New-York tribune., 1910-06-22
ANT|-HUGHES MEN
ACT WITH TAMMANY
Will Not Pass Legislation Rec
commended by Governor
Unless Forced Into 1t.
ASSEMBLY IN DEFIANT MOOD
To Pass Hughes Measures Aid
VIII Be Necessary from Two
Sources, Oyster Bay and
Washington.
IBy Telegraph to The Tribune. ]

w dSuluSt tOU,
by Telegra ph to The Tribune
Albany, June 21.-The bipartisan alli-
ance Of anti-Hughes Republicans and
Tammany Hall Democrats still main
tains its hold on the Legislature
With William Barnes. jr., IN the SEN
ate clerks room to-day, and Senator
Grady. of Tammany. running the Senate,
while Speaker Wadsworth, commanding
the Assembly allied forces, delivered re-
markable rulings the present supremacy
Of the bipartisan "Old Guard" was evil
dent Equally evident is their intent to
prevent the enactment of direct nom
nations law and any changing of the
graft investigation resolution Or to die
in the defence of the existing order of
things.
Also it is evident that this Legislatu ture
will do nothing to be construed as patrf-
otto in its broad sense, or progressive.
unless kicked into it. The necessary i'm
petus can come from two sources
Oyster Bay and Washington. To be eff
fective it will have to be direct and
forcible. The Senate is fairly responsive
to public sentiment. There the Cobb bill
PROBABLY will be repassed and a thor
oughgoing inquiry into corruption may
be ordered
This easily could be done through
Senate caucus. Whether one will be
called is somewhat doubtful. Progress
$ive Republicans have put before Sen
ator Cobb in the most forcible fashion
he, e..
he is inclined to call one on his direct
nominations bill. Progressive Republi-
cans hope that the corruption inquiry
may be included in the matters for con-
sideration.
Assembly Is Defiant.
But the Assembly under its present
leadership cannot be expected to pass a
direct nominations bill or accept a real
investigation resolution. Appeals to the
party spirit of the three or four Repub-
licans who control events in that House
are hopeless. It may be they are abso-
lutely blind sto things patent to other
Republicans; it may be they refuse to
believe, though seeing. It may be, as
progressive Republicans assert, that they
are so intensely self-centred and selfish
as to set themselves above all considera-
tions Of party welfare, either in the state
or the national phase of the situation.
The facts are plain and easily under
stood. Though direct nomination Re-
publicans expect the Cobb bill to be re-
passed by the Senate, they feel certain
that il will be defeated by the old
Of
cans and Democrats unless a new eau
Gus holds the Republicans together
for it.
If direct nominations men obtain the
necessary signatures for a caucus call in
the Assembly, the Wadsworth- Merritt
Phillips Republicans say they will not
go into that caucus. The mere fact that
the direct nominations men could force
the calling of a caucus there would mean
they could control it. Declarations by
the anti-Hughes men that they would
stay out of the Republican caucus are
tantamount to declarations that they
would unite with the Tammany Demo-
Gratis. as has been done often other
matters, to defeat direct nominations
again.
Republicans in and out Of the Legis-
lature are urging the Republican ma
jority to act now in such fashion as to
show the people that the party is worthy
of continuing in charge of political af-
fairs in the state. And while that Is
being done those Republican legislators
roughly characterized as anti-Hughes
men are on the verge, in both houses, of
re-enacting the Meade-Grady specticle
in even more crude detail.
Many Vague Rumors.
IT is known that this state Of affairs
is causing the gravest concern to Presi-
dent Taft 1t is known that Mr. Roose-
velt's attention has been directed TO
what is going on. Also, developments
here seem to show that even the anti
Hughes Republicans are little afraid
they are going SO far as TO bring rebuke
from one or both these eminent Repub-
licans.
Remarkable rumors are af1oat here
The air is full of them. mysterious, in
tangible impossible of verifcation or Of
being traced to their source. One is
that President Taft is against the di-
rect nominations system.
Why? Because. Fred. Greiner went
to Washington and returning said that
to pass a direct nominations bill would
give personal glory to Hughes, and no
help to the party. Who says so? Well,
somebody talked to somebody else who
heard that Greiner had said it was be-
lieved he got the notion from the Presi-
dent.
Also Mr. Roosevelt is against direct
nominations. He is against Hughes
LIZ dnesn,t think TO nasS q direct nom