New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-12-02
THE EVOLUTION OF 4 Trust


The New-YOrk Legislature will not meet for a
month. No Speaker Of the Assembly has vet
been elected No caucus of the majority has vet
been held 10 agree upon candidate Yet such
Is the perfection of the machinery of govern
ment as at present constituted that nothing OF
this kind is necessary to the mapping out of the
work of the session and the naming Of the COM
mittees. This is great advance on the ira
ditional methods of American goyernment-so
great, indeed, as TO be n total transformation.
Fifteen years ago there was nothing like II In
this State. Thirty years ago the possibility of
such thing was not even dreamed Of People
who rest their faith ON written constitution
as a guarantee of fixedness In approved methods
OF government should study what were and
what are the incidents Of a new Legislature and
be convinced of the fact OF evolution. They
may defend the change as good or condemn II
as bad That makes little difference The i'm
portant fact is that the change has taken place
and taken place so thoroughly that there ia
scarcely a remark made on IT,
As We have noted there Is no Speaker and
will not be for month. Yet an Assemblyman.
Mr.. s. Fred Nixon, who desires to secure that
place has without consulting his colleagues or
making any canvass among them appeared In
this city within the last few days and from
time TO time announced whom he will appoint
10 this or that committee craftsmanship so sure
is be that he is to be the Speaker. He is exer-
cising the functions Of his Office without the
least pretence of waiting for a nomination or
the least pretence Of concealing the source of
his assurance and the power which he repre-
sents In naming committees. Yesterday for IN
stance Mr. Nixon said 81 can make no an
"nouncements to-day except that as everybody
"knOws, lothian j. Aids, OF Chenango, will be
chairman of the Committee on Ways and
"Means and leader of the Republicans in the
Assembly. will see Senator Plat later today,
"and the whole thing will be gone over Imag-
Inc a candidate for Speaker saying that thirty
years ago. Imagine Senator Conklng or Sena-
tor FentOn or Senator Morgan announcing in De
cember the list Of men he was going to have APP
pointed TO committees in the name of a legisa
tive body TO which he did not belong Imagine
any one Of these men blocking out the work
Of a State Legislature, deciding offhand what
bills might be introduced and how men were to
exercise their judgment as representatives of
the people of the State!
There was a time when the Speakershp was
a matter of contest, and not so very long ago
either. We can remember when Theodore
Roosevelt made spirited campaign, going
about the State and visiting individual Assem-
blymen just as If they had something TO say
about who was TO preside over their delbera-
tons. The opening of Legislature used to be
an exciting time. Rival asplrants for honors
met at Albany and kept on electioneerng to the
last minute before the caucus As for the com
mittee appointments, they were never even made
up till the Speaker was In his seat Those were
times Of real representative government. II
was not ideally pure. There was doubtless
plenty Of individual corruption. But such as
they were. the legislators at Albany actually