The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-08-16

Hartford Democracy Decimated-
 Notes of Leading Politicians.
 Hartford. Aug. 12-The commission appointed by Governor Roberts for the investigation of corrupt practices ill the state and the recommendation of remedial measures is Ona of ability and strength. The act authorizing the ap- pointment of this commission was passed the last day of the session of the general assembly. It was provided that no member of that body should be appCint.d d by the governor on the com mission. That course was taken after considerable deliberation, the idea be- l ing that the commission should be com posed of men in no way biased by the corrupt practices legislation of the ses-
 sion. From the judiciary committee it. self it would have been possible to have selected a most admirable commission, qualified in every way for probing the political evils complained of throughout 1 the state. The corrupt practices act that was pass will be solid basis for 1 the work of the new commission. uuSG Ly IllE IId4IASUI4 OL 4NSh 44GlfC :! has desired for several years to have
 some such act passed by the legisla- ture. With the assistance which he 1 was promised by leading republicans in 1 the state, he prepared the act of this ] year. The original bill from his hands
 was more concise and more directly on the lines of the English corrupt prac- tices act. He did not however make it
 apply to the primaries. Senator Paige, of BranfCrd, chairman of the judiciary committee, thought it well to put in the
 machinery which, Judge Harrison says, certainly strengthened the act. In I some respects it would be more danger
 Ous for people to violate it's provisions. i Senator Paige deserves credit, says Judge Harrison, for supporting the bill as he did. Judge Harrison believes the leading republicans connected with the machinery of the party in the state will now undertake to see that the law is obeyed. The clause which forfeits tBe office is the one thing which Judge Har- rison was told in England made their
 present law much more effective than anything else they had ever tried. The
 commission which Governor Roberts has appointed will find the way
 'blazed' by the work of Judge Harri- son and Senator Paige, who took the
 heaviest of the battle in support of the bill in the gen;ral assembly. The per
 sonnel of the commission is of high or der. The Hon. John H. Perry, of the
 Fairfield county bar, will be at the
 head of the commission. He graduated at Yale in 1870, being a classmate of
 President Morris F. Tyler, of the
 Southern New England Telephone com pany, and of Robert Weeks de Forest
 of New York, whose work as tenement
 commissioner of the metropolis has
 brought him into worldwide repute.
 Judge Perry graduated from the Co.,
 lumbia Law school and is one of the
 most brilliant members of the Con-
 necticut bar. He has held the speaker
 ship of the House of Representatives in this state and one of the Fairfield
 county judgeships. He is a man ce
 superb intellectual equipment, trained
 for high public service and the enbodi-
 ment of pure political life in the state.
 Two able journalists of Connecticut,
 Charles Hopkins Clark of Hartford,
 and Colonel Norris c. Osborn of New
 Haven will be colleagues of Judge
 Perry. Mr. Clark graduated from Yale
 in 1871. He was a member of the Con-
 stitutional convention from Hartford.
 Mr. Clark is now in the Philippine Is-
 lands with the Taft party He is one
 of the foremost journalists in Connect
 i~Y1t CnIAY,al nc|nrYn ie, S-
 ming mate, is noted throughout the
 state for his journalistic prestige and
 achievements. Frank .. Brown, of Norwich, is lawyer of cminence in
 eastern Connecticut, and his appoint
 Hont on the comm: "ss'l w:ll ensure
 results of great value. Time and
 again it has been said since the cleo
 ton of United States Senator Frank F. Brandegee that MT. Brown can hc cleo
 ted congressman from the Third dis
 trict if he will accept of tie nomina-
 tion. Colonel Theodore H. Macdonald,
 of New Haven, completes tho commits
 sion. He holds the appointment of
 quartermaster-general on the staff of
 Governor Roberts and is amply fitted
 for the work. It is expected that he
 will be made secretary, a place that
 will involve a great deal of hard eff
 fort. The organization will not take
 place until after Editor Clark's return
 from the Philippines.
 One of the interesting facts relating
 to the personnel of the senate this year
 is that two of the most influential
 members were born in the town of Ber-
 lin, the birthplace of James G. Perci-
 val, the poet The two gentlemen in
 question are Senators Henry H. Peck
 of Waterbury and D. Newton Barney
 of Pennington. Senator Barney is
 one of Hartfords leading business
 men and director of the Consolidated road He has been liberal patron of the town of Pennington, where he has a home noted for it's culture and artis-
 tic surroundings. Senator Henry H.
 Peck, of Waterbury, who is a banker in that city, has not allowed his native town to go without sharing in his pros- perity and taste. He has founded and equipped one of the handsomest public libraries for the town that can be found in the rural localities in Con- necticut. It is a splendid tribute from a favorite son and will long perpetuate the name of the Waterbury senator. MT. Peck has been spending some of the ti,11a ein0n tbo odio,,rprD,o,,+ oA It.: