New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-02-25
EXCISE AND GREATER NETWORK.

EXCISE AND GREATER NETWORK.
Two bills are pending at Albany which. be-
sides the general public interest very naturally
and prOpcrly attaching to them. have Il special
and local interest for the citizens Of this county
They are the Excise bill ard the bill for the or
canization of the Greater Ncw-Iork The sub
iect matter Of each has been under discussion
for Il long time and it is hut Il natural Inference
that the fundamental principle which each con-
tains is popularity apprchcndcd. Most people I'M
derstand fairly well that the purpose Of The
Excise bill is to regulate the traffic in wine
spirits and malt liquors in manpcr that VIII
conserve the interests OF life and property. and.
in a degree, Of public and private morals. with
out infringing CT restricting individual rights, OK
cent rs all individual rights are under the limia
tons of social and governmental conditions. 1t
is well TO keep in mind that this Is the only
ostcnsbc purpose of excise legislation. II Is
equally necessary To keep somewhat constantly
in mind that the universal concession thar spo-
cal legislation is necessary for The regulation "f
the Uouor traffic constitutes in itself The admiS
sion that the traffic differs from other branches
Of trade and business. ard that such difference
is to It's disrcpute. During the last year drcun-
stances with which The readers of The Tribune
are tamlll1r. ana WHICH III - consequently
necessary now TO rccitc. have brought the whole
subject Of excise legislation in'o unusual prom
inence 1t was made feature in the platforms
Of both parties in the last state campaign
Neither party it is fair 10 say. manifested in
the first instance any very ardent desire to meet
the issue with absolute franknoSS. The Rcgub-
lean STATE Convention thanks 10 ex-senator
Warner Miller did put the party on record as
,.l.,t Ion in
the interest Of labor and morality.
The pertinencc Of this brief AID explicit dee
lariion Is manifest when II is recalled that Inc
gist Of the whole matter lay in the fact mat all
the heated discussion which went on IN the press
and in public meetings prior 70 The conventions
had related almost solely 10 the oucry made by
the saloonkccpers and liqucrdealcrS over the
enforcement Of the laws against sunday liquor
selling They demanded special privileges for
their calling above all others, and the SPECIAL
privilege which they insisted upon in the press
and political meetings was not exemption under
the law, hut something more startling than that
which was immunity for the violation OF law
They appeared openly in evidence as lawbrcak-
ng class demanding, not that the Sunday laws
should be changed so as 10 make their Sunday
saloon opening legal, bat that with the law un-
changed they should be permitted upon such
terms as they could make with the police to vio-
late IT, That was their whole contention. MI.
Millcrs resolution, which 50 startled the time
servers that they passed it unanimously, simply
said in the name of the Republican party that
the law against an open saloon sunday should
not only stand, but should be maintained ana
| enforced The political cunning OF Mr. Edward
IAuterbach found exercise later in an ambiguous
| resolution by the NewIOrk County RcpuDican
Convention, which resulted in the loss OF thol-
sands of Republican votes in this county. Whi!c
| the candid and straightforward declaration or
| the State Convention was sustained by an over
| whclming aiorty throughout the resi- OF lhe
State 1t is well TO rccllr 10 these facts ana thrsc
conditions as they serve to Sc! forth with some
dstnctness the relations of the Republican parry
| 10 excise legislation. The party is committed To
| nothing whatever except the maintenance OF the
| Sunday laws.
| From a variety of causes not necessary to trace
| the subject has become both broad"ncd ana mar
| rowcd Broadened TO what is considered a pub
lie necessity for wholesome revision Of the excise
| laws as an entirety: and narrowed to what some
persons consdc: The necessities Of party politics
In this state Of affairs the Raincs Excise bill, so
called, has been carefully prepared, and ycstcr-
| day was submitted 10 pupnc N>peVt.oh We
| shall not undertake to deal at this writing with
| IFS provisions in detail further than to say that
| some of them seem reasonable and wise and
| others highly Objectionable and to add thereto
that the attitude Of the party as set forth In ia
| last State Convention not only fails 10 justify
but actually forbids it's comInittal ly caucus
| action to any specific excise measure. 1t incurs
| unnecessary risks For there are wide differ
ences of opinion among Republicans as to many
OF It's features, and this Legislature has neither
the right nor the authority to fasten upon the
marty tie responsibility for policy which the
State Convention Of the party refused to assume.
4 leg. slat!ve caucus cannot define party policy.
| And beyond all this, we undertake. to say on be
half Of what is sneer,ngly called the better ele
ment" of the Republican party that the special
| feo,ures OF fhs D which have for their object
Tho attainment of partisan ends by an increase
of patronage are much more likely 10 reconnd 10
| the lasting injury Of the Republican party ihan
| 20 lie ncrmanent or even temporary success.
| Tbev may seem for the moment cunning ana fun
| of forecast But the margin Of our hrpuDhc'h
| majority even under the best of conditions
| suc, Cor instance as now exists NOT large
enopgb TO warrant any experiments upon 1t III
the line of small politics or party trckery' 1T
| mn jorty want fair dealing and square de"iln-'
and are Republicans only because itey WANT '''"'
and despse anything else.
| We have left ourselves small space to speak
| Of the Greater Ncw-York bill. We shaI say