New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-07-13
OPPOSE ELECTION BILL
Club Members and Others Tell
Objections to Levy Measure.
GOVERNOR GIVES HEARING
Some of the Speakers Consider
It To Be Clearly a Tam
many Proposition.
lBy Telegraph to The Tribune ]

Albany. July Eff Governor Dix LAD 10
nolitical ropes on him and followed inc au-
! vice Of william Church Osborn, his iesal
adviser. he would probably veto inc Levy
hill amending the general election law ac-
cording TO the views of Boss" Murphy OF
| Tammany Hall.
Tho Governor gave n hearing on the Dill
| .dav. at which Mr.. Osborn asked many
orestions about its provisions. when
| sbowed an attitude frankly suspicious, al
most hostile. He brought out one serious
objection 10 the measure rs It stands Which
its opponents had not touched on. Ihis Is
The fact that 1t allows only one day
sunday. between the last day of registra-
tion and the time at which applications
,,,ust no made 10 the courts to strike I'M
propor names from the rolls. The present
law allows Ave days.
While the opponents Of the Levy measure
felt gratifed at what they conccNHu 10 Ne
Mr. Osborn's attitude Of careful scrutiny
of this dangerous bill, they hadn't II great
deal of hope that he could get boVerhor
! Dix to veto It or insist on US IMPROVE
mont They consider the measure clearly
q Tammany proposition. one honnH 10 pe
shoyod into the statute books ~ the
60 Boss and his boys.
! Mrs " w. Penfield and other srfl agists
| spoke against the bill on the giouhd ,hN'
! - nrovontcd women from acting as watch
| ers at the polls ..
! pobert & Binkerd. secretary OF the city
! club; Arthur 6. I.udngton, II u" 'i''
zens Union, and Herbert r. iimbers' oil
! the independence League, made strCHs al
! guments against IL on the score Oh cNP,nSo
and it's assault on independent Vo'crs. w liz
| tam Temple Emmett, Abram l. ElAuS'
George ID. Williams. of Brooklyn treino"'
| q Tenant Of Cooperstown, ana other up-
state men spoke for the measure
| Mr.. I.udington attacked VIGOROUSLY the
provisions preventing the name OF iusioi
! candidate from appearing In more 'ha,
ono column on the ballot. ms ne sai"'
was aimed at "hy by night organization,
/ I'm New York which flourish each ur'''p''
! campaIgn or at strike orSahizdtioll9
which try 20 sell Endorsements IL Wou'"
not prevent these evils he SAID Of Tree
the ballot from the many columns WIN"
the activity of such organizations 10"
forces ON If. The only way such ACTIVITY
couId he discouraged was by proper
urinary law regulating party machinery
and the method Of nominating
rio Low bill, he said actually would
- ,,,o s,ze Of the ballot by compel
ling the printing of all emoleins OF ors""i
1otions which had Endorsed candidate III
q snace before his name. and by inc
"cross-reference" system. Not only Wouid
49, ILL, no larger. but much more con-
80, 20 the average voter Mr.. Luding-
ton continued:
while thus failing TO remedy the rea'
evils of our present form OF ballot inc
nrovision that the name OF fusion canul-
date may appear in but one column Oh '"o
ballot would strike a severe dow AT poid
0de independent organizations ike the
Citizens Union Such organizations de-
sire q column on the ballot. not Tor the
nurpose of selling out TO one OF the large
parties but for the purpose Oh lhIoI MINIS
tho voters at large Of their posltoh III
regard to candidates.
| THE Citizens Union usually names no
candidates Of It's own. but merely ihdorses
various candidates Of other parties whose
names appear elsewhere on the pahol'
! Under the Levy bill. whenever this was
the case. the Citizens Union could have
| NO column OF it's own. But even II IL sue
! coded I'm securing a column the name OF
no fusion candidate could appear III tha'
column. The practical effect OF the Levy
bill would be to deprive fusion candidates
! az most OF the votes cast for them III all
| the columns I'm which their names dld not
| onncar Since the time allowed under the
Low bill for fling independent nominal
| ing petitions is reduced to almost nothlng'
while at the same time many new ana dii-
| dcult requirements are imposed with "hich
euch petitions must comply, the actual
task Of filing such petitions would he
rendered so enormously difficult that but
few could possibly succeed"
| AIr Binkerd attacked the sections of the
hin leglslnting out Of Office the present New
York CITY Board OF Elections and providing
| for the appointment OF successors to ~this
hoard by the Board Of Aldermen instead OF
bv the Mayor lie declared that these pro-
visions. together with the provision that
! election insnectors who had served I'm pre-
vious years need not again be examined
before being appointed TO serve as election
| officers in the future, would set at nausht
| the work which Mayor Gaynor ana tne
present Roard Of Elections nave been doing
| 10 improve conditions in New York city
| Mr. BinkeIn hlcd with the Governor q copy
of the report OF the Commissioner OF Ac-
counts upon his recent investigation OF the
| Now York CITY Board of Elections, ana de-
clarcd that this investigation showed the
examinations I'm previous years TO be far
| cical or fraudulent.
| MIR lAmburg exhibited sample OF the
| election ballot as IL might have been
printed for the election In New York city
! in 1909, II the Levy bill had been enforced.
This ballot was seven feet long ana was
| iescrib.d as n monstrosity
| Nr Emnet and the other advocates OF
the bin declared that while some OF It's
PROVISIONS might be imperfect, II was on
| The whole a great advance over the present
ipw The speakers from upstate counties
| advocated the provisions extending personal
registration throughout the state.