ON with their legislative gerrymander;
that in city after city. where the Republicans
wee in q normal majority, but by electoral
accidents and incidents Democratic Mayors were at
this moment 10 power they had created municipal
eerrymanders, legslating Republican Aldermen and
other ofice-hOlders out OF their ofiices,
filing their places with Democrats; alweys
and everywhere providing that the electoral
machinery should be placed in the
hands of the Democratic police. In Mr. SaXions
language this bill held TO be the fitting cap
stone of the monument OF mental and moral inca
pacity which this fraudulent Legislature had
erected to the shame of the Democratic party"
McClclland received plenty Of attention. He
was branded as coward and hypocrlte-a man
of monumental pretence. The Democrats through
out the roll-call said nothing. Even in reply to
Mr. Erwins concluding speech, when he declared
that their proceeding was sheer devltry, and that
that was why they had refused to talk
about it; that this was bill TO
rob the people Of their franchises, TO keep
Tammany Hall eternally in power by stealing the
elections; that they were returning to the days
and methods of Tweed that their legislation here
had begun in plundcring and thieving and was
ending in thieving and plundering; but that IN
spite of all they were doing or could do,
the people understood them, knew their record
and would overthrow them cOmpletely-in the
face Of this furious onslaught, they had not
word to say. Not man of then lifted his
voice in defence of the BILL except to give
his
Following this outrage came the passage OF
ed" Murphy's Lansingburg bill. These are the
last of the scandalous attacks that this Legis-
lature has made upon Republican communities
throughout the State They began with SYRIA
,lo,i, hot dir
cessfully, they were moved TO attack Ogdens-
burg, Port Jervis, POughkeepsie and Troy. None
Of Uheir measures has been quite so dainnable
as these Lansingburg bills 1-ansingDurg Is
time in twenty-five years, il elected Demo-
cratic Mayor, after factional campaign. Its
trustees, police commissioners, excise commits
sioners, police justices, school commissioners,
town inspectors, and inspectors Of cleo
ton twho are the village trustees, are ali chosen
by the people, and arc all Republicans. Inc
bills passed to-day legislate every one OF these
PEOPLE twenty-fOur in number, out OF office, and
give that Democratic Mayor commission to
appoint officers in their stead for terms OF hve
and seven years.
He is 10 appoint five water commissioners, five fire
commissioners, police justice ana an assistant The
entire school board Of seven commissioners, Is
turned over TO him. lie appoints village at
torney and street commissioner. lie appoints
four police commissioners, none OF whom is re-
qured TO be Republican. Every officer OF the
village, except the Democratic president and the
trustees who deprived Of their power, is legis
lated out OF Office, and the electoral machinery
hitherto confdel to the trustees, AS the peoples
representatives, is now given over to the police
and controlled by the partisan police board
II it possible to conceive OF bill more utterly
dastardly and outrageous than this? And yet
livery one Of these seventeen Democratic Senators
voted for il. There were muimurs here and there.
Brown murmured. Walker murmured loudly.
Parker murmured; and McClelland had another
spasm of virtue But Murphy sat in Sheehans
room, and one by one he had these murmuring
Senators brought before him, and to each he
pleaded and stormed Walker had said positively
that he would not vote for the bill but when the
rocall began each Of these vrtuous prOte5tants
pped "yea." If they wOud measure the contempt
that Sheehan, Cantor, McCarren and such
beautiful specimen of unalloyed Democracy as
the Hon. Tim" Sullivan have for them by that
McCarren and the Hon. Tim" they would gain
a clearer and truer appreciation of the place they
occupy in the universe than they seem to have
at present. l.. r.. y.