The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-10-30
John P. Munroe, the Republican
Candidate for Senator in the
Second Worcester District
Meets All Issues Made
HOUSE JOURNAL SHOWS
CLINTON MANS VOTES
He Was Alone Among Worcester
County Legislators to Vote for
the Grade Crossing BiII-He Al
so Voted Against Senator Hoar
and Governor Crane

ciIu OOVCi iIOi VI CIlO
John P. Munroe, Republican candi-
date for senator in the Second Wor-
cester District, was seen, yesterday, in
regard to the statements made by his
Democratic opponent at the rally be-
fore the Pastime Club, Monday night
Mr. Munroe finds it an easy matter to
meet any issue that Mr.. Walsh has
chosen to bring forward and nails
some Of the Democratic candidates
assertions as misrepresentation. In
this he is backed up by the House
Journal an unimpeachable record of
the votes of legislators. In the course
of his interview, Mr.. Munroe said:
My friend, Mr. Walsh, who is run
ming in this district what some one
has not inaptly styled "a hot air cam
paign," seems to- be getting reckless
in his statements as election. day APP
proaches. When he discusses the bill
for placing the entire cost of the abo-
lition of grade crossings, introduced
by the socialist member, Carey of
Haverhill he either does not know
what he is, talking about or he is
guilty of deliberate misrepresentation
1 am charitable enough to believe that
he has been misled by some of his su-
per-serviceable friends whom he has
employed to search the legislative rec
ords for him. If he would take the
trouble to verify personally the infor-
nation his friends bring him he would
be more accurate, even if less pic
turesque.
There ought to be no issue as to the
record between Mr.. Walsh and my
self. Here are the facts. The bill in
O11aetinYo woo M wit h
several others of like nature by So
| cialists and their Democratic sympa
thizers in the Legislature of 1900,
where railroad matters attained I'M
usual prominence on account of the
proposed leases of the Fitchburg to
the Boston & Maine, and the Boston
& Albany to the New York Central.
Hearings were given on it by the COM
mittee on railroads, of which I was
member, and it was shown to the
satisfaction of everybody, except per-
haps its author. who alone favored it,
that the bill was ill-considered and
unwise. Its effect would be to hold up
indefinitely the work of separation of
grades which was going on all over
the state under the old law limiting
the expense of the city or town to 10
per cent, and it would have destroyed
all chance of bringing about the much
desired agreement between the city of
Worcester and the railroads, which re-
suited in the passage of the WOrces-
| ter Grade Crossing Act of 1900. The
work Of years would have gone for
nothing had the Legislature allowed
Socialist Carey to have his way in the
matter. The Democrats and the Re-
publicans on the committee united in
condemning the bill, and it was adj
versely reported to the House by
unanimous vote of the committee.
when the bill reached the House,
some of the members who had not fol-
lowed the hearings before the commit
tee, attracted doubtless by the title of
the bill, and desiring time to look
into its merits, had It substituted for
the adverse report of the committee.
This Is by no means AZ unusual pro-
ceeding. A few days later the bill
came up on it's passage and the result
of brief discussion was that it was
rejected by a decisive vote. Only sc
members voted for it, and Mr. Walsh
was one of those. He was, in fact, as
l have before said, and as he has de-
MED with some apparent heat the
only member from Worcester County
who voted for the passage of the bill.
The record of the vote is found on
page $50 of the House Journal of 1900,
under date of April "a.
Il feel that Mr. Walsh should in all
fairness retract his charge that have
misstated the record, and do me the
simple justice to acknowledge publicly
that l am right in my version of the
matter, and he has been wrong.
'Mr Walsh's vote for this bill was
what the boys would call "grandstand
play" He knew nothing about it's
merits. He had never attended any of
the hearings. His fancy was caught,
however, by the title of the bill, which
seemed to him to indicate that it might
be popular with the voters.
Mr.. Walsh was noted, as I may take
occasion to show as the campaign pro-
ceeds, for voting in favor of all sorts
of crazy, sociallstic measures directed
against the industrious and prosperous
members of the community, but which
could never by any possibility run the
gauntlet of a Republican Senate or a
Republican governor. When the big
corporations Of the state really needed
Mr. Walsh's vote he was never found
opposed to them. ! He voted, for both
the big railroad leases In 1900 and last
year he was the special champion of
the Boston subway bill, which was
most adroitly drawn to benefit the
stockholders of the Boston. Elevated
Street Railway sCompany at the ex-
pense of the voters and ia xpayers. This
ing that it would have become a law
but for the veto of a Republican gov
ernor. After Gov. Crane had inter
posed his veto, and his business-like
statement of it's true meaning had
convinced a majority of the Republi-
cans of the House that the bill was
wrong in principle Mr. Walsh did his
best to have it become a law notwith-
standing the governors veto. He was
faithful to the corporation to the last,
and, recreant to the principles of his
party.
MIR. Walsh talks about being a
friend of the people Why then did he
so earnestly fight the proposition to
submit to the vote of the people the
question of building the subway in
Washington Street, Boston, as the
question OF building the old subway
had been submitted several years be-
fore? His party had declared in two
successive state platforms in favor of
the principle of referendum, and the
leading papers and the leading men of
his party were urging upon members
of the Legislature the application of
the referendum principle to this bill.
Mr.. Walsh appeals to the vote of or
ganized labor. Does he not know that
Representative Richard w. Clarity of
Ward II, Boston, was deposed from his
position as president of the Central La
Dor Union of Boston on account of his
vote against the referendum. of this sub
way bill? Mr.. Walsh has proved false
to his own party and in the language
of the Biglow papers, he is always
true to one party, and that is him
self"
And now for a little common sense
on the vestibule street car bill. upon
which Mr. Walsh makes another