The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-26
COLLEGE HEAD 4 LAVMAKER.
DIR. LUTHEFS WORK IN THE con-
NECTICUT SENATE.

= polttician and a Leader Of FoFiOrn
Hopes--He. 9ttFs Things Up, Though
NEW HAVEN, May 2S.-The college presl'
dent In politics 10 really soinething Of In
anomaly as these things go nowadays. ana
when the Buckley machine leaders IN tne
First district, q part Of the city Of haruoru'
nominated Flavel g. Luther for the Con'
~nectiout State Senate 1t was with the ioee
! of getting q candidate who was not CON
nected with the Lake forces and was hkeiy
to make q good run rather than the nouon
that President 'Luther's academic interest
in politics would mako a basis for MIN 70
become q politician. Nor has ne oecono
euoh; but as a Senator he 10 q success
He Ia chairman Of the Joint m
on Education. Hear him on the Dill pro-
yidinR that every town may nave q ueoe
| school by State aid. II the people vote 10
establish one:
sTbe American boy shall have his chance
1 have been and am friendly to the LABOR
unions. But when the labor unions at
tempt TO restrict their own children 70
refuse them education along the lines OF
fitting them for their struggles with me-
then / part company with them
mo labor union has the right to decioe
the fate Of the American boy.
education lie an absolute need OF the times,
We can no longer do things In the oio
fashioned way; the pace 10 too hot. moss
who should teach the boy are too busy.
"The arguments against the trace eonooI
are OF very little value. 1t is plain mat the
labor market would not be o~versuppheo'
Labor creates its own demand, Just ID
railroads develop the country. The more
people who are skilled the greater the
demand for skilled labor.
NO, the American boy must have his
chance to do the highest work that any
man can do, that Of the skilled artihcerl
the man who knows how TO meet some
need Of mankind, and we should help him
to IT,"
These extracts from his speech illustrate
his attitude in general toward public queS-
tions.
Everybody who knows aught Of Trinity
College knows the warm and friendly ieehne
between the students and the president A
single instance will illustrate the reason:
After a recent class dinner in water,
bury a party Of students r~oughhoused
n temporary railway station. As usual
the police arrested the wrong student.
Immediately they telephoned Or: Luther
from the police station, though II was .
A. M. He advised them to accept the
offer OF a classmates father to provide the
$50 to settle their cases, even though they
Bnt DIR. Luther never mentioned the ex-
plot to them and himself made good an
extra $40 that went to the restaurant keeper
at the station. It's not a universal custom
among college boys to get their president
o6t OF bed at 2 AN, on a winter morning
when they've got into trouble In q city
thirty-ive miles away.
So there was no surprise in finding n
tor Luther a broad minded man. he was
expected 10 be impracticable, however,
except along the lines OF his speciality.
But he isn't. He lives in no little world
of his own. While he will not be mixed
up in all the log. rolling and wire pulling;
favors, he knows what is going on and Is
even tolerant Of a philosophy. hat hnds
Rome's WAYS a necessity when in Rome.
Above all, he is a careful student OF
affairs: II q thing rs sq Hid can ana u ri pittin ne
it, too, really makes the politicians ashamed
OF their petty tricks and thus eNerts a
wholesome influence upon a Senate whioh.
It has been charged, was organized by q
lobby In the interests Of the New York;
New Haven and Hartford Railroad and the
Consolidated Railway Company, its trolley
combine.
floor that he little understood the
Oh ULlb OIKdIlDatioh VI VII
this the preface to a plea for a fair deal Tor
the Democratic minority in the body. The
latter made a strong effort to upset estab-
| lished custom and get Democratic Senators
ON prominent and influential committees
by adding one member to each. DR.. Luther
helped all he could in this, speaking for
! it before the Committee on Rules and on the
floor Of the Senate.
Those who planned the Senate organiza-
ton may have had in mind ~sidetraoking
Senator Luther when they put him at the
head OF the joint Committee on Education
e. It's Senate chairman. II 80 they failed,
for he has been active in the general affairs
Of the Senate from the first.
He has quite won the Senate over TO the
trade schools bill, which provides for the
establishment OF trade schools in each
town that desires one.
At the same time, outside the good work
done by his committee, it will have to be
confessed that most Of Senator Luther's
efforts on the floor OF the Senate have been
in the interest of foIlorn hopes.
DR.. Luther's last great stand, while
vain Of direct accomplishment, did stir up
matters no little.
He proposed an amendment 10 trolley
charters providing that all their capital
stock should be paid in in cash, the stock
to be issued at par. This threw all the
trolley promoters into CONSERVATION.
Not a trolley road in Connecticut has
been or would be built on any such bags.
The custom Is to bond the road up TO half
the cost of construction. the legal limit,
sell the bonds and give the stock almost
or quite entirely as a bonus and build with
the proceeds Of the bond sale.
This is like a man who should buy a
watch on a promise TO pay sgd Senator
Luther, pawn the watch, pay for IL with
the money thus obtained and then sell
the pawn ticket for three times what the
whole transaction amounted to-"
The prospect of his amendment forced
all trolley measures 10 the foot OF the Senate
calendar and really gave time for the de-
velopment Of certain features Of the present
fight between the independent trolley pro-
motere and the Consolidated Railway
Company. Finally all these trolley matters
were made the order of the day and the
calendar cleared.
DR.. Luther's efforts 10 get his amend
ment adopted were unavailing. but the
arguments used against it were no sounder
than that IL would retard desirable trolley
expansion and that 1t came fifteen years
too late. For everybody knew that It's
adoption would effectually stop the water
ing OF trolley securities, an evil in Con-
nectiout. These defects do not a whit
deter the president Of Trinity.
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