The times., 1898-09-29
THE CONVENTION.
After the RoII-CaII. an Adjournment
is Taken to Today.

fS Taken To 1o1nN.
Syracuse. \. Y, Sept. 2S.-The Demo-
cratic State convention was to have been
called to order at noon. but at that hour
only about two-thirds OF the delegates
were there and none of the big guns.
A few minutes past u there was a
first sign of enthusiasm-the arrival Of
Richard Croker. accompanied by John +.
Carroll In the next fifteen minutes tho
building filled up rapidly and when. at
g quarter past Z, Senator Edward
Murphy. jr., arrived. accompanied by
Francis Malloy. mayor OF Troy. and Con-
gresham SuIzer, they had almost to fight
TO get into the building.
The arrival of James X. Mcclure, with
his boom intact, was the signal for the
next outburst IL was twenty minutes be-
fore / O'Clock when Elliott Danforth.
chairman of the State committee, made
his way 10 the front of the platform and
announced that the convention would
come TO order. and that he had been in
structed to present the name of George
M Palmer. or Schoharie County. for the
temporary presiding officer Mr.. Palmer
spoke in part as follows:
Mr.. PaImer's Address.
al do not believe that the people will
consent TO the doctrine that the rule of a
party controlled by monopolies and COM
bines is eternal in its reign, but they
are ready now TO declare against this
doctrine. and against the confessedly
ruinous administration. In a free coun-
try, parties are tried and judged by the
record that they have made Does the
Republican party today ask TO hear the
allegations against the present admins
tration2 If so. let the records which are
written and cannot be denied, speak. You
have squandered and wasted the money
Of the people. When you came in power
in this State, you found that under Dem
ocratic rule the State owed no debts, and
had at her command d surplus of nearly
g 600 COO This money has since been
sduandered and by reckless extravaganza
and mismanagement, the State is now a
debtor TO over 100000. on which the
over -burdened taxpayers must pay inter
est and this debt was contracted and eX-
listed before the exigencies of war arose.
In 1897 you, by legislative enact
ment, inaugurated a policy heretofore
unknown in the history of the State
that of exempting from taxation the
bonds issued by the State. The theory
upon which this policy was based was not
new to the Republican party, for IL has
always favored laws which would discrim-
mate in favor of classes against the
masses of our people, and which would
compel the poor citizen to bear an unjust
and unfair proportion of the public bur-
den.
ITO further increase this burden you
have created many new and needless Of
fees and positions with which 10 reward
political servants with large salaries in
order to build up political machine by
which to attempt TO continue in power IN
the State. Among those are attorneyships
for State hospitals, for which offices
there was and is no reason or necessity,
and a significant fact to note is that
many who helped to pass these laws ar<
the recipients of benefits under them.
The Raines Law Scored.
Under your iniquitous liquor-tax Law
the places made for men at large salaries
ara almost without limit; over 1.200 are
now drawing salaries under this law
whose duties seem only that of enjoying
q continuous holiday at the expense OF
the State. This number does not include
the various attorneys appointed from
nonth to month to investigate so-called
violations. whose fees are regulated only
by conscience Fearing that you have
not done your duty along these lines, you
called an extra session of the legislature
at which you provided places for an army
of over 200 more men who are out OF
Jobs, all OF whom are to be paid by the
people Of the whole State, for services tC
be rendered TO a political party in a sin
gle section of the State. You have passed
laws under the party lash having for
their sole object the protection and fos
tering of monopolies and trusts and
thereby suffering the people to be robbed
by practices and methods which the Courr
of Appeals has frequently decided to b,
criminal
These practices can only be stopped
and the perpetrators punished under laws
passed by the legislature of the State
You promised before election by party
platform and pledges to pass laws to cor.
rect these existing evils and abuses.
After election, in order TO deceive the
people into the belief that you were keep
ing these pledges, you passed an act
under the misnomer of '.an act to prevent
monopolies in articles or commoditie.
OF commerce, and TO prohibit restraint oi
trade and commerce. providing penalties
etc" This act was known to you TO bt
inenectual and unconstitutional when in.
troduced and passed. This was clearly
pointed out and proved I'm the public de.
bate upon the bill before its passage. The
courts OF the State decided this law to bt
unconstitutional in part and wholly in,
efectual TO accomplish the end sought
and expressed in the title of the bill. and
In able opinions pointed out the defects
In the law which should be remedied. Yor
then stubbornly refused to correct those
defects pointed out by the courts. or tc