New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-12-28
GOV. FLOWERS MESSAGE.
POINTS OF THE DOCUMENT HE WILL. SEND
TO THE LEGISLATURE.
VARIOUS MiTTEas o. STATE INTEREST 70 re
"i>"OS SEED AND Az ABUNDANCE or YIN.
TCous sENT1MESrs-LEGIsIA.

"iSCCSsED AND Az ABUNDANCE or YIN.
TCous sEYTIMENTs-LEGIsIA.
TIVE ORGANIZATION
pRoM THE nEGCtAn COMMENCEMENT or TIN 11:BuSnI
Albany, Dec. 27--Thc session Of the I.egisa-
ture VIII begin on Tuesday next. January 2 In
anNcipauon Of this circumstance Governor
Flower has boon !aboring for the pact month
upon his yearly message, ard the STATE officers
ana the heads OF the State commissions have
been busy supplying the Governor with sum
mares Of TIE operation OF the. departments
for use in the message. The message Is no"
said to be complete and to have been sent 10
the state printer to be printed in the shape in
which Il reaches most Of the newspapers Of the
STATE
TO ABOUND WlTH vIRTCOUs SENTIMENTS.
III Flower IS said to have taken great pains
with the document. since h may be candi-
date Cor denomination before the Democratic
state Convention which VIII meet the coming
yea. and the message therefore may be circu-
lated among voters as n campaign document
II can be predicted that M. Flowers NEE
sage Will abound In virtuous sentiments; and
indeed. his intimateS admit that he viii pose
as a defender of the peoples Nights lie will
demand thorough revision Of the election laws
in order to insure pure elections" IIe nv; III"
Police Department Of Buffalo IN the hands 90
William f. Sheehan previous to the late cleo
ton, and the police drove Independent Demo-
Gratis and Republicans away from the polls
but Mr.. Flower believes in pure elections He
permitted John Y. McKanc to defy the Supreme
Court of the state and keep the registration
books az Gravesend the names Of hundreds
Of repeaters-but he favors pure elections"
There is suspicion even that he may in his
message suggest a blanke; ballot and the pas
sage of a law giving two inspectors Of election
to each political party. If so, the Republican
1.egisatur whose members intend 10 pass these
acts Immediately. viii welcome his words.
STATE FINANCES DISCUSSED.
Mr.. Flowers report co,cerning the finances Of
the State will be ut once'flvorable and unfavor-
able. There has been collected s2.07l, GS7 90 from
the Inheritance tax. $l.GGSG1l c. from the corpor
alton tax. S29S2i 81 from the tax on the organ
izatiOn OF corporations and S62SG4 Il from the
bankers tax. or a grand total OF s5lO 7Oi % from
the indirec. taxes Of the state But. on the other
hand MI Flower will have to acknowledge that
through the joint worl. Of the Democratic Legs
lature and himself the direct State taxes were
Increased from s77s4S4s IL in 1892 to sl04Sl92 o.
in 1898, an increase of $2,633,2i3 go.
Mr.. Flower will also report in his message that
the State prisons lave been more Of q burden
b. many thousands ~ dollars the present year
than they We're year ago, and that The Legs
lature will have - make UP a deficiency. The
cause Of this Is Tie hard times" Tho three
STATE prisons as a., rr-sen. managed are huge
manufacturing establishment s. the convicts be-
ing the workers and the State being the capt.
talist. Like Other manufacturers. the state has
seen a fall!ng-off in ,hc demand Tor is manufac-
tured wares since the Cleveland ADMINISTRATION
=, came into power at Washington and has been
compelled to cease manufacturing goods. Only
two or three of the prison Industries are now IN
operation; the convcts are idle. 50 far as manu-
featuring Is concerned. and the State prisons are
therefore far from being self-sustaining.
ROADMiKING BY CONVlCTS.
one interesting feature Of State prison lfe the
las; year will be reporte- by M. Flower in
his message. and thet IS the experiment IN
state road-building by the convic,s at clinton
Prison. Dannemora. Warden Thayer pu, 100
convicts at work constructing road from the
railroad station at DannemOra 10 the great
State prison lie kept an accurate account Of
the days labor done 10y each man ana OF me
cost of the road-making tools, and there
fore has been able 10 furnish Governor Flower
with the figures as - the actual cost Of con-
structing mile and an eighth OF ORDINARY
country road. These figures VIII BE- given IN
structing the experimental road was 70 en-
| courage the building Of better roads by the
various counties In the State. AZ his sugges-
ton also the State Legislature last winter passed
a new highway law for the construction OF coun-
try roads especially designed TO encourage The
various counties. through their boards OF super
visors 10 begin the construction or better
| roads The financial panic Of the last summer
| prevented the counties Of the State generally
| from taking advantage Of this highway law.
| Governor Flower therefore. Will not be able 10
| make much Of a repor; on this subject. There
are signs however. that some counties are
! awaking 10 the advantages this now law gives
J Co.. ting rI
! of Supervisors Of Erie County have been con-
s!dering plans for the improvement Of the roads
| of that cnterprisingf county. when Involve the
expenditure of over one million dollars III
Orange County, also. q Is reported steps are
! being taken TO improve the roads under the
! highway law.
: CANAL EXPERIMENTS.
The Governor also will give the public In his
message his impressions Of the trial Of the cX-
pertinent Of the electrical! propulsion Of canal
boats made at Brighton on the Erie Canal. near
Rochester. the latter part Of November. The
! Governor is convinced that the experiment was
a success, and therefore favOrS the improvement
OF such new means Of propcng canal boats
rather than the expenditure Of large sums In
deepening and broadening the Erie Canal. This
latter policy OF his. however. does not meet win
| the favor Of the canal boatTen, or OF the
Boards Of Trade Of Ncw-Yorh ana Buffalo, whose
members strongly favor an enlargement Of the
| Erie Canal. There IS likely to be Il conflict be-
tween the Governor and the Legislature upon
this subject.
The Governor f. anxious. rs an governors for
the past twenty-five years have been. To have
| the new Capitol completed in his adIninistra
ten. 4 year ago he made the confident pre-
diction that If 800 600 yearly appropriated
for three years TO come II would be completed
The last fiscah year, ending September 80 1892
the sum Of $S0$4 Az 03 was expended upon the
new Capitol. That makes the total cost OF the
CAPITOL to date 20.726.91l l.. Possibly the Re
, publican Legislature, in view Of the financial
distress OF the taxpayers Of the State. will foTcgo
for one year making an appropriation for what
Governor Robinson termed that monumental
folly, the new Capitol"
STATE CARE OF THE INSANE.
Governor Flower also will report the success
! full establishment of the state system Of