New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-11-01
PERKINS BIASED,
ROOT ANSWERS
Ex-senator BIameS Moose
Leaders "POIitiCaI Situa-
ton" for Criticism.
EXPLAINS IN DETAIL
CONSTITUTIONS AIM
Separate Submission Of Appo--
tiOnment Article Essential to
NOn-Partisan Treatment.

Former Senator Root sent letter 20
George W. Perkins yesterday answer
ing in detail the structures OF the Pro-
gressive leader on thu now constitution.
IL ain impressed, my dear Mr.. Per
kins,' says Mr.. Root, "both by the sub
stance OF your communication and by
the manner in which you have carried
on our correspondence, with q convic-
ton that you have not really given TO
this revised constitution the benefit Of
impartial consideration, but have. un-
consciously perhaps, permitted the an
tagonisms of your political situation
70 bias your mind and TO put you into
an attitude of hostility 70 the measure
and 20 the men who have been engaged
in IL; 40 that instead OF basng your
conclusion upon the reasons which you
have stated you have, without knowing
II, sought for reasons 20 sustain a fore
gone adverse conclusion. I regret the
attitude and submit that the reasons
given are wholly inadequate TO sus-
tain it,"
The principal reason, Mr.. Root says,
for Mr. Perkins's opposition is that the
constitution is submitted practically as
whole, instead Of in sections. The
former Senator says OF this that the
duty of the convention was not merely
to propose amendments, but to revise
and amend and then report TO the peo-
pie for their approval or Gisapproval
THAT is what the people Of the state
voted for" Mr. Root says, when they
determined TO have convention, and
that is what they will have spent more
than a million dollars to have done.
They are entitled to act on the revision
which their delegates have made, in
stead of each voter having to make up
a constitution for himself by putting
together multitude Of separate pro-
visions"
Separate Submission Necessary.
Mr.. Root says the separate submits
sion Of the apportionment article was
an essential condition to the non-par-
tisan treatment OF all of the remainder
of the constitution, because that is the
only article upon which party lines are
necessarily drawn.
Mr.. Roots letter continues:
"You object that the appointment OF
Supreme Court commissioners by the
courts will put the judiciary into the
practical politics of the state. On the
contrary. the courts now appoint COM
missioners and referees in great mum
bers. and the use Of such appointments
as political patronage and on the re-
quest of party leaders has been the
cause of much abuse and scandal and
of enormous expense to suitors. Inc
nrovision in the new constitution for
The appointment of standing commits
sioners is designed and adapted to take
tn. judiciary out Of practical politics
and 10 put an end TO the kind OF APP
pointments which have been discredit-
ing the courts. 81,
"You say that under the budget sys-
tenn in the revised constitution we
would get an independent, responsible
budget system but every other year, be-
cause the first year of each Governor
"thc budget for him would be made up
b. the department heads that were
going out with the outgoing Governor"
This is a mistake. The department
heads do not make up the budget. They
merely furnish to the Governor infor-
nation. but BY no means all the infor-
nation. upon which he himself makes
w the budget, and each Governor will
do that for himself in each year OF his
term.
Not Governors Keeper.
"You object to the striking out OF the
prohibition against the Governor ap-
pointing members of the Legislature 10
Office. That was stricken out with
Of other provisions as wholly
useless and unnecessary. There are
many ways in which Governor might
misbehave himself, but we do not at
tempt to cover them by constitutional
provisions. Wherever the action Of the
Governor mas to be open and pubic. as
/. must be In such matters as this, pub