The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-11-02
BALDWIN IN STAMFORD SPEAKS PLAIN TRUTHS
 OF REPUBLICAN MISRULE
Tells Of What Great Reforms Democratic Legislature Can Help Governor to Accomplish hDlscusses National Issues
 With Usual Convincing Logic

| Governor Simeon B. Baldwin was the principal speaker at a big Dem O.
 cratic rally in Stamford last evening. He aroused great enthusiasm in his l reference to the condition of the high ways of this state.a
 Governor Baldwin spoke in part as
 follows:
 This busy city, within touch of the Illustrates what prosperity free and | intelligent people can attain, even
 under laws ill-f1tted to secure it, and often i'll administered, besides
 | Such 1aws-some of the nation. and
 some of the State-exist, thanks to
 the -long-continued, too long con- 1 party at Washington and at Hart 1 ford; and other laws which would
 be, if well administered, beneficial. are hindrances to our developrnenf
 from bad administration by party. | hacks.
 The most fragrant example is that of the State Highway Department Here, in Stamford and Greenwich, and so on to New York, we ought to have good roads, if anywhere. have you had them And why not? Why not, indeed. First and fore most. you have had poor roads, or no
 roads, because our Highway Commfs- for a highway that is built to last He is not, what any Highway Com missioner ought to be, a trained civil engineer. He does not know enough to adjust the plan of his road to the
 lay of the ground, the character, of
 the soil, the nature of his materials
 He Sdoesn't know enough to bind
 surface so as to bear the burden to
 which it may be put. He doesn't
 provide for prompt repairs. It is.
 the same story all over the State. I
 drove, few days ago, in an auto
 from New London to Norwich over a
 State road, built three or four years
 ago. The top dressing of stone was
 in some places only four inches thick
 In two years time, they told me, that
 road was half gone 1t was half
 gone. because it was not properly
 petent civil engineer would have so
 constructed it. After large ex-
 penses for repairs, it is still in such a
 condition that the top stones are
 liable to be picked up and thrown
 out by any automobile going. along
 at the customary speed Gov
 in the face, last month, by stone
 thrown up in just that way by the
 hind wheels of. car, in which he was being taken over that road to keep 3. speaking engagement at New London He thought, at first, some body must have thrown that stone at
 We don't want that kind of State roads. We don't want to keep iE
 office a man who knows no better than to build such roads.
 He has been fnisfit there for sev- enteen years. The original State road act provided Tor three State Cofnmts- civil engineer He was one of the three. He got the civil engineer pro vision repealed, and then was made sole highway commissioner. Repub- lican administrations reappointed him from time to time down to 1911- 1 Then Democratic Governor came 1 man "a man who was a; trained civil engineer. A caucus of senators was called. How was this2 Could the 1 Republican party afford to lose the | patronage of an office spending s2.-l Q0O,000xa year. The caucus thought l not They voted to confirm no one. He was Democrat I I sent in another nomination, equally | equally Well-trained. and this time a Republican. His nomina tic T | was rejected too, under the caucus ru1e, though two Senators, Senator | Fenn and Senator Brfnsnade, pro- nounced it too .intolerable, and stood
 James H. Macdonald is now in power as a, ho1dover. His term ex- pired year ago. It expired before | the Republican party expired, under the blows of Colonel Roosevelt.
 You know in what condition he left curt refusal to let a representative from Greenwich in the House so much as look at one of the contracts he had made for throwing away the public money They had to pass a special law, to make him show it.
 But then they made it up, by pass veto, to shield him from my power of removal
 Gentlemen. it is time to have a change in party rule in Connecticut.
 I should like to see how it is. for ,nce to have a Democratic Governor with Democratic legislature to ried the experiment half way. You ,lected a Democratic Governor, but !. Republicai legislature Now. this ime, ask the people of Connecticut o make a clean sweep.
 What can we expect if we do { his? Let us look back, two years. ired ae of pfopge fong sessions % of the e' Generai assembly that they demanded an mendnent to the Constitution, limit ng the duration of a session to moi yer five months.
 I think I may fairly say that the Democratic Governor did something The people approved it, nd no future legislature can outlast | he first week in June. Z mendment of the Federal Censtitu- ( ion. making United States Senators z lected by a direct vote of the peo- egislature. and goes to the next for Ls approval. ! ate 9e chi1dren. They .. often of get trough the first year, and die the ext Elect a Democratic General assembly next week, and you may . e sure this child will live, and an b ther cause of long legislative ses- n ions and poor legislative work be n orever eliminated. And now why hould we not go one step farther? IT t will be a great gain to elect United a tates Senators by the people instead Q f the State legislatures, but why houId we not have also the direct, : opuIar election of the President and ice President of the United States?
 Are the electoral colleges really O ood for anything? It was intended a V tbe makers of the Constit:1tion ] s nat the Presidential electors should a xercise a free choice. They never p o. They never will. They never = nould. The selection of the right .