New-York tribune., 1910-06-02
Machine LEADERS
BEGIN CAMPAIGN
Tryinu TO Show That Governor
Has Compromised Himself on
Direct Primaries.
BOSSES GUNS ARE SPIKED
Revised Cobb Measure Almost
Identical with Hinman-
Green Bill as Far
as It Goes.
rRv telegraph to The Tribune ]

Albany lime 1-According 10 Woro
.4.-.s bere to-day by direct nomina-
80 advocates. machine politicians,
<.a,;rg that the Cobb direct nomina-
.:o,s hin will ne passed at the extra
.-,--;o,, have begun a systematic cam
,,aipn against that measure $ Wen as
~ Hinman-Creeh bin abolishing all
,or,antions. Their weapons are SAID 10
ipclude misrepresentation. direct HllS-
statements regarding the PROVISIONS o.
the hill and assertions that Governor
HUGHES is back tracking on the direct
nominations issue
E-efor-s are being made to show thaI
the Governor has compromised iii''-
self in giving his provisional aplroNai
- This "compronise bill" Machine Lead
ers and their ''bosslets' all down lhe
limo according to to-day's information
are eedulously spreading the 'lnforma-
+ion.- that the Governor has abandoned
ad,ocacv Of the Hinman-Green state
.ide hill and in expressing approval 1T
any degree Of another measure mas
yielded his support Of direct nomlIa-
lions.
Whether or not this campaign IS max
ing anv beadway cannot he learned ltS
absurditv has not prevented II from be
ing taken up by some newspapers. most
IL boss owned or controlled. Yet ohiH
+be slightest knowledge Of the Gov
ernor's position and the hastiest glance
Al The provisions of the two bills are
necessary TO show to what straits the
machine men must he reduced if these
are their heaviest guns.
Revised Bill Sound in Structure.
Governor Hughes told Senators Cobb,
Hinnan and Meade, the committee rep
resenting the conference Of Republcan
Senator's which sought his views regard
ing the so-caIled Cobb compromise bill
that il would receive his approval II
7,qssed in its latest form. He told them
,,-7v-briefy. because the bill as revised
and changed was sound in structure,
and while not going SO far as he desired
Yepresented a great step forward in
nominating methods. That position was
20 back tracking or changing from
his position advocating the passage Of
the Hinman-Green bill. because the
cobb bill. which passed the Senate
virtually was the Hinman-Gree bin ex-
,,pt that il did not provide for direct
nomination Of judges or state officers
4 little study of the political situation
now makes il very apparent why the
Governor is willing thus to accept a
measure which does not go quite so far
as he desires. Also il shows precisely
vhv the political bosses are fighting as
desperately against Senator Cobb's ear
nest effort to reconcile the Governor
and the party leaders on this issue as
they did against the Hinman-Green bil;.
The reason is that there is to be COM
rlete political change at the coming
eIection-a change from top to bottom.
From Governor down 10 county officers,
q new set of public servants is to be
chosen.
Extension of System Expected.
Under the Cobb bill, Senators and As
semblymen. Representatives in Congress
and the county officers would have TO ba
nominated directly. That would give
the new system a pretty thorough try
ing out If it worked well, and its ad-
vocates have not the faintest notion that
II would not, q Legislature nominated
directly and So in sympathy with the
system almost certainly would extend
il next year To include state officers and
municipal officers. That is, the first
step having been taken through enact
ment Of the Cobb bill into law, the next
year would witness its extension to tho
scope OF the system proposed in the
r1r ei- -ralx
I'm each house at the session recently
ended. Such extension has been the his
tory OF direct nominations in many
states
on the other hand. the machine men
have everything to gain by delay. II
they could prevent the enactment Of a
direct nominations law at the extra ses-
sion, they would have put off the adop-
ton Of that system at least two years
because il would be 1872 before a new
senate could he chosen Also there is
the possibility that a Governor might he
elected this fall who would be luke
warm. i not positively hostile to that
system of nominating public officers So
the machine leaders all down the scale
are working overtime against the Cobt
measure. which they conceive to be very
dangerous.
The Cobb Measure Analysed.
Analysis Of its provisions. in compari-
son with the Hinman- Green bill, shows
;helr ground for this belief AS far as
Z goes il is almost identical with thai
measure. including the direct election al
ali party officlals-the feature most op
posed by the organization men. Th'
machinery for making nominations 3
precisely that Of the Hnman-Green bin
Il concludes the statewide enrolment
"a proper official primary ballot, and TIT
state-safeguarded primaries, just as dl'
;he Hinman-Green bill
Senators. Assembly men, Congressmei
aud county officers would be nominated
directly at the primaries under this bhl
except county ,,tficers in those counties
IN New York Cit. in i municipal cleo
tion year The t,aity's Candidates would
be chosen from among names appearing
on the ballot grouped under the title "i
The Office for which they were candi
.ates First in each group would come
~ name o. a man designated by fh'
Iartv committee in the district; undel