Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-02
ASKS FOR RECOUNT
Hughes Recommendation in His
Message to Legislature.
WANTS A NEW BALLOT
Also Asks That Amount of Money
Spent Be Limited.
SUMMARY ACTION IN PREMISES
He Thinks the Courts Should Be EN-
powered to Act When Elections
Are Questioned.
SUMMARY ACTION IN PREMISES


tory, and when the two houses convened at
noon there was less public concern in cere-
monies and a smaller attendance than last
year. when the hot contest for the speaker
ship had just closed. Interest centered in
the message of Gov. Hughes.
| Lieut.. Gov. Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler,
the first democratic president Of the senate
in many years. was cordially received.
Speaker Wadsworth, assured of reelection,
also was heartily welcomed. There was a
profusion of floral tributes from admiring
constituents to popular senators and as
| semblymen.
Governor Hughes. in his first message to
| the Legislature, made the following rec
| ommenda tons:
| A recount of the votes cast for mayor
in the New York city election in 1905.
| which on the face of the returns W. R.
Hearst was defeated by George B. Nc
! Clellan; that the courts be empowered to
| order recount summarily in the future
and that the power to bring an action to
try a title to office be taken from the at
torney general and conferred upon the
supreme court.
The adoption of a ballot wherein
| the name of a candidate will appear but
| once.
| That the amount Of money which can
| didate may expend to procure his election
be limited.
That the courts be empowered to review
the acts of political state conventions and
state committees in eXpelling delegates and
| members.
That any general committee of a party
| may adopt rules for direct nominations of
candidates at primaries.
That the state board of railroad COM
! mfssioners and the commission of gas and
electricity be abolished and new board
| be constituted with power to enforce its
| orders through the courts.
| That the board of rapid transit commits
| sioners of New York city be abolished and
a new board created to control transport
| tation and regulate lighting corporations in
Greater New York.
| That children under sixteen years of age
| be not required to work more than eight
| hours a day and that the work in which
| they may not engage be specified more
| precisely.
On the recount matter the governor re-
| viewed the efforts of w. r. Hearst to Sc
| cure a recount and said that the court of
appeals of this state decided that the pres
| ent law did not confer on the election Of
| ficers any authority to recount the ballots
! and the attorney general declined to try
| the title of the office. He said:
Matter of Grave Concern.
at is a matter of the gravest concern
| that the view should be largely, even
though enormously held that one who has
| been elected to office has been deprived of
his seat through invalid returns The fall
ure to obtain summary recount through
| defect in the law has aggravated the
sense of Injustice
AS to the future he said that provision
should be made to order recount sum-
| marily, but the courts should determine the
| propriety of exercising the power.
| The attorney general, he said, recon-
mended that the authority to bring an
action to try title to an office be no longer
| lodged with him. This the governor APP
| proved, and recommended that it be in
| trusted to the state supreme court.
1t was claimed. the governor said, that
| there Is limitation upon the authority
| Of political state conventions and state
| committees arbitrarily to exclude honestly
| elected delegates and members, and that
the fraudulent or corrupt action of such
convention or committee should be reviewed
or corrected by any court.
| He declared that minorities should not
be permitted to make themselves majorities
| by the arbitrary seizure of political organi
cations nor through corruption or dishonest
methods, and the courts should be vested
with ample power to review in a summary
| manner all such abuses and to restore to
| defra Jded persons the political rights to
which they are justly entitled.
Favoritism Practiced.
For want of proper means for the regu-
lation of the operation of railroad corpora
TONS" said the governor. "perniclous IA
voritism has been practiced. Congress has
legislated upon the subject with reference
to interstate commerce, where naturally
| the evil has been most prominent. But
domestic commerce must be regulated by
the state. and the state should exercise it's
| power to secure impartial treatment to
| shippers and the maintenance Of reasonable
| rates. There is also need of regulation
| and strict supervision to insure adequate
| service and due regard for the convenience
and safety of the public. The most prac-
| ticabe way OF attaining these ends Is for
the legislature to confer proper power upon
| q subordinate administrative body
| The present scheme of regulation in this
| state. he said. Is inadequate because the
board Of railroad commissioners has no au-
| thority to compel compliance with its de-
| cisions. The expenses of the commission
| the governor asserted. should not be borne
by the corporations which 1t regulates.
Transportation Lines Overwhelmed.
All the existing transportation lines In
| Greater New York. the governor said. are
overwhelmed. The people Of Brooklyn who
| are in business in Manhattan are subjected
| to such maltreatment and indignities Incl
| dent to their disgraceful herding that re-
| lief should be afforded at the earliest pos
| sible moment. "Over-capitalization and the
improvident creation Of guarantees and fixed
| charges to suit the extgencies of successive
| combinations entered intO for the purpose
of monopolizing the traffic have produced
|
An anomalous condition exists in New
| York city, said the governor. where the
| state board of railroad commissioners and
the city board Of rapid transit commits.
| sloners divide their authority and where
| the same separations control elevated and
| surface and subway lines This should be
met by the abolition Of the present city
| board and the creation of a new board hav-
ing all its powers. and in addition the power
| to control and regulate lighting corpora
tions.
It is recommended that the appraisal and
| acquisition of land for the enlarged state
! canals be intrusted to the state superin-
tendent of public works instead Of to
| board Of appraisers. The state received
from all sources last year $35. 596, 968.
The appropriations for the current year
| are $34. 100. 100.
After the organization of the two houses
J. w. Wadsworth. being reelected speaker
of the assembly. the first message of Gov.
Hughes was submitted.
England's Richest Woman Arrested.
Miss Kate O'Neili. richest single woman
in England. has just been placed under
arrest Society in London 10 aghast. The
onJy clue to the whole remarkable affair