New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-10-22
PROGRESS ACCORDING TO LAW.

Those pretended enemies of Iammany nan
who for their own selfish purposes have peeh
willing 10 serve TammanyS ends ana nave pro-
fessed TO see in Mr.. WINS 4 candidate lmoued
with socialistic and dangerously radical oplh-
ions. must he heartily ashamed OF themselves
as they read the speech delivered by Mr.. WINS
~ Carnegie Hall. II is the speech Of Il sound.
progressive law abiding champion OF the peo-
Dle's rights There is nothing in its spirit to
which any man can object who wants to secure
IN the neople the control and benefit OF their
own property It's expressions concerning mu-
nicpal ownership go quite as far as anything
which he has previously uttered. but II IN MS
earlier speeches his forms of expression seemed
ambiguous and gave any excuse for mlsunder-
standing. this more explicit and detailed express
sion of his opinion must remove all question
about the soundnesS and safety Of Mr.. WINS.
There is room for a great difference of opin-
Ion over the specific methods of recovering for
the people franchises which have lapsed, or OF
ACQUIRING private properties for public use The
particular steps suggested by Mr.. WINS are mat
ters of detail. His spirit is in entire harmony
with the ideas Of many Of our best and most
conservative citizens. He proposes no reckless
programme of municipal operation, but dis
tinctIy warns the people that, even If sound
public policy favored the acquisition OF rail-
roads. the finances of the city would not permit
IL. III proposing u Guy gas anu ei0SHAS supply
he is following in the line marked out in the
report of the Chamber of Commerce commit
tee in 1900 by such conservative financiers ms
Charles Stewart Smith. George Foster Peabody
and J. Kennedy Tod. Surely there can be moth
ing adventurous in enterprise which finds
favor in the Chamber of Commerce and has sue
cessful exempars in many of the cities of Europe
and the United States. Nor IS there anything
new or startling in his idea of the values of
some of the properties which he thinks should
be acquired. On that score he merely quotes
the findings of the Stevens committee as a re-
suit of the investigation Of Mr.. Hughes which,
when made last spring, commanded almost uni
versal approval What was right then is right
now, but even if the committees views were
mistaken It makes no difference. Mr.. WINS
merely quotes them as an illustration. What
ever he does will be in a spirit of fairness, ac-
cording TO law and according to the facts as
they may appear to proper tribunals. Mr.. WINS
says:
have no sympathy for the principle of con-
fscation preach no gospel OF socialism, but
1 do preach the gospel of the law and of order,
and I will enforce your rights rigidly and
through strictly legal channels.
Mr.. WINS will enforce the peoples rights
rigidly and through strictly legal channels"
That is the all important point 1t does not
much matter what particular method he pur-
sues so long as he proceeds in good faith to
protect the people from the corporations which
have misused them, and, in turn, protects the
corporations from any invasion of their legal
rights That Is all either the people or the cor
porations have any right to ask. No one for
minute, contemplating Mr.. McClellans record
and the forces surrounding him, would have any
expectation that lie would move TO enforce the
peoples rights against the public service cor
pOratiOnS. The gas companies have been oper-
ating here without franchises, and he has not
proceeded to recover for the people these privi-
leges which the companies have forfeited, and
he would not. Neither would MCGOWAN, the ad-
Vertised successor to the Mayoralty when Mr..
Mcclellan runs for Governor. On the other
hand, however much Mr.. Hearst might try to
serve the people as against the corporations who
dares trust him, the meter Of class hatred to
proceed with due respect for law and chartered
rights? Mr.. WINS is the only candidate who
can at once do justice to the taxpayers and the
corporations, and make progress in an orderly
fashion true to the spirit of American institu- |
tons.