New-York tribune., 1908-09-27
THE GOVERNORS SPEECH.

Tn his sneech Yesterday accepting the Re
publican nomination for Governor MI. huSne'
put concisely and ably the case on which MS
campaign for reelection rests. lie wen saiu
that the main issue before the people was
whether they wanted TO approve OF oisappio'.
his efforts TO give this state cleaner more eL
ficent and more economical government 1t
fs not question of personal ambitions, party
riyaIries or trivial contentious about detalls
o4 administration The contest this year is
one which goes to the root Of things and aHects
fbe daily welfare Of every citizen The Gov
ernor stated thus the essential proposition OF
the campaign:
The question ts-Shall the effort to maintain
an administration which shall place the interests
of the people above selfish advahtage pe aT ar
undated or supported? Shall the elIorI 10 coi
rect abuses and TO regulate effectively our pup
tic service corporations be condemned or suS-
tanned? Shall the effort TO enforce PuPtio 3ot n
inst or arbitrary action be censured or ap-
proved? Shall the effort to demonstrate Ina thd'
the will of the people expressed in the constltu-
tion cannot successfully be defed or tricked Dy
any power however strong or unscrupulous, De
rebuked or vindicated? Shall the effort 10 purify
our electoral methods and to enlarge the OPP
nortrnities for the expression of the popular VIII
in the selection of candidates be encouraged or
stified?
The Democratic party, afraid to attack di-
rectly the reforms accomplished in the dlrec-
ton of regulating public service corporations,
has raised a hue and cry about the method
used, denouncng government by commls-
sions." This is of course, hollow and hypo-
critical pretence and the Governor exposes its
hoIlowness and hypocrisy by showing that past
Democratic administrations have freely estab-
lshed commissions and fully approved OF the
principle of using commissions to carry on the
work of the state government commissions
are useful and necessary device for supdlVld-
ing the tasks of administration and introducing
q non-partisan and expert element into the
administrative personnel. The Democratic
plea for q return to the old plan is based not
on a desire to secure better government but
ON q desire to secure feebler government The
Democratic party merely aims at eAenpuns
pr1blic service and other corporations from the
close inspection and control under which they
have been brought by the creation of the two
state Public Service commissions. On this point
the Governor justly said:
II the Democratic platform means anything
it means a demand for the repeal OF the Fupuc
Service Commissions law. By the logic OF It's
statements it is a platform against corpordte
reg11lation: it is a platform TO give license TO
financial freebooters; it is platform In the IN
terests of all those who would make pubnc ser
vice a plaything of INSCRIPTIONS nahlpoiatlon IN
it is q platform against the people, and Dy the
people it should be condemned
In advocating electoral reforms and the di-
rect nomination system the Governor intends
to make popular control of the state govern
ment more direct and more complete. He pre-
sents arguments for an improved ballot when
ought TO have fair hearing, showing no dis
position to insist in advance on details. There
NAV be some difficulties about applying the
Mas ssachusetts ballot theory in state which
has a universal suffrage system. But dltfer-
ences over details should not be allowed to
obscure the necessity of giving the voters
larger voice in the nomination of party can
didates and of eliminating fraud in elections
The Governors electoral reforms are sound
in substance, and they undoubtedly reflect a
prevalent desire to put more democracy into
our elective system. As to the reforms sug-
gested for Wall Street, the Governor takes no
unreasonable attitude. He wants abuses inves-
tigated and corrected and would take the same
method to correct them SO successfully followed
in last winters admirable banking legislation.
From beginning TO end the speech was that
Of a courageous, capable and farsighted states