New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-03-14
PROTECTOR OF THE POOR
SENATOR CANTOR SEEKS TO GAIN A
NEW TITLE

HIS ,MpoTENr EFFORTS TO PREVENT AN IN
vrsrIGATIoN OF THE ALLEGED EMPLOY
MENT OF POLITICAL WORKERS IN
THE STATE LABOR BUREAUS.
.,,x TIE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE -BrBuNE
Albany, March Ex-senator Mullin. the Repub-
,,con chairman OF the Senate Committee
Finance. introduced a resolution to-day for ex-
tending the period of the Investigation as to
the cost of the state Commissions which was
begun recently by that committee and the As
semby Committee on Ways and Means. Sem
ator Cantor thereupon offered a resolution de-
cIaring the committees discharged from the
further investigation of the labor bureaus of
the State. In support of this resolution he
made a speech. asserting that the Bureau of
Labor Statistics. the Board of Arbitration and
the Factory Inspectors Bureau should not
even be investigated; least Of all, should these
bureaus be consolidated
THE Republican majority." said Senator Null
lin. in reply. has no idea of consolidating any
labor bureaus unless 1t discovers that they
wasting the money of the taxpayers of the
State There is useless expenditure of money
by these departments. which does not benefit
either the workingmen or the people Of the
state For instance. the Superintendent of the
Bureau of Labor Statistics is having certain
labor statistics of the census of 1892 tabua ted.
This task will take three years. and in 1895 we
have another census. The statistics. anyway,
will be useless. but by the time they are printed
they will be much wasted ink. This is done
at an expense of 100000 Organized labor is
not interested in extravaganza: ii is Jealous for
economy. for il pays the taxes in the end
Our inquiry shows that there is a Shore In
-ba
particle of his work is done by the United States
Government at far less cost Then there is
Oyster Protector who receives $1,000 year and
$500 expenses and his work seems TO be needless.
Ii is nothing but a sinecure. Who Will be in
jured by the investigation of the labor bureaus?
Not the laborng men, certainly, for we have no
hostility to them. but. upon the contrary, the
most sincere friendship 1t does look to me as
II some was afraid of an nvestiga tion-that
extravaganza and waste of the peoples money
would be shown.
Il am surprised" said Senator Lexow, that
a Tammany Hall Senator dares TO get up here
and pose as a friend Of the workngmen of the
state. There is not man around this circle
but is aware of the fact that Tammany Hall is
refusing work 10 the unemployed in New York
City. If you have a Tammany Hall district
leaders ticket you can get employment; but not
otherwise. We appropriated Sl,OOO.OOO FOR the I'M
employed poor of New-York. 1t was SAID mat
: o00 men would at once be put to work, but
only 1000 are at work. and every man OF
them has got employment through Tammany
81 predict that when this investigation Is con-
GUIDED the Republican party will be found upon
the side OF labor 1t is the friend OF the iaooilhg
man-witness the American Protective Tariff.
Senator Higgins said that almost every man
among his constituents in the counties OF Ale
gany Chautauqua and Cattaraugus was labor
ing man There were few capitalists Inc!
desired TO know If the State government was
extravagantly managed Under his observation
certain agents of the labor bureaus were almost
exclusively political workers agents of the Demo-
cratic party and not actual workers for labor
ing men or the State. Money was spent for the
support of these political agents and not oil the
labor bureaus . .h
There is no charge here or attack upon the
labor bureaus" said Senator SaxtOn, but it is
simply a question whether the expenses OF the
C,ate denartments and commissions are in
creasing beyond all reason. Why should we
exennt these labor bureaus from an investlga-
tiono Is II impossible that they should be eX..
travarantly managed? 1t is TO the interest Oh
the laboring men 70 nave these uep'i ~
thoroughly examined. ~, . nod
senator Cantor said that the man who haa
sought employment for others was John ~.
WiiSoliand He had desired to get employment
Gov "a lot of Republicans attached to his pohu-
al organization in New-YOrk. and had peen
refused nv the Park Commissioners Other
iaborers however had been employed
Tho Renuhlican Senators could not see what
crime Mr. Miholland had committed in seeking
IN get work for unemployed Repuohcans' anu
,bev voted down Mr. Cantor's amendment. Ihen
they passed Senator Mullins resolution e"'e"u
ing the time for the investigation.