The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-11
HERRICK ON BUYING Or VOTES
NAY BE nan DOWN HERE, nut
rs WORSE Up. THE STATE.

The mass meeting o. cooper Union 'e,''
night, called ~ the Citizens Union the
Reform Club and the Peoples Institute
to protest against various sO-called graz
bills in the legislature, threatened at times
70 become a municipal ownership teast'
John Ford, who has a boomlet for Mayor
on a municipal ownership PLATFORM was
one Of the speakers, and the presence OF
municipal ownership men IN the audience
in great numbers seemed TO be to his liking.
Some Of the other speakers seemed to be
rather surprised.
The meeting was called 10 discuss several
bills, among them being Senator Cassidy's
Niagara Power BILL Sepator GoOdsshs
bills TO permit railr0ads to abandon routes
and validating an East River tunnel fran
ohise and the Mortgage Tax bin.
r. Fulton Cutting was chairman long
enough to get the meeting started, and
then departed, just in time 70 escape the
municipal ownership stampede He sur
prised some in the audience by coming to
the defence Of the Legislators. He said the
fault wasn't with them; II was with the
organizations. -.., -.
either at Albany OF at Washington SAID
.The hoi they don't tnterjected one
Mr.. Cutting went on 10 say that such
mass meetings were necessary to make
the Legislature behave.
ct i getting more and more amenable
to pubic opinion he said -When was
up at Albany last ! asked a friend Of NINE
IN the Senate il it wasn't true that the Senate
was getting to be more and more respon-
sible body. IL Ia, he said, and ns the
independent vote that's doing II.
There were loud smokers az this. James
Lehmaier talked about tho route abandon
ment bill and the bill reviving the old
tunnel franchise from Fory-second street
TO Queens.
Albany" he said. lis the desire 10 obtain
these franchises in perpetuity. am not
a municipal ownership man. sun belong
to the large class that hasn't determined
whether the arguments on one side over
balanced those on the other, but unless the
public service corporations restrain them
selves, unless the members Of the Legs
lRture cease to be their tools the example
Of Chicago may be followed here.
At the first mention Of municipal owner
ship there was a howl and when the speaker
mentioned Chicago there was regular
Cooper Union demonstration. IL lasted
for several minutes. When IL subsidized
Mr.. Lehmaier said: But / hope II won't
be necessary to force upon US that issue. -
that he was for municipal ownership from
the ground up. A whoop encouraged him
TO 20 on and take his visionary fall out Of
the Rapid Transit Commission which he
called a grand ducal cabal' that had given
the subway 20 Belmont. Mr.. Ford said
every Iammany Senator had voted against
the Esberg bill, which provided in a meas
ure for municipal ownership. What are
you going 10 do?" he asked.
Hang 'eml' yelled the crowd. Mr..
II nd gnt hat DnfF Dr.,
how It happened the bill was defeated
'Twenty-four hours before 1t was voted
on he said, there were votes to spare
IN favor Of it. But there came a cable
gram from a distinguished .ex-statesman
travelling In Europe, and orders from an
other politician in this city lined up the
Iammany men. Let us elect a Mayor
and a city ticket In the fall that will be free
and independent OF both Of these. Let
us roll up a vote for municipal ownership
that will make the machines tremble.'
Mr.. Ford, who was the only one who wore
evening clothes for the occasion, had to
come out and bow repeatedly in response
TO the cheers that followed this final utter
Union had a boy bring on the files Of Senate
and Assembly bills presented at the last
session. They we're almost as high as the
reading desk,
About one-fourth Of those, ladies' and
gentlemen, he said. affected New York
black list OF legislators who introduce bills
TO turn over the rights Of the people 20 cor
porations. We had better start in with
Goodsell and Bedel Of Ordnge county
How about Cassidy? And how about
States prison. = Mr.. Cohen had PREPARED
a white list On it were AsseInblymen
Prentice, TOmphns Palmer, Stanley.
Young, Agnew, Wainwright and Fuller Of
Brooklyn, and Senators Marks, Bracket
ana White. Their names were greeted
After resolutions had been passed con-
demning all the criticised bills, including
the mortgage tax bills which il was asserted
would raise the poor mans rent, D-Cady
herrlck, lately candidate for Governor
was introduced. He got almost as a big
a cheer as John Ford. Judge Herrick
said he had come to ask the audience. not
70 condemn bin, tut 70 support one Ii
was the bill 10 stop corruption at elections
and the sin OF buying votes. Among other
things, he said:
i appeal TO you 10 support the bin pro-
hibiting the buying Of votes, the purchase
OF the Legislature, the purchase OF official
station and appeal in the name Of decency.
You do bad things here in New York but
tbey,n worse up the State. So far as your
election methods 70 they are clean com
pared 10 what they are up there.
i've heard Iammany Hall condemned
tonight. Now, I'm not q follower of Tam
many Hall, but It's methods are clean com
pared to the methods up the State. IA
voice: What about Gradypl When a
father sells his own votes and the votes
Of his sons it's time 10 stop Il. You've
heard great deal Of control by corpora-
tons; how do they do it2 BY the use Of
money at the polls and by paying election
expenses Of candidates for public Office.
II you pay the expenses Of a man, he wants
TO show gratitude and do the decent thing
when little matter comes up that YOU'RE
interested in. Democrats and Republicans
may say all kinds Of things about each
other on the stump, but they won't Riyo
away their eXpense The man that's
licked hopes that next time he'll have "a
much as you had.
'It's only a question nowadays who can
raise the most money and spend Il most
ehlfully. Our young men are thinking
less OF their righteous citizenship. When
a man knows Il can be offset by a Is note
what's the use thinking much about M
Stop the people who offer the money. Make
their expenditures useless. It's Impossible
20 send them 70 States prison now. The
Grand Jury refuses 90 indict We're ali
IN Il, they say, OF the petty Jury disagrees
because It's made up Of Democrats and
Republicans and they know it's the regu-
lar thing.
When there was a plan 20 put another
man N the United States Senate we heard