New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-08-17
Delegates Refuse to Pass
His Anti-SOCial Wei
fare Measure.
AUTHOR ANGRY
IN HOT DEBATE
Party Lines Lost Sight of in
Fight Over Special Privi-
legeS Amendment.

Albany, Aug. 16.-By vote of 10 to
38 the Constitutional Convention late to-
night killed William Barness proposed
amendment forbidding the Legislature
to pass so-called special social welfare
measures.
A little before midnight, after nearly
all the business Republican leaders had
condemned the proposal and Mr. Barnes
was beginning to show his disappoint-
ment in his testiness. he stormed at eX-
United States Attorney General Wick
ersham, floor leader of the convention,
who had just made a spirited plea for
the defeat of the amendment.
Herbert Parsons had moved to strike
out the enacting clause and Mr.. Wicker
sham renewed IT.
81 think that this Is the worst meas
ure ever proposed in this convention"
said Mr.. Wickersham. at seems TO
have come from a council of folly. It
proposes to tie the hands of the Legis-
lature so that it can't meet the emer-
gencies that come up IN our govern
ment. The proposal is in direct con-
tradiction of party pledges. | charac-
terize it as a measure to repeal the po-
lice powers of this state and destroy
representative government and estao-
lish government by referendum. ! hope
this proposal will receive the con-
demnatiOn it deserves"
Barnes Shows Anger.
A minute before Judge W. NJ. X.
Olcott had moved to amend the arti-
Gle by cutting out all except the first
sentence providing that the Legis.a-
trre shall not pass any special priyl-
lege bills. Mr.. Barnes agreed to the
amendment.
When Mr.. Wickersham suggested
that the motion 70 strike out the enact
ing clause was first in order Mr..
Rarnes, pale and angry, his voice
trembling, shouted:
This attitude Of Mr. Wickersham
shows his course of mind. He wants
to destroy the bill before it can be
perfected"
Mr.. Olcotts amendment was first
voted on and defeated. Then the Par
sons motion was acted on. Lemuel Ely
Quigg and Judge A. T. Clearwater
were the only prominent Republicans
outside of those in the Brooklyn dele
CATION who voted with Mr. Barnes.
only one Brooklyn Republican voted
against him Almet X. Latson.
Henry l.. Stimson, Herbert Parsons,
Jacob Could Schurman, Louis Marshall
and other leaders on the Republican
side voted against or talked against
the Barnes measure. Some who spoke
against it when it was up last week
were not present tonight.
Defended by a Democrat.
The most spirited defence Of Mr..
harness proposal came rom eX-Lieu-
tenant Governor William L. Sheehan,
Democrat, of New York.
"Mr. Barness proposal has within It
the germs OF a political philosophy
that will never die while republics
exist" said Mr. Sheehan. "No firm
believer in repres entative government
will ever abandon the principle that
all men are equal before the law and
that special privilege should be granted
to none"
Then Mr. Sheehan rose TO the de-
fence Of Mr.. Barnes personally, and
to an expression of high praise OF his
motives.
From one of his own party-Geo; e
f. Greene. of Broome County-came
the bitterest attack that has so far
been made on Mr.. Barnes in the con-
vention. Mr.. Greene said he did not
know whether the proposal was offered
by Mr.. Barnes as a bid for notoriety
or to strange social welfare laws. In
genious and cowardly" was his charac-
terization of Mr.. Barnes's resolution
that the proposal be submitted separ-
ately to the people in 19l7-an off year.
Equally surprising was the attack
made on Mr. Barnes's opponents by
Charles II. Belts, Of Lyons, who 10
scribed them as "reactionaries."
Another Republican who spoke
against Mr. Barnes's proposal was Seth
Low, who said that social welfare laws
were not privileges for a class, but
privileges for the whole people.
Ex-Judge w. NJ. X. Olcott described
Mr.. Barnes's proposal as timely and
Just. democratic and to the fullest ex-
tent humane.
Harold j. Hinman took Jacob Gould
Schurman to task for opposing Mr..
Barnes's proposal on the ground Of in
consistency. "Dr. Schurman," said Mr..
Human, zone day came out in favor of
an executive budget because the Legis-
lature could not be intrusted with the
peoples money, yet he would trust
III m with the granting of sDeclal prlEl-