The Penn's Grove record., 1910-04-15
HUGHES ASKS FULL INQUIRY
Special Message Calls For an In
vestigation of Graft Scandals.
Corruption and Bribery Have Caused
Every Honest Citizen to Tingle
With Shame and Indignation.

Albany, N. YIN a special mes
sage sent in Governor Hughes called
On the Legislature to follow up
through a general Investigation the
trails of legislative corruption laid
bare by the Aids bribery trial and
the Hotchkiss investigation into the
business methods employed by the
fire insurance companies.
They have caused every honest
citizen to tingle with shame and in
dignation, and have made irresistible
the demand that every proper means
should be employed to purge and to
purify" said the Governor in his mes
sage.
The message was formulated by
the Governor after a report summar-
izing the results of his investigation
had been submitted to him by State
Superintendent of Insurance Hotch-
kiss. This report was appended to
the Governors message. The reading
of both at the session of the Senate
and Assembly caused a decided stir
among the Legislative leaders.
This is the Governors message:
I place before you a report, which
has been made to me by the Superin-
tendent of Insurance. While the Su-
p~erintendent is armed with power to
examine witnesses and to compel the
production Of books and papers in
proceedings within the scope Of his
departmental action, he has come
upon certain suggestive facts appar-
emily lying outside his official cogn,z-
ance, and of a character to be ade-
quately dealt with only through e
which your honorable body is compe-
tent to authorize.
The revelations in the inquiry re-
Gently conducted by the Senate and
the facts brought to light by the Su-
pe%rintendent of Insurance make it i'm
perative that there should be a thor
ough investigation with respect to
legislative processes and as to the
corrupt practices which have been ef-
fective in advancing or blocking legis-
lation. 1t is not necessary for me to
review these disclosures or to attempt
to appraise their cumulative effect. 1t
is sufficient to say that they have
caused every honest citizen to Jingle
with shame and indignation, and have
made irresistible the demand that
every proper means should be en-
ployed to purge and to purify.
1 therefore recommend an immedi-
ate, impartial, thorough, and unspar-
ing investigation into legislative
practices and procedure and into the
use of corrupt and improper means
for the promotion of defeat of legis-
lation, such inquiry not to be limited
to but suitably to embrace the mat
tiers adduced in the recent proceeding
by the Senate and those presented by
the report herewith submitted of the
Superintendent of Insurance, in order
that, SO far as evidence may be OBJ
tainable, the actual facts nay be
known, that there may be a full IN
derstanding of the methods and agen-
cies employed in connection with
legislative proposals and that we'll
considered recommendations for ap-
propriate remedies may be made.
CHARLES E. HUGHES.
The report of William H. Hotch-
kiss, State Superintendent of Insur-
ance, says: while absolute proof
showing the transit of money from
the bank account of the insurance
company into the hands or the bank
account of a legislator is lacking, the
record of the investigation as thus
far made up warrants the statement
that during the past decade, particu-
larly in the first five years of such
decade, a system of bill killing and
law getting has existed which is a
repreach to the people of the State.
That such system existed prior to
1900 is also apparent from the facts
developed on the investigation"