New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-02-28
THE CITY SENATORS WON.
.,xrs.s LIQUOR TAX BILL TO BE MA
TERlALLY CHANGED.
,xn TOWNS TO rEEP TWO THIRDS OF THE
-,x AND GIVE THE STATE ONLY ONE THIRD
-,,r c,ry MEN HELD A CAUCUS AND
ENFORCED TEEIR WISHES IN THE
GENERAL REPUBLICAN
CONFERENCE.
Try rELE ,RApH TO THE rRIRrNE.l

i
,o,upied the attention Of the Republican Senators
| ,o.dav 10 the exclusion Of almost everything else
~. thoughts of many of them were on the pat
| ,onare 10 the amount Of S25ooOO which they
| ..sno TO have marked out for distribution among
| ..smseIves II the Dill becomes a law About
,rarv one OF the twenty-five Senators who sup
-. tho bill IL 10 believed reckon on at least two
| excise inspectors a 1920 year. and the recent
| Increase of the number Of these useless officials
tom frty 10 sixty leads some Senators to believe
chat they can get three of these appointments
| The opposition to the bill was strengthened
during the day, being especially observable
among the city Republicans. All Of them but one
Senator Ford. thought that the state had no
rght 10 take the money Of the cities and transfer
| I, 10 the state Treasury. Some Of the Senator's
sndeavored TO convince Mr.. Ford that he was
wrong but he was set 10 the correctness "
ria opinion and announced that he would insist
upon New-York surrendering TO the state al
| ,sast 30 per cent Of the money to be collected
there under the Raines bill. The rural Repub-
lean Senators naturally applauded Senator Ford.
CAUCUS OF THE CITY MEN
Tho city Senators who are insisting upon some
amendments being made to the bill were in
v,,ed by Senator White to hold conference IN
room No of the Capitol this afternoon There
was unanimous acceptance of this invitation
bv the city Republicans and several or the ruTa
Republicans who are displeased with the bill de-
c,aed to attend the conference. Thu city Sem
stors who were present were White, OF syracuse;
pavev. Ford and Page. of New-York; Wray,
Wieman and Brush. of Brooklyn; George A.
Davis. seibert and Lamy of Buffalo; Harrison
and Parsons Of Rochester. and Nussbaun,. Of
Albany The rural Republicans who attended
this conference were Higbie, Tbbis and Brack
eft.
Mr. Ford argued that the cities would make
money by surrendAring half Of what they will get
under the Raines tax to the State, but his View
met with cold reception All the other city Re-
publicans decided to demand at the conference TO
he held az night an increase of the city's proper
,lon OF the tax TO two-thirds and that the State
should retain only one-third. Some OF the city
Republicans said that Senator Mullin, OF Water
town, had acknowledged that the cities ought TO
be permitted TO retain at least 60 per cent Of the
tax collected and that the State should take only
10 per cent Senator Lamy. Of Buffalo, induced
his fellow Republicans from the cities TO join IL
a demand that grocers in cities should be per-
m,ted 10 sell liuuor by the bottle and no: be
compelled to pay a large State tax. Senator
Lsmy said the grocers would be seriously in
1ured II the bill should go throug. in its present
shape.
Senator Burns Of Yonkers called attention TO
what he considered gross piece of injustice to
the towns Of Westchester County recently an
nexed to New-Yorl These towns" he said,
ARE in my district Technically they are part
Of New-York City. and yet they are just as truly
rural as Otsego County. On one side Of the line
the liquor dealers will pay 5000. the other $500
II will ruin the latter. The people Of Workers
also are very hostile to this measure, as II puts
an excessive tax. ir their opinion on the ale and
beer dealers"
Senator Brush desired that his fellow Repubh-
cans from the cities would join MIN in an at
tempt to put back the feature Of the bill which
created local option in wards. This suggestion
was not looked upon win favor. Senator
Bracket desired aid 10 reduce the tax on hotel
keepers This also advocated by Senators
Tbbits and Higbie.
The Senators attending the conference agreed
20 support each other in four demands: 0) that
the proportion that the State should receive Of
the State tax should be only oi e-third, CD hat
grocers be permitted 10 sell bottled liquors;
80 that the tax rural hotelkeerers be re-
duced and "a that the tax on ale and beer
saloons be largely reduced.
A VICTORY OVER THE RURAL ME3IBERS.
When the conference Of all the Republican
Senators met in the evening these demands
were put before the rural Republicans, who had
not attended the city caucus. The rural Re-
publicans resisted strenuously the granting Of
any Of these requests. Senator Malby who had
been selected chairman. and Senator Stewart,
as secretary. had to endure hours of excited
talk over the various propositions for amending
the bill
Senator's wray and Brush, Of Brooklyn espe-
cially pushed the proposition that me state
rroportion of the tax collected should be only
one-third Senator Lexow. in great wrath over
this. denounced Senator Brush as untrue 10 the
Republican party. Senator brush rTplled Una,
the man who was faithless to the Republican
party was Lexow and predicted that eVehtu-
ally he would be read out OF the party LOT pc pc
traying the Repubean city & OF brooklyn 10 '"e
~o{t.- N.xN n
The contest over the matter Of what proportion
OF the tax should be paid TO the cities collecting
It and what 10 State lasted throughout tne ,r
ing and at midnight the Senators were sun
holding their conference and still debating the
question Shortly after midnight one OF then
came out OF the room where the c9nIeicn.e was vas
being held and said that by close Io'e ! !lc
proposition OF the city Republicans that the
State should receive only one-third or the tax
collected and that the towns and cities Snoulu
retain two-thirds. had been adopted The city
Republicans he said, were delighted WIZ the'r
victory although they thought the cltlcS oueht
TO retain every cent they could collect uhder 'he
Raines bill. -
The same Senator also said that senator
Burns's amendment had been adopted exempung
the towns Of Westchester County. recently az. an
nexed to New-York from Se provisions for n's',
class cities They are 10 Oe considered as ruia, a.
l towns and not part Of New-York. rms VIII m
make the amount OF the State tax 10 be paid py
the liquor-dealers OF East Chester and Peinain
far less than that paid In the remainder Vi NV"
York City.
The Senator VINO stated tnls inloiliaIi'" '".N
II looked to him though In view OF the con-
cession TO the city Republicans OF two-thirds OF
the tax which would be collected. the Eaines Dill
would receive the support Of majority or those
IN attendance at the conference, and would nave
4 sufficient number Of votes behind 1t to pass the
Senate
1T WAS CLOSE VOTE
The vote by which the proposition that the
State Treasury should receive only one-third of
the tax collected was adopted was close, stand
Ing II &c Is The city Republicans were aided in
obtaining this amendment by several rural Re-
puhlicans who recognized the injustice Of the
State taking so much OF the money Of the cities.