Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-31
-CR|S|S imminent
NOW FOR HUGHES
Governor is More Than Ready
to Break With All Party
Leaders.
BOSS COMBINE WON'T WORK
Result is That the New York Execu.
tive is Without q Lieutenant.
SENATE HAS CERTAIN TRIUMPH
Woodruff and tho Other Machine Men
Fail to Come to His support
Public Utilities Bill Doomed.

| ALBANY. March S1.-The complete tri-
umph of Raines. Grady and Nee arren, the
| triumvirate now In charge of the state
government, and the defeat of Gov. Hughes
on the questions of ballot reform, national
| guard investigation and in the Kelsey case
| this week have provoked situation that is
| as critical, according to the Judgment of
politicians here. as that preceding the de-
| mand for the insurance investigation which
| stampeded the legislature two years ago.
| During the last few weeks Gov Hughes
| has lost all control Of his party's repre-
| sentatiyes in the senate and assembly,
| while from Chairman Woodruff and the oil,
| bosses he has failed to receive any prom
| ise of assistance in his main program, the
| passage of his public utilities bill substan-
| TALLY In the form in which he drafted it. No
one doubts that Raines, Grady and McCar-
rem. with such lesser satellites as Aids,
Smith and Cassidy. can and will emascu
late this bill. If they remain in control.
| AS result Of these developments the
| governor now finds himself "a man with
| out a party" Convinced of the necessity
| of satisfying public clamor or sitting pub
| lie discomfort, and of remedying conceded
| evils, Gov. Hughes, at the outset of his ad-
| ministration,, submitted to a republican leg
| islature a program of reform which not
| only presented the state with remedies, but
| offered to his party the opportunity to re-
gain lost confidence and vanished prestige.
| In answer the state senate at the outset
| was organized In open hostility to him. His
friends. men of the stamp of Page. were
| relegated to the rear. The open hostility of
| Raines was shown in the organization. and
from that initial stage to the present mo-
| ment that hostility has dominated all else
| here.
| Three Months and No Reform.
| After three months Gov. Hughes finds
that his reliance on his party leaders in the
legislature has left him without a single
accomplished reform. He asked for a
| measure to make Independent voting more
possible, and he received one that makes it
| impossible. and this measure was passed by
| a practically unanimous assembly. He
| openly advocated an investigation Of the
National Guard, and the bill providing this
| was buried by vote of eight to three in
| the senate's most important committee.
| He asked for the removal Of Kelsey, and
| Kelsey remains. while his friends in the
| senate continue to use his testimony as
means Of daily insult to the governor.
| From his party associates then, aside
from a few men page, Armstrong and
| half dozen others). he has met only in
suit and hostility.
| To Hughes, as to every one here, then,
! It is apparent that his first line Of action
| has failed. Seeking to be republican
! governor, and to offer his party a certain
| road to rehabilitation, he has succeeded
| only in achieving the ruin of all his pro-
| gram. He knows now that his public
| utilities bill is doomed to fatal amendment
| at least to such amendment as seems
| fatal to him, If Raines, Grady and Nc
| Carren have their way. He recognizes
that the leaders Of his own party are In
reality McCarren and Grady, quite as much
| as Raines and Aids. He sees. in fact, that
! all party lines have. as usual, vanished
| hafn hot mi nv
| Is contained in the opposition to his bill.
| He has, in a word, since January l, met
| utter defeat wherever he has turned and
| in everything, he has undertaken as re-
| publican governor working with a repub-
| lican legislature.
Two Courses Open to Governor.
l. For Gov. Hughes. then. there remain two
| courses One is to continue to be a repub-
| ican governor: to accept whatever crumbs
| Of predigested legislation the party bosses
| in senate and in the republican machine
| permit him to get: to glorify these and
| to be mere machine governor, the execu-
| tive representative Of the organization
| controlled by George Aldridge, William
| Barnes, jr.. and in which even Odell has
| begun to attain renewed Importance. The
| other course Is equally. manifest; he can
| appeal to the people He can tell them
| that as a party governor he has failed;
| that from republican and democratic legis-
| lators alike the people cannot secure their
| rights, cannot secure redress for their in
| juries unless they interfere, unless they
| make their desires manifest, unless the
| voice of the voter is heard In the halls
| where the voters legislator does not repre-
| sent him.
have discounted this course. They have
| proclaimed that Hughes does not dare to
| follow it. They have advertised that the
| governor Is presidential candidate seek
| apyionS n iD1p-
| pendent, but equally anxious to keep the
good will of the politicians. They have
read selfish motive into all tie governor
has done. They have denominated him an
| accident" Moreover, through their in
surance friends. they believe they have
| protected themselves against repetition
| of the accident
| Hughes has shot his bolt, Is the COM
mon word here now.
Time for Temporizing Has Passed.
Now, with this situation obvious to all,
there can be no protraction. Gov. Hughes
has not scrupled to tell his friends that the
time for temporizing has passed and the
| time for fighting Is here. Moreover, his
friends do not hesitate to declare that he
| has decided to fight, that henceforth re-
publican and democrat will not be re-
straining terms with him, but that he will
place his case before the people and tell
them what legislators and what repub-
licans are with him and who are against
him-and why. This he promised In jan
uary: this he must do In April. This his
| friends declare he Is now prepared-even
eager-to do. Until his enemies were all
assembled. such a step might have been
tactically weak. Now he can go before the
| voters and ask them to choose between his
| course and his character and that OF this
triumvirate of Raines. Grady and McCar-
rem.
| Moreover. that he will do this before
| many days is certain-hence the tense at
mosphere here at the present moment,
since 1t is realized that the events of the
| next two or three weeks must settle the
question Of state policies for some years to
come and incidentally decide whether Gov.
| Hughes is an accident or new-found
feader. -.- .--i4.-..- -gr
Largest Human Heart.
S0-Tha largest