New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-05-04
NAY DEFEAT GAS BILLS.
UcCGrreR,s Test Vote Shoes p fo7
and p against.

Albany, May with millions at stake the
hotel lob6ies thronged with the representatives.
Of great corporations with .he Republican lead
ers from the Governor down struggling manfulIy
to meet the issue, battle Of titanic proportions
is being waged tonight. and the sole issue Is.
Shall the people of New-York CITY have cheaper
gas? There is no division of responsibility The
Assembly. by a unanimous vote save in the
case of the State Commission bill to-day passed
the seven measures that belong 20 the list CT
gas legislation. the Governor, By a special mes
sage. under his own signature. declaring IN
formal bur less personal. tones his couvic-
tirn that the SIIs were necessary. AMI the
Mayor of New-York City by his own gas bill
all these forces have declared themselves. The
issue is plainly between the people ~ city ard
State alike, the one hand, and the forIy-nine
State Senator'S. who must Tomorrow decide Ike
matter. the other. II thew refuse Governor
Higgins Will call special session on Friday.
one minute after the present session expires.
Crowded INTO the next thirty-six hours lies the
outcome of & battle which is uueIuaUs1 since
TIE days of Tweed
Talk of graft" and corruption. bribery and cor
poration interest and influence is the sole topic
Of conversation, and it is not strange that il
should be- for at this moment the votes OF four
Senators will decide the battle.
BY the action Of the Republican caucus last
night twenty-One Senators declared themselves
ready TO abide by the decision OF the Stevens
committee To-day on a test vote a single
Tammany Senator and one more Republican.
absent from last nights caucus. voted with the
men who are waging the battle for cheaper gas
Three more votes will decide the issue. Last
night the same opponents OF gas were fighting
for the passage Of the Niagara grab; then they
lacked one vote; to-day they secured the vote
If analogy were TO count, gas would be beaten
tomorrow
The period Of reasoning and Weighing has
| ceased; notice has been served on the Repubu-
can Senators who have left the party ranks and
fallen In behind Senator McCarren in the battle
that the vote tomorrow win be final and those
Republicans who vote with the enemy viii take
a final step. There are thirty-six Republicans
in the State Senate; one. Senator Hill is in Eu-
rope; another Senator Barnes. is confined 10 his
bed. and has been for two weeks OF the thirty
four that remain. tvventy-cne last night rallied
to the defence of the plan laid down by the Ste
vens committee, with the single modification OF
change in the price of gas from - cents 70 50
cents a change foreseeu and discounted when
the committee made its findings. One more SEN
ator McEwan of Albany. to-day voted with the
others on a test Four more Republican votes
are necessary. and they must be secured from
the following list: Amber. Bracket, Brown.
Cassidy. Cobb, CosgeshaH. Davis. Feichter.
Gardner. I'EomneIteu. Prime and Wilcox
Three of this list Bracket. Davis and Cobb.
who voted against the Niagara hill and have de-
clared that they oppose only that portion Of the
gas legislation that affects state commission.
may decide in the end to stand with their party
in this. its supreme fight Of the session. So
much for tho Republican side OF the battle.
Viewed from the standpoint of ror-partisan
desire to see the victory for gas legislation. there
has been hope expressed that the fourteen
Democratic members would furnish four votes
for the gas bills; but this hope is hardly a
bright one. one man. Senator Jacob Marks
who fought the Niagara bill to-day. who voted
with the Republicans TO check AIcCarren's trick
this afternoon. viii vote for the Stevens pro
gramme. For the rest, despite their protesta-
tious despite the fact that Foley. Cassidy and
Grady have all introduced gas bills, despite
the feet that the Tammany Mayor stands
pledged TO 15-cent gas. there is no perceptibIs
break in the ranks.
All day long Senator McCarren has beeu cool
cain, and confident. The whisper that Charles
F. Murphy had sent orders for the passage or
the bills. except the commission biII has made
no change. BrutaIly and bIuntly the fact r.
mains that there are thirteen Democrats and
twelve Republicans who are controlled by the
Brooklyn leader.
Mention has been made OF the fact that talk
of bribery runs high. In the Assembly il has
been customary 10 talk of votes FOR measure
$500 Tonight in the Iobbtes of the hotels men
are talking of $1,000. $4,000 and So COO for
single vote. The Assembly lobby has offered
its largess. contingent" that is subject TO the
signature OF the bill by the Governer but there
is contingency here; the defeat OF any one
of these bills by the Senate defeats il beyond
all contingency. Before il can be revived ths
session will have adjourned and an extra ses-
sion will bring its own conditions. In the hotel
working like beavers, are scores OF corporation
lawyers, men of wide reputation; they are not
handling the dirty money; they DO not even
know It's price; they are conducting the re-
spectacle end of the battle; but underneath the
surface there are scores OF other men, whose
faces are familiar in the lobby. who are seen
but seldom on special missions. who are here
tonight in fun force
OF party conferences aud caucuses there are
none tonight: the Republican leaders. the Gov
ernor. the members of The Stevens committee. al
have worked from dayhrea}; they are awaiting
the morrow and possibly in the special session.
The passage of the Niagara bill this afternoon
has been sad blow, Like the battle against
gas this fight was conducted by Senator Nc
Carren, and the Republicans who followed his
lead to-day are not unlikely 10 follow il to-n,or
row.
The last skirmish teess place late this after
noon and resulted in curious complication. for
Yfa rha