The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-01-05
Massachusetts, Executive
Denounces Boston and
Maine Holding Company
AS Pernicious.
Bosses Do Not Desire Enact
ment of Laws Guarantee
ing Justice to All and
Privilege to None, He
Says.
People Must Take Into
Their Hands the Control
of Government by Abolish
ING Conventions and Sub
stituting Direct, Nomina
tions. ~
Especial from United Press.>

Boston, Jan. 5.-Recommending
the popular nomination of United
States Senators, direct primaries for
| the nomination of all elective off,
cials. the initiative referendum and
recall, workingmen's compensation,
| and the adjustment of many of the
present state committees. Eugene n.
Foss, today, made his inaugural ad-
| dress as the first Democratic Cover
nor of Massachusetts, since w. L.
Douglass completed his term.
| Immediately as his opening re-
| a crisis in the affairs of this Com
| monwealth. It is q crisis which our
form of government is facing, today,
not only in Massachusetts, but in ev-
cry state of the. union.
.'The people, in all sections OF the
country, have lost confidence In many
of their public servants The die
tatorship by political bosses and by
representatives of special interests is
| hotly resented for these men desire
| to control public servants and to di-
rect legislation to their own ends.
They do not desire the enactment of
laws guaranteeing justice to all and
privilege to none. This usurpation of
power can only be remedied by the
people taking into their own hands
the direction and control Of their
The means, he declared, was by
tRbclishing the caucus and snominat-
ing convention and substituting the
| direct primary.
Regarding labor he said:
"a wise compensation act is a
safeguard to both capital and labor.
The criterion Of such a law must be
definite, certain and speedy ADJUST
ment of all claims"
fo ecnrnorafinn the new COVER
nor declared: I'm the first place I
see nothing inimical to the mere size
of a corporation, provided, of course,
it Is suitably regulated.
ION the other hand, a holding
company is, in theory. wholly at
variance with the common l aw and
with the statutes of the state. 1t is,
therefore, indefensible. 1t can be re-
garded only as an act of legislative
complaisance or Of financial subter-
fuge and on either Of these grounds
it is intolerable.
'Trhe Incorporation of@the Boston
Holding Company, (for the Boston d
Maine) was special legislation in the
one of the most fragrant examples OF
pernicious legislation enacted in re-
cent years. 1t Iegalized some of the
most Objectionable corporate meth
ods."
Another new recommendation by
campaign expenses. He demanded
legisla ton to correct the evil that he
declared made it almost impossible
for q poor man to run for office with
out making an alliance with moneyed
interests. He declared no healthy
man should ride to the polls in q
carriage and that, in the case Of an
infirm man, the State should furnish
the carriage or automobile.
"As for the able bodied voters. he
said, sit would be far better to pro-
vide a penalty for unreasonably neg
lecting to go to the polls OR to give
the warden of the election precinct
power to assume a warrant and bring
him to the polls.
"In nv Judgment the State should
provide the political parties with halls
in which to hold rallies in the State,
should also provide a circular in
which the candidates may state to
the voters the arguments in support
of their candidacy"
Foss' only mention, directly, of his
fight on the return Of United States
Senator Lodge was made in recon-
mending an bipartisan redistricting of
the State, in which he said:
"The plurality of over $4,000. which
received on clear cut issues, indi-
Gated unmistakably and overwhelm-
ingly, the will Of the people. More
over. in the total popular vote for
the lower house of our Legislature. a
plurality of over $4,000 was register
ed against the return of our senior
Senator to the United States Senate.
Yet, owing to our gerrymandered dis
tricts we have, today, small Repub-
lican majority in the Legislature
when an honest division Of the State
into stricts would have shown a
Democratic majority which would
have been secure"