The evening times., 1898-10-25
VAN WYCK IN ROCHESTER,
Addresses a Vast Multitude in
Fitzhugh Hall.
ABUSE OF THE BALLOT BOX
The New Election Law Vigorously
DenOunced-Repub on a Path
for the Destruction of Local Lib
erty-Hnve Always Favored Force
BiIs-An Aggressive Grafton.

| paign here last night to one of the larg-
est audiences ever gathered at a political
| meeting in this section of the State. Fftz-
hugh Hall, where his address was deliy-
cred, was overcrowded with an excited,
| cheering mass of Democrats, and the
| thousands who arrived too late to get
within slight of the hall packed the
street outside, around a big, hastily con-
structed platform. Shortly. before 8
O'Clock Judge Van Wyck, the Democratic
nominee for governor, and his party left
the Powers Hotel in carriages and drove
the short distance to the hall amid cheers
from the crowds. the sound of bursting
bombs and the falling stars of many
| rockets
The meeting was called to order at S
O'Clock by c. Wehle, chairman of the
Democratic county committee. George
Raines was made presiding officer. The
| hail had been gayly trimmed with flags,
banners and palms. and the minute Judge
Van Wyck appeared a round of cheering
began that would not be silenced for
ten minutes. With the judge were George
! Raines, John b. Stanchfield, of Elmira:
Elliot Danforth, and the members of the
county and reception committees.
Announces His Position.
Judge Van Wycke said: THE end for
which the Democratic party of this
| State, with its various allies, is putting
forth its strength this year is that the
! State of New York may have good gov
| ernment. as the candidate of the DEM
| ocratic party / stand unequivocally on
| the platform adopted at Syracuse. Our
| opponents have been contending that
| national issues are paramount this year
| but thus far they have not succeeded in
| showing what the governor of the State
has TO do with such affairs. His duties
| are defined by the State constitution, and
! if he is called upon in any way to sup
| plement or supersede or instruct the
President of the United States the au-
thority must be found in that instru-
ment. and that it is not therein every
one knows.
Il am very far from denying that it
| is of great Importance to have right
conclusion arrived at concerning many
| of these questions, though they are ir-
| relevant to the State issues. These are
subjects to which, l doubt not, the
American people will. in due time, give
| their earnest attention. But let every
proposition come up in due order and OBJ
tain consideration free from all irrele-
| vancies that might wrongly affect the
| popular judgment. The constitution of
our State has been framed with view
| to the drawing OF a line OF distinction
| between national and State and munt-
| cipal questions experience having taught
the good men Of all parties that the fail
ure so to distinguish WAS not the least of
the causes that gave immunity to wrong
doing.
''It may / think be set down as a
! sound rule of judgment for the voters.
that any candidate who seeks re-elec-
! ton on other grounds than that his own
| official record has been meritorious or
any political party which solicits Ie-
| newal of trust for reasons which lie
| quite apart from the sphere of Its prop
! er action should be looked upon with
| suspicion.
..it is according to human nature for
| men TO court inquiry where they are con-
| fident of having earned approval. and TO
! shun II where they feel that light upon
| their deeds must bring condemnation. Is
| il to be believed that our opponents
| would be found endeavoring TO divert at
| tention from the management OF the ca
| nails of the State to the foreign policy or
the national government if they had not
something to conceal?
Home Rule for Cities.
THE Democratic party stands for home
rule for cities and for uniform charter
/ provisions, such as the Constitution
| plainly coutemplates, instead of special
and partisan legislation, which strikes at
the very root of the principle of self-gov-
| ernment and lessons or extends the pow
| er of communities over their distinctly
local affairs according to the partisan
relation in which they stand to the men
who happen to control the legislature and
| the executive authority
| Upon this, upon many other sub
| jects, for manifest reasons, our opponents
are silent. Despite their promises and
! despite, too, the unmistakable require
ments of the State constitution, We have
seen them proceed to pass laws designed
tC emasculate the municipal rights of
great cities for no other reason than that
they refused to elect republican officials.
The monstrous law affecting the bal
lot box in the city of New York is but a
special and glaring example of this abuse.
The path upon which our opponents
have entered has no logical stopping place
short of the destruction of every local
liberty and the Capitalization of all pow
er the hands of a State machine.
1T becomes the duty of every voter
| who feels devoted to the rights and lib
critics which are Enthusiastically
American to give careful thought to the
subject. for history may confidently be
called in evidence to show that when To-
| cal liberties are destroyed the power of
the people over the central authority does
not long survive. No people ever know
ingly and voluntarily surrendered their
freedom and rights at a single capitula-
ton Liberty is lost by neglect and fail
ure TO check its invasion by slow and
| stealthy approaches. Let no citizen fall
ter when called upon to rebuke the tyr
anny involved in this and like laws Our
opponents have always favored force
bills. which gave them under their con-
troll greater power to interfere with the
freedom of action of those whose only sin
is in disagreeing with them
Refers to the Canal Frauds.
| In the course of his speech the Demo-
cratic candidate made brief reference to
the canal frauds. Upon this topic he
said:
Without entering upon the detailed
abuses and manifest frauds brought to
light, first by the press of the State, and
next officially by the investigating COM
| mttee we have before US the fact that
the people were grossly deceived as to
the cost of the plans which they were in
vited to sanction. Let it be allowed, for
the sake of argument, that there have
been no frauds, and what are we to
think of the men who could not come
nearer the truth than to say that s9.00O,-
600 would suffice, when at least $23. 600, ,00l
! would be required?
THAT large per centage of the $1,000,
coo has been squandered upon political IA
vorites and political contractors is made
clear beyond any sort of question by the
| reDort of the commission: but even if this