The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-01-02
The Governors Message.


The last message of Governor Patti
son, elsewhere summarized at consider
able length, is a dignifed and compre-
hensive document, replete with good
suggestions. 1t covers very thoroughly
the field occupied by the various state
departments, and is rich in suggestion
as well as in recapitulatlon. We re-
gard it as, in the main, a much ADLER
message than that which preceded 1t
during the second Pattison administra-
ton. 1t points out legislative needs
with more care and is less given over
to political argument.
That portion of the message relating
to the present election laws will be read
with particular interest. Notable in it
is the following paragraph:
Unfortunately, / believe. for the best
interests of the public, the constitutional
amendment proposed a few years ago for
the repeal of the constitutional provision
requiring payment of a poll tax once in
two years was defeated. Since then the
enormous evil of political committees pay
the taxes and holding the tax receipts
of voters has been on the constant in
tTtuSt. II HAS sLltdllltu HlOSl
proportions, especially in the great cities,
where the number of voters whose poll
tical duties are thus attended to by party
organizations now runs up to hundreds
of thousands. Vast sums of money, In
Philadelphia alone in single campaign
amounting to $4,000, are raised by the
political parties. The very raising of this
fund leads to public demoraliZa tion and
Keeps up the vicious system of money in
our politics. 1t places parties under obli-
cations to those vino furnish 1t and taxes
public servants to raise it. / earnestly
recommend your honorable bodies i'm
mediately to formulate and pass a consti-
tutional amendment abolishing the tax on
the franchise; indeed, l am convinced
that the proposition made in another state
some years ago, to impose a tax upon
those who neglect one of the first duties
of citizenship, viz, to vote at all cleo
tlons, would be more reasonable and
effective regulation of the elective fran
chise than to impose what, at most, is an
Irritating tax upon the right to perform
ones duties.
The governors complaint at the far
cical character of most election con-
tests as conducted under the act Of
1874 Is re-echoed by the public. The
instances are unfortunately far too nu-
merous where it has, as he charges,
been the rule to make these trials
mere matters of form, to suppress and
prevent actual judicial investigation.
The election committee travels about,
going through the form of examining
witnesses, without much regard to
legal principles or judicial forms Ques-
tions of law and fact are decided main
ly on partisan or personal grounds, and
the so-called investigation is not only
a judicial farce but a most costly and
unsatisfactory proceeding" This APP
plies not only to legislative contests
but to county contests as we'll The
former can be remedied by throwing
them wholly into the courts. The lat
ter seem to be incurable.
. There is strength in the governors
general argument against violence on
the part of dissatisf labor but weak
ness in his suggestion that there
might be no difficulty in devising a
board of arbitration in which both
sides would have confidence" There is
great difficulty in this direction, and II
is not becoming less. Another weak
no,rt 90 shou,, t,;s ,o,,,,,,.o ..o.,
Po MS '''o'''iu'''e 'iea''
ment OF the company store problem, a
subject which, like all other questions
has two sides. The last feature n,
-, H.. -,
speeiai ih'eies' "hieh we shai houce
is the portion relating to street pas
senger railways-to the duty of pro.
+eotinc tba e,reet, ond b;ghu,o,,, ,ro,,.
80 fo"
the aggressions OF troiley companies
: without at the same time sacrificing