The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-06-20
TO PUT COY. HUGHES IN A HOLE
SPEAKER'S FRIENDS THINK THEY
CAN MAKE HIM BACK DOWN.
Going to Show, They Say, That He Cannot
Have Shoestring Districts In New York
and KINGS and Not Have Them Up State
Assembly, Senators Say, VIII Recede.

Have Shoestring Districts In New York
and Kings and Not Have Them Up State
Assembly, Senators Say, VIII Recede.
ALBANY, June 19.-To embarrass Gov.
Hughes and try to drive him into q hole
where he will have TO give some aid TO
Speaker Wadsworth is declared to be the
object of the Speaker and his friends. Ever
since last Thursday the conference COM
mittee, which represents the personal
wishes and desires Of Speaker Wadsworth,
has been engaged in a plan Of reapportlon-
ment that has mystiied everybody. This
is the plan that redistricts New York and
Kings counties 80 that the Republicans
would only be reasonably sure in Man
haitian OF carrying one district. while a
second district might sometimes go Re
! publican and the others woul surely be
Democratic.
Az Speaker Wadsworth has been getting
all of his assistance from State Chairman
Woodruff, President Herbert Parsons and
members OF the Higgins Kitchen Cabinet
of last year, no one seemed to be able TO
guess what they were aiming at in this
scheme. Now, however. the secret is out.
Tonight a man close to Speaker Wads-
worth said:
we are going 10 put it right up to Gov.
Hughes. We are going to make him back
water on the proposition that no set or
men must be considered in apportioning
the State. The Governor has said that
a mar from out Of the State could come
here and get up an a"pportionment hat
would answer the purposes better than
a resident could. So we are going ahead
Just as IL we were not residents OF New
York State. We are going TO show the
Governor that he can't stand for shoestring
districts in New York and Kings counties
and not nave them up State. too. We
will make him come out for a constitutional
apportionment bill, regardless of the wishes
OF the Republican bosses of New York and
Kings counties. Herbert Parsons. who
nominated Hughes. is permitted TO appor-
ton New York county as he wishes. None
of the others is given that privilege. But
we are going to take it.. Now we'll see
whether the Governor is in earnest in his
declaration that the question of ,apportion;;
ment is something bigger than the political
welfare Of any one man or set OF men,.
People who keep close tabs on political
events in the Legislature say that this is
virtually a confession of defeat on the part
OF the Assembly, and instead OF doing the
Assembly any good it will hurt the people
engaged in engineering such a scheme.
Asse mblyman Edwin A. Merritt, who Is
engaged in this pleasant task, has aspira-
tons TO be Speaker next year. speaker
Wadsworth may see that the poltlcal
fortunes Of the Wadsworth family have
been swept away and therefore he might
just as we'll embarrass everybody he can
so long as he has the chance.
II Is pointed out that when Herbert Par
sons drew his new ap~portionment TO meet
the decision Of the Court OF Appeals in
tie Thirteenth district, which was declared
t,nonnafitntinnal ha Gnhmiftnd II 10 the
Governor. The Governor examined 1t
closely and made il plain that the first
draft wouldn't do. When the corrected
copy Of the map showing the lines OF the
Senate districts was returned an semblanoe
OF fshhooks had been obliterated and
the Governor decided that New York had
been redistrioted in a constitutional man.
ner. But Assemblymen Merritt and
Schoeneok profess 10 know more about
that than the Governor and are going TO
him how much better they can appor-
ton New York county than President Par-
Senator Tully returned to Albany to-day.
He had a talk with Senator Raines. He
still says the Tully apPortionment bill
is the only one the Legislature Will pass THIS
To-day friends Of Speaker Wadsworth
were claiming hat they had seventeen he
publican Senators who would vote 20 re-
the caucus action on. the Tully bill
i ne llEI shows JIidl lllCl diC tihV coHiC ~ 80
teen Senator'S that they thought they had
last week. or that number last week, when
the vote was taken IN reconsideration, IT
was found that only eleven were in favor OF
the motion. They claim now that Senator /
OF Schenectady will be handed
over 10 the Wadsworth forces at the next
caucus, il they can succeed in getting
one, by William Barnes. Jr., OF
At the last caucus II was thought
that Herbert Parsons would deliver Sena-
tors Page and SAKE, but he couldn't. State
Chairman Woodruff was counted upon to
Senators Travis and Foelker, but
they didn't vote as the State chairman de-
sired.
Senators say that when the Assembly
men return TO Albany they will call a caucus
at once and rescind their action on the
bill. They feel that they have
made the stand long enough for Speaker
Wadsworth and that they cannot be reason
ably asked TO hold out longer in a hopeless
fight. The Senators say they will not sacri-
hce FIVE more Senator's just for the sake OF
accommodating one Assemblyman who
his county in a different district from
he one it Ia placed in by the Senate Com
on Ap~portionment. But Speaker
Is ready TO wipe out every
Senate district In the State, sacrifice every
as well, II he can have Livingston
county in a district that will help papa in
up his badly wrecked political
machine.