Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-03-30
OUR NEW YORK LETTER
SOMETHING OF THE COMING REFORM
eRS' CONFERENCE AT BUFFALO.
It's Projectors IncIuSs Men ma wo-
men of Radically Varying Views.
story That 1t VIII lie IL Pingrec
nnnm Denied.


NEW YORK. March "a. - Special -
Newspapers hero AND elsewhere published
Detroit dispatch the other day In which
announcement was made of q conference
| "of progressive men and women of various
| political and social beliefs to begin in
| Buffalo on June 20 and close on July 3.
| According to the dispatch, the real pur-
pose of the conference is to nominate
Hazen s. pingree, present governor of
! Michigan, to the presidency.
In making such statement, say the
projectors of the conference, the writer Of
the dispatch flew very wide of the truth.
Judging from the best information the
writer can gather, the Buffalo conference
/ has not been called for the purpose OF
booming the personal aspirations of HazCn
I S. Pingrec or any one else. Apparently
| the plan of its orignators is simply to get
together "a number of the men and women
who believe they see some way of improv-
/ ing social economic and political cundi-
| tions and having them talk the situation
over among themselves. No attempt has
been made in sending out invitations to
gather those who think alike. On the con
trary, the list of seventy odd names print
ed on the letter heads of the committee in
charge includes men and women Of the
most absolutely diverse views.
An Unprecedented Gathering.
Every one of the nearly so persons nam
ed in this list is very well known in some
circle of roformcrs. Most of them are
known to the world at large because of
their prominence in literature, politics,
philanthropic work and the like BY rca-
son of the very diversity of the views they
hold it is plain that should they all attend
| the conferences are bound to be exceed
ingly lively.
Hazen :. Pingree heads the list and
this may be the cause of the intimation in
the dispatch above referred to that the
conferences are to he used to boom the
governor. The name of William Dean
| Howells, the novelist, is at the bottom of
the paper, and this circumstance of itself is
enough to show the probable fallacy of TIC
Pingrce boom story.
The contrast between the names OF Pin
gree and Howells clearly portends divcrsi-
ty of views at Buffalo late in June and
early in July. This is strengthened by the
five names directly above that of Mr..
Howcls They are: Willis j. Abbott, til
recently editor of Mr.. Hearst's Morning
Journals John Brisben Walker, apostle of
the new Democracy, editor Of The Cosmp.
politan and at one time Mr.. Howclls en-
ployer, head of The Cosmopolitan (corre
spondencc) university, etc. The Hon.
George Fred Williams Of Massachusetts,
noted in his state as n strong l6 to man;
the Hon. Joseph G. Siblcy of Pcnnsylva
MIA, picturcsQucly known as Joe Siblcy,
and the Hon. John p. st. John, who ran
for president of the United States on tn
Prohibition ticket some years ago.
In those six names there's suggestion
of oil and water for you, and, after read
ing them, you are not surprised at the
clause in the invitations to the effect that
"no person present" need feel bound by
any resolution he does not vote for"
All sorts of RefOrmcrm
The name of the Hon. Josiah Quincy,
who was so prominent in Cleveland's sec
ond administration and is n gold standard
man to the backbone is near the top OF
the list, next to that of Eugene V. DebS,
the American Railway union man, while
that of W. H. Harvey, author of Coin 5
Financial School" which helped the Is to
, l movement more than any other thing,
is to he seen farther down, and those OF
the Rev. Lyman Abbott, former pastor OF
plymouth church and editor of The out
look; the Hon. Marion Butler of South
; Carolina and Samuel Gompcrs, president
of the American Federation of Labor, are
, in juxtaposition. SO also are the names OF
the Hon. j. p. Altgeld, former governor
of Illinois and avowed enemy of the pres
ent order of things DIR. f.. b. Andrews
former president of Brown university and
now superintendent of schools in Chicago
Colonel Thomas Wentworth HigginsoD
W Vic those of M,
noteworthy far apart, and the Rev. b
Fay Mills of Boston, who az u reviyalst
must hold all earthly reforms to be Of in
iinitely less Importance than the accept
ancc of the Christian faith.
A number of the names in the list be
sides that of Samuel Gompers are those OF
men prominent in various ways as cham
f pions of organized labor John b. Len
non, treasurer of the American Fedora
ton of Labor and secretary Of the Jour
. neymen Tailors association, is one %
these; Joseph II. Buchanan, the wei
known journalist, is another; W. 5. Foy
editor of The Fircman's Magazine which
Is the organ of the locomotive firemen o.
! the country, is another; J. W. sullivan
author of direct Legislation" and
member of Typographical union No. 6
of New York, is another, and Ed f. Far
rell of the same union Is another.
Women Conferees.
Not less interesting are the names o
{ the women in the list There arc only
three and all may be given here: Mis-
Jane Adams, philanthropist and head o
Hull House, Chicago; Mrs. NJ. ID. Fry
: editor of The Union signal and nationa
secretary of the Women Christian TEN
perancc union, and Mrs. l.. NJ, n. Stevens
national president of the W. c. r, u.
The Hon. William V. Allen Of Nebraska
Professor Richard 7. Ely of the Unver
sity of Wisconsin, Henry ID. Lloyd authol
Of the ferocious antitrust volume entitled
Wealth Versus Commonwealth; Elt
weed Pomeroy of Newark, y. j., presi
. dent of the Direct Legislation league; DIR
George A. Gates, president of the low,
college, Grinncll, Ia; Rev. George u
d Heron, who fills the chair of applied
Christianity in the same institutions tn,
Rev. Washington GLADDEN. of Columbus
o.. the Hon. Jerry Simpson, and Booker
T. Washington, the colored philosopher
are among others whose views may clasi
= with the views of some hero mentioned
Il not to speak Of two or three mayors, hal
l. dozen reform journalists an ex-governor
Dr. two two or three successful flnanciers
and so on.
a The meetings of the conference prope
are to be open to members only, and re
ports are to be given out to the press by
: special committee, SO that much of wha
Is said will not be preserved in print bu
there will be u public meeting on July 4