New-York tribune., 1912-02-09
MAYOR ATTACKS
GOVERNOR WILSON
As Guest of National Democratic
Club He Makes Speech That
Is Considered Bid for
Nomination.
CALLS TRUST PROBLEM EASY
Declares Holding Company Stat
utes Could Be Repealed if
Chief Executive Would
Only Stay at Home
and Do It.

and Do II.
Mayor Gaynor discussed last night
before the National Democratic Club OF
New York the three great questions ac-
knowledged to have become the leading
irsues Of the coming national campaign.
1t was the opinion OF those present that
the Mayor was making his bid for the
J Presidential nomination. Although no
rames were mentioned in the speech, his
remarks We're taken and applauded as
severe criticism of Governor Woodrow
Wilson respecting his attitude toward
the trust problem. as exemplifed by his
failure to recommend TO the Legislature
of his state the repeal of the law which
legalized the holding company, the law
which, Mayor Gaynor said, had made
four 1fths of the trusts possible.
"Since they can be abolished so cas-
lily, do you think that they ought to be,
or else that those that fail to even try
to repeal them should stop crying out
AGAINST them at the top CT their voices.
We must not lay ourselves open 10 tha
charge Of being mere demagogues. We
in New York know what demsgogue is
il anybody in the country knows. There
is no more detestabIe beast than the
demagoaue.
"If the people want the trusts broken
up or prevented they need only to elect
governors and legislators who will carry
out their wiI!--and stay home and do ~
1
EoIIa,,s W;tsoo EueSt
Mayor Gaynor was the guest Of honor
az the National Democratic Club, at No.
6l7 Fifth avenue, at the second dinner
given by the club for the discussion Of
tariff revision downward. Governor
Wilson had been the guest Of honor at
the first dinner
The speakers table was not large and
the number of men grouped around the
Mayor was small. They were Senator
Charles a. Culberson, of Texas, Charles
F Murphy, John Fox. Norman f. Mack.
Senator James Smith, jr, of New
jersey, whose friendship with Governc"
Wilson has grown into estrangement -
recent times; State Senator Timothy -
Sullivan. John w. Keller and Justice
Samuel Greenbaum.
Among the three hundred diners We're
men whose names have been prominentlF
connected with Democratic politics N
this city, but Democratic League mem
bers We're conspicuous by their absence
Among those present were Robert Adam
son, Magistrate P T. Barlow, George
Gordon Battle. J. Sergeant Cram. James
Creelman, Philip F. Donohue. John T.
Doolng, Michael J. Drummond Com
missioner of Charities; William n. Ed
wards, Commissioner of Street Cleaning:
Abram l. Elkus, Surrogate Robert l..
Fowler State Senator James j. Frawley.
John F. Calvin, Congressman Henry NJ.
Goldfogle, Joseph Johnson, Fire Com
missioner; Herman A. Metz. Borough
President Cyrus c. Miller ir., Of The
Bronx; Judge NJ. J. Mulqueen, william
McAdoo, Thomas F. McAvoy. Justice
Edward f. Mccall, De Lancey Nicoll,
Justice Francis K. Pendleton, Justice NJ.
Marley Platzek. Thomas F. Smith and
Judge John ]. Zeller.
Thomas F. Donnelly. president Of ths
club introduced the Mayor. He said
that there were many statesmen. but
there were few who could administer
properly a municipality as large and as
! important as New York.
I'm the two years of his administra-
ton Mayor Gaynor has demonstrated
that a public office is about as big as
the man who fills it," Mr.. Donnelly
said. "and during his incumbency the
| Mayors office has become so great as to
attract national attention.
Tammany Leads Reception.
Nayor Gayner was received with long
applause. and all rose and stood for sew
eral minutes while members of Tam
MANY Hall led in the demonstration for
! him. The carefully prepared speech OF
the Mayor did not prevent him from de-
partures i'm various instances into the
well known SMILES and homely express
sions characteristic of his public utter
ances. He started out by saying that
the bunch" before him must be a cele-'
brated one because the press had in
sisted that he prepare and give out in
advance his speech destined for them.
Anybody knows more than anybody.
though it's awfully hard 10 convince
some of the statesmen that are now
running around" the Mayor said, get
ting toward the trust situation in New
Jersey. New Jersey seems to be bad
place" he added, amid laughter. "al-
though there is no doubt some good
people live there"
Speaking about the demand in New
Jersey to have the trust problem set
tied the Mayor said that even the Hud-
son River was not wide enough TO drown
the sound of it, and yet he had not
heard of any recommendation MADE py
any Governor to have the hofdlng COM
pany law repealed, so far as nave
heard" he said, and | generally near
everything that is done"
Mayor Gaynor began his speech wi'h
an analysis of the tariff question, which
he later used as basis to bulld up MS
discussion of the causes which gov
erned the rise of prices of all COM
modities to their present high level. lie
said the question before the country was
not one of free trade. but OF levyins
tariff on imports in way which, wniie
n raised a sufficient revenue, would work
the least injury and do the most good to
the people of the country as whole.
Abuses of Tariff the Issue.
This idea, he said. had taken root
omone MS when we were still British
hro