New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-10-24

| prpcoN,I Liberty AND EXCISE MATTEKS
After DENYING that the Republican party was
a PARTY of home rule, the Senator continued
come now to of the prlnciRa issues MOVE
In this campaign, and that Is PERSONAL i''or,S,
| ,Jur opponents do not Ike the Term. II annoy
them IL worries them 1t maddens theiil II IIlsns zen,
them Without assuming to answef s n ts behaf
they have only resorted to vlihcaton ana personal
Some of the most jealous and ndscreet opponents
have gone far as to say that by me aav9c;aJiS
70 impose b;ackrnall the right to steal and the right
| to commit crime I have made no such argimesn.,
| saw that by advocating the freedom Of the press
therefore justify the levying OF blaekmaI by news
p psler hat, by n:alnng the right OF citizen to
bear arms guaranteed ny tnS hotin ~ AMI
Parsona liberty means liberty regulated by law
reasonable law As popularity Interpreted, II
stands for opposition unnecessary restraint and
all species OF obnoxious governmental supervision or
| Individual concerns The principle which Is I'M
! If a free state The Democratic party has always
| been the consistent champion of personal llDerty
reor mis or the threats the boasts of
Purtanlsm The issue Of personal ,seTay Sb Trs
| has been forced upon in this campaign, and one
| which We cannot hOnoraby avoid ..,o.. T..
| our Republican friends. at their convention, IN
| Saratoga in the report Of their committee on pat
| form presented platform to the convention when
| absolutely ignored this whole question which IS
really the most important issue in this campaign
|
him, yet soncede had he Of his eSnvs.
| tIons moved an amendment to the PLATFORM, eX.
pressing the partys Pos9 upon TINS e9e anna
bold Ta enough to adhere to that platform In this
| city the local Republicans have attempted TO re-
pudiate that platform, and have adopted an entirely
| different principle from that laid down in the state
| platform. These astute ieformers. Messrs. platt
and Lauterbach pu, Paster on the r kepgo rea
and pulled 1t of.
THE DEMOCRATS AND THE EXCISE LAW.
The Senator next entered upon a review Of an
cient excise legislation and went on
| The Democrats. in the revision of 1892, did not
| as the Republicans originally enacted them-sayc
and except that they liberalized those provisions Ia
mention.
Il is unnecessary now to inquire into the reasons
changed it is sufficient to know that. even If ever
| so much desired 1t was not feaslble.it was WHOLLY
impracticable because OF ne Slender Deihooi@
majority in the Senate Political parties cannot
and controlled by the practical situation which con
fronts them AginS tne 9Pp3fonb o o e ay hy
providing that hoteikeeper or restaurant ekeePer
10 his guests with their meals. in separate apart
| meats from the bar That liberal and Inn
portant modification. to which no good citizen could
pbiect but even that was opposed by our opponents.
| That provision is law to-day. ard with fair de-
no more difculty in regard it in New-Y York City
Buffalo and other large cities or i'm interior towns
| y
But the new Police Commissioners OF New-York
!mme lately upon the assumption Of their offices
| adopted strict narrow and arbitrary interpreted
! ton of these Sunday provisions. and vociferousy
ostentatiouslv proclaimed that they were to oe
relentlessy enforced according to their own peculiar
| construction Of them. II not assumed that
they were 20 be enforced the same as other laws or
Jointly with other laws. but the efforts of the police
| were 10 be almost exclusively devoted 10 the pre-
| vention of excise and Sunday Offences as though
| they were heinous crimes IN comparison win whicA
| all other offences were trivial and subordinate 49,
citizens of New-Y6rk, and aroused spirit Of in
dignation on the part OF al decent men, which only
awaits opportunity TO express Itself at the ballot;
There is 70 issue anywhere upon the general sub
tect Of the prOprety OF the enforcement CT law. No
| Democratic newspaper, no Democratic orator any
laws should not be enforced. They should be en-
| forced the same as all other laws. in reasonable
not be enforced {, the exclusion of other laws-they
should not be enforced more strictly or more harshy
| sense should be exercised in their enforcement The
frl usefulness Of many avs depends not only upon
| on the construction Hhieh Is given 20 then \ good
and strained construction | repeat that the Demo
| cratic party favors the enforcement Of every law
ance with public sentiment and according to
able principles of Interpretation.
The persistent miscOnsiructon Of the Sunday pro-
| visions OF the existing law. and the difficulties Of
securing the same without long and expensive
sirable II may be that If the ex Use law was en-
forced alike in all the municipalities Of this state
would be no necessity for new legislation r. is
law "e are not enorce IN h great 1 tps eHsRs
same they in Brooklyn. in Republican syra-
cuse. in Republican Buffalo and in Republican
Rochester and In numerous other Republican cities
| Of the State. T1ey are not enforced in the same
which ex-senator Miller halls Some legislation is
therefore inr. nfa6c me people demand It, and
| cared themselves.
| WHAT THE PLATFORMS SHOW.
The Democratic party. in its platform adopted
at Syracuse. has advocated the policy Of home
rule in excise matters for every municipality in
the State II urges that the people of each munich
patty should be permitted to determine by popular
M eSop h5nd BE 5ermed to pureSa
beverages and necessary food We have not said
throughout the State neither have we said we are
opposed to IT. We have simply declared that The
determine that question for themselves. This is a
safe and just and satisfactory disposition OF the
question 1t must be conceded that excise matters
are largely questions of local concern with which
interest and the general principle Of allowing
| each locality determine lis local affairs in its
popular sentiment. ami. it is believed, can be safely
| applied TO excise matters.
| The Republican leaders at Saratoga first sought
| to eyade, the question as | have already stated,
reads substantially as follows I've favor the main
tenance Of me sunday laws IN the interest or labor
can have bit one meaflng~ii is the honest and
intelligent meaning which Mr.. Miller has himself
Of the he existing sunday laws. but it means their
preservation the statute books Just as they
| are Ex-senator Miller said a. Saratoga. He
says In order that there might he no
misunderstanding Of the party's position he de-
| cared In his speech at Saratoga that local option
or home rule in excise matters was contrary 10
! the principles Of good government
In the light OF the language of that platform in
view Of the explicit utterances OF Mr.. Miller, its
author in view OF the attitude of the Republican
party in the past-it is attempt to impose upon
our credulty to ask to believe that this added
| clause means simple declaration in favor OF the
| enforcement Of law.
| ANALYZING MR.. LAUTERBACHS SPEECH.
| Last night in speech at Carnegie Hail. the co
! quent orator, NJ. Dspew allied himself with War
ILL LIZ. lnI