New-York tribune., 1896-04-21
DOES BOSS RULE PAYf

Legislature of 1896 will be known and remem
bered. first, by the fact that no Legislature OF
this generatiOn--or Of any ether, for that mat
ter-was ever so absolutely dominated ana con-
trolled by the will Of one man. In saying this
we do not forget that we have had such Bosses
as Tweed and Kelly and Croker, who seemed
in their time to be potential; in possession or all
the sources Of power in this county and In the
State But each of these had limitations They
were omen TO suggestion and advice from the
leading statesmen Of their party. whom they
recognized at least as equals. whose counsels
they both solicited and followed. Tweed. for
instance had his HOratio Seymour, Kelly his
Tilden and Croker his David b. Hill; and in
no one of these cases did the Boss assume to
control the action or direct the policy Of the
official and titular head of the party. None Of
these had the audacity to undertake to dictate
to the Governor or influence legislation, except
in perfect accordance with the Governors will
and purpose Our present Boss bears, 'like the
Turk, no brother near the throne" No one man
in the Republic has ever in all its history so
definitely and Enthusiastically repeated In his con-
duct and acts the boast of the Grand Monarch.
II am the State" That Is the first distinctive
fact by which this Legislature and this State
administration will be remembered. And 1t is
a fact worthy the serious consideration OF the
average Republican voter.
The second salient feature Of the Legislature
by which it bids fair to be remembered will
probably be that its two principal measures OF
legislation were the Raines excise law and the
act consolidating New-York, Brooklyn and other
| outlying districts in the Greater New-York
Both passed at command OF the Boss by the
suppression Of individual opinions of members
of the Legislature, and both approved by the
Governor under the same dlctation. The excise
law Is already In operation, and we are able
to form some judgment Of its probable scope and
effect, and its influence upon public opinion in
future elections. 1t was passed with the os
tensible design Of promoting temperance, but
| as was freely admitted, for the real purpose Of
| strengthening the Republican party-meanng
| thereby the ruling faction Of the party. VIII It
accomplish either Of these ends? Let us see.
| And let us begin the inquiry with an examina-
| ton into It's origin and the causes that led up
| to II. First Of all, Is II such measure as the
| Republican party was committed to in its plat
form, or such as 1t had in any way manifested
| q willingness to make an issue in the State eec-
ton?
Most assuredly not. On the contrary, II Is OF
| common notoriety and official record that the
| very men who carried the measure through un-
| der the whip and spur Of the caucus were those
| who stood In cold shiver at the State Conven-
tion in front Of the only phase OF the excise ques-
| ton which had been under discussion, and de-
| liberately resolved to dodge 1t. Warner Miller
| rebuked their cowardce and brought them to
| their senses, so that upon his demand they did
20 SO far as to say that the Sunday laws against
| liquor-selling should be maintained and en-
forced Even then they hesitated to stand by
| what in q momentary burst Of courage they had
| agreed to. In this county, under the lead OF
| one OF the most active Of those who afterward
forced the Raines law through as a party
| measure, they took the back track and tried to
| make It appear that the resolution Of the con-
| vention meant nothing, and that a Republican
Legislature, II elected. would not only refuse to
pass law In the spirit Of that resolution, but
would actually legislate in favor Of more liberal
Sunday laws. That was politics Luter-
bach politics. Was 1t honest politics? The peo-
pie will have to answer that question hereafter.
| And then what? Why then, the result Of the
! State election having made It clear that the
voters Of the whole State fay Ored the cause OF
temperance In SO far as the maintenance Of the
Sunday closing laws was concerned, these cum
ming politicians said to themselves that here
was an opportunity for using the manifest trend
Of public sentiment in favor Of temperance legis-
lation for their own purposes Hence the
Raines law as q party measure. Had they de-
sired to carry out the resolution OF the State
Convention, It was easy enough to prevent Sun
day liquorselling by enactlng the one provision
of this Raines law which has proved effective
The provision that all licensed saloons should
have their interiors exposed to public view in
the prohibited hours was enough for that But
there was an opportunity to strengthen the ma
chine in addition, and that could not be neg,
lected. A loosely drawn bill, complicated and
contradictory in its details, has been passed
The citizens of this town saw 1t In operation on
Sunday last BY common consent 1t Is fail
ure so far as the restriction Of the Sunday liquor
traffic Is concerned 1t has not 80 much as miti
gated, to say nothing Of cured the evils Of that
miserable business. The one thing 1t has ac
complIshed is to put on the State payrols par
Gel Of heelers and dependents OF the very mer
who in the last State Convention opposed com
mitting the Republican party to the simple
proposition that all laws should be enforced
And now what? Has the party been slrehe'n
ened? Not much The advocates OF temper
ance legislation can see nothing In the operat'ol
Of this law that promotes either temperance OF
morals, and the Republican saloon supporter
and saloonkeepers-for there are sucn-are dis
} gusted with the attempt to make political cap
ital at their expense.
And the consolidation bill, about 10 pe passee
under the same dictation over the vetoes VI .n'
| Republican Mayors Of Nsw.York and Brookyr