The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-11
UEFORMERS EATAND WRANGLE
PERRY BELMONT GUEST OF THE
PUBLICITY Law WORKERS.

Resents n suggestion That Metz
Isn't n RefOrmer-The Comptroller
Gets a Few Cheers rs Our Next Mayor.
Bird s. Coler, Charles A. Towne, Edw ard
Lauterbach, August Belmont and about
one hun lTed other reformers OF various
degrees, members Of the Publicity Law
Organization, sat down at a dinner given
M Healy's restaurant last night in honor
of Perry Belmont's leadership in the move
ment for corrupt practices legislation,
The reformers were unanimous in praising
Mr.. Belmont but 80 decidedly at odds whcn
it came to personal questions among them
selves that Comptroller Metz was led to
remark toward the close OF the dinner
hat if he had been blindfolded he might
h We imagined himself at a meeting Of the
carpenters union
Herman Ridder presided. Mr.. Ridder ad
mitted that the reformer's road is a hard
one 20 travel. The ordinary reformer de-
serves considerable credit, but when one
appears who turns from his automobile
and such things TO devote himself to a move
ment like this he is doubly entitled to APP
rlause. Perry Belmont said:
The recently enacted publicity law, ad-
vocated at Albany by our organization,
las successfully passed through its first
trial. its provisions have been generally
COMPLIED with. We nave established in
this State the principle for which we have
30 long con~tended-that campaign money
= public money. II now remains for us
[ aid il the strict enforcement of the new
Jaw, 10 endeavoT to amend IL If in any re-
~pact il proves ineffective, and II it il vio-
lated to institute searching inquiries and
to secure the infection OF the penalties
provided by the law
Mr.. Belmont went on TO say that il is
the purpose of the organization to promote
similar and Uniform publicity laws in other
States and to provide publicity re gulations
for the national campaigns.
Bird :. Coler took exception ~ the opin-
i'm expressed by one speaker that Comp
t~oller Metz was no reformer. He added
that he supposed the reason he had been
asked 70 speak was that he had been more
successful than any other living man in
running campaigns on wind. In his Guber-
material campaign he had only 100000.
OF this amount $35 goo was contributed by
two gentlemen thames unmentioned) and
$50. eco by Coler himsslf-and ;his friends.
The rest came from God knows where"
Il represent a radical in some degree"
said Mr.. Coler, but not an extreme radical.
Nevertheless, / believ that the most ex-
treme radical recognizes what Mr.. Belmont
has done for this cause"
Mr.. Coler helped Mr.. Belmont when he
ran for Congress. He stands ready to
offer his aid in another campaign, and he
hopes that if the people of New York won't
nominate Mr.. Belmont he will come owe
to Brooklyn.
Mr.. Riider described Congressman
Towne as a man who had been elected from
q district that he didn't live in. Mr.. Towne
denied this. He moved INTO the district the
day after he was nominated. Further
more, he would like to correct an impress
sion for which, he declared, THE SUN was
responsible, and that was that he had been
turned down for denomination TO Congress.
He turned the nomination down "volun-
tarily." He mentioned this because he was
sick OF. being represented as a man who
had been turned down.
Towne gave it as his opinion hat Mr..
Belmont had linked his name with a reform
which at this moment 1t was impossible to
appraise. He thought il might have been
edifying il among the million or more things
that were mentioned in the p, 600 words In
the recent message the President had
deemed it wise to give a single glance ~ the
publicity bill. Towne suggested that
probably the c~ontiguity Of some Of his
pened would be more perplexing to explain
than the incident now occupying the atten-
ton of the White House.
Ex-Comptroller Grout said he was glad
10 hear that Mr.. Belmont had given up
automobiles 10 go into politics, and also
that Mr.. Coler had been able to get along
in both. Mr.. Grout declared that there
ought to be an amendment to the law which
would limit the amount a candidate could
spend. 1t ought not TO be impossible, he
asserted, for a man to spend a quarter of a
million dollars, and probably as much more
that was not revealed.
Comptroller Metz opined that "all this
howl" about contributions by insurance
companies was not justified. He believed
that the action of the officers in paying
money TO defeat strike legislation would
have been approved if they had gone about
it in the right way. What he objected to
was having somebody do his thinking for
him with money.
Mr.. Metz was glad hat the corrupt prac-
tees movement was-nonpartisan. He
was glad TO see such a community of inter-
est in the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Demo-
Gratis and Bird s. Coler." Comptroller
Metz announced that he was going to kick
over the traces whenever he felt like it and
whenever he thought it was right. He was
greeted by shouts in some parts OF the
room of Our next Mayor"
Among others present at the dinner were
John H. Burke, chairman OF the county
Democratic committee Of Saratoga; Will
lam r. Ellison Charles V. Fornee, Frank
Hedley, Warner Miller, Justice Charles II.
Truax and several labor union representa-
Fiyes