The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-02-01
MUST SWALLOW
RIPPER CLAUSE
THAT'S WHAT SENATOR ]. C.
VAUGHAN THINKS.
He Said Yesterday That This City
Can Get Everything. 1t Wants in
the Way of Second Glass City Leg
islation II Its Citizens Agree to
the Ripper Feature--The Bill will
Either Become a Law with That
Clause Attached OF will Not Be-
come Law at All.

| lHt Stale seuats duJourneu ldintl uh-
expectedly on Wednesday night and
| Senator J. c. Vaughan. of this city.
returned home yesterday. A Tribune
man interviewed him in his office yes
| terday afternoon on the situation at
Harrisburg regarding the ripper bill for
| cities of the second class and just
| what chance this city has Of securing
amendments favorable to it's interests.
II think | can safely say" said the
senator that IL this city will agree to
| swallow the ripper clause of the new
| charter II can secure whatever
| II wants In the way of changes or
| amendments. That's the situation in
nutshell. The ripper clause is the es-
| sential feature OF the bill and the
/ feature on which the fight will be
made.
! NO matter what we think about the
/ principle involved. the new charter is
either going to become a law with the
| ripper clause attached or it's not going
! to become a law at all. There's no use
in wasting any breath about that part
OF the bill at all It's inevitable. The
| bill rests upon it, and IL It falls, tho
hin falls with it.
WHAT STALWARTS SAY.
II have been approa ched by the ma
| jority of the stalwart senators. who
| have one and all asked me what this
| city wants in the way of legislation
and who have assured me that the bill
viii not go through until such changes
as are desired by Scranton have been
| made. This was, Of course, with the
| implied understanding that we favor
| the ripper clause
Senator Finn is going To fight the
| ripper clause to a finish, but he will
realize before he has got very far in
| this fight that, to use a slang express
sion. he's up against the real thing.
Just what other features OF the bill
| he's going to oppose I don't know,
| nor does any one else. He's keeping
| his counsel to himself. The air down
| there is full of compromise just now.
but there will be no compromise on the
ripper clause.
THE conference which was arranged
| for tonight between the city solicitors
| of Pittsburg, Allegheny and Scranton
has been postponed until next Tuesday
| night, and on Wednesday the hearing
before the committee on municipalities
| will be had.
| Delegations are going down from
| the Pittsburg and Allegheny cohncils
| and from the boards of trade of both
these cities. l would suggest the Wis
| dom of having the councilmanic COM
| mittce, the board OF trade committee
| and any of this city's prominent citi-
! zens who are interested in securing
| changes in the charter which will
meet the needs of this city going down
there and speaking FOR these changes
| before the committee.
THEY MUST AGREE.
| whoever goes down there. however,
| should go down agreed upon certain
| changes. There must be a united sem
| timent in favor OF certain amend
ments or everything will fall fiat. One
section mustn't GO down and talk in
favor OF one thing and be followed by
| another section with views diametri-
| cally opposed. II differences of Opin-
ion exist they must be wiped out be-
fore the representatives of this city
appear before the committee"
What do you think the committee
| will do with the blll?" asked the re-
porter.
The senator smiled as he replied:
| ITS n state secret, but there isn't
an out and out insurgent on the COM
mittee. They'll report the ripper clause
| favorably and If we agree to support
1t they'll report our amendments ia
vorably. I'm not inclined to the be-
lief that the Pittsburg councllmanic
committee will get much of q show"
Chairman Chittenden, OF the coun-
cilmanic committee, said that as far as
he knew the committee would not go
down to Harrisburg. He favored hav-
ing City Solicitor Vosburg go down and
| speak for the amendments before the
committee.
The councilnanic committee" said
he, after a deal of trouble has agreed
upon certain amendments. but there
are many points in the bill which are
still left open and upon which the
members of the committee could never
agree. Especially is this true of the
provision regarding the election OF
counclmen and providing for u change
in the ward lines every ten years by
the court of common pleas.
THE WARD DIVISION.
The Democratic members ot the
committee kind of half f-heartedly
agreed TO an amendment providing for
"A charge in the ward lines, but let
them once get chance to talk about
II before the legislative committee and
you would see how much they were
in favor of IT, The wards OF this city
We're divided up most beautifully and
skillfully under the late Frank Beam
ish's regime and so arranged that 700
At