The sun., 1919-08-11
LEGISLATURE HIT BY
CITIZENS UNION IRE
Session Marked by "Sloppi.
ness and Carelessness,"
Says Report.
LAUDs SMITH AND HYLAN
Mrs. Lilly Of 9TH Manhattan
District Criticised-Pel-
let Gets Boost.

For the FIRST time. the annual report
Of the Citizens Union on the Legislature
this year contains a criticism Of the
work of a woman. II is that Of Mrs.
Mary NJ Lilly. Democrat, who represents
the Seventh district, Manhattan. She
and Mrs. Ida b. Sammils Of Suffolk are
the nrst women ever to sit in the New
York Legislature.
Attentive to duties and of some abii-
ity," says the Citizens Union report. But
It fnds that her record OF votes was
very poor"
Favorable comment Is made on the at
titude Of the Governor toward legislation,
and he and Mayor Hylan are praised for
vetoing bad bills, many OF them manda-
tory. But Of the general work of the
Legislature the report has little good to
say.
'LoEroIlinE. Trading. Dickering."
Referring to the work of the session
Of 1919 in general the report says:
Despite the influence of the Governor
and the efforts of the legislative lead
ers logrolling, trading and dickering
continued as usual. Carelessness and
sloppiness were characteristic Of the
session. In his veto messages the Gov
ernor called the attention of tho mem
bers to. this matter. Again and again
bills slipped through one house or the
other IN such shape that they had to be
recalled and repassed.
There were many instances of the
passage Of a measure In two different
forms, both the Senate and Assembly
form of the bill being passed by both
houses. Some Of these cases may have
been Intentional, but probably the ma
jority of them were due simply to care
lessness. Bills were passed repeating
sections of the law that had Just been
enacted.
IAN increasing tendency was noted to
pass private claim bills covering cases
which had either already been considered
and disallowed or where the remedy was
ample under existing law"
According to the Citizens Union OBJ
server in the watch tower in Albany. II
Is getting to be q fixed habit with the
Legislature to pass the buck" Time
and again. It IL stated, they pass meas
ures that they know must be vetoed.
either for the sake of Sinking RESPONSE
bility or for the avowed purpose OF put
ting the Mayor or the Governor Gin a
hole"
No Defence for Procedure.
This procedure cannot be too en-
phatically denounced" the report says
at cannot be defended on any ground,
partisan or otherwise"
OF seventy-four bills branded by the
Citizens Union as Questionable the
Mayor vetoed twenty-eight and the Gov
ernor eighteen.
That both Governor Smith and Mayor
Hylan responded so well to the demands
OF the situation and were 30 quick TO ACT
to their credit" the report reads '1t
is worth recording here that the Gov.
ernor himself directly exerted a good In
fiuence when on one occasion he ap-
peared before his party conference and
urged the members to put a stop to sal
airy increase and grab bills"
The personal record OF the members
of the Assembly as viewed by the Citi'
Gems Union gives high praise to William
w. Pellet, Republican. who is said to be
the ablest new member In the New Yorl
city delegation.
Manhattan and Bronx Reports.
This is what is said of the members
from Manhattan and The Bronx:
MANHATTAN.
Barra, Caesar b. F. (Dem.. I'd Dist. }
Service of value in Codes Committee
otherwise continued inconspicuous. Rec.
ord OF votes poor.
Bloch, Maurice (Dem., 16th) Showed
Improvement In record of votes in As
sembly and in committee; still fell shor
of real service.
Burston. B. Elliott (Dem.. 23d).--Nev
member with colorless record Most o.
his city bills lacking In merit. Failed tS
grasp possibilities Of real service. Rec
ord Of votes fair.
Claessens, August (Soc.. l7th).-
Adj DIT and clever exponent Of SocialistiS
point of view. Emphatic but seldom eff
fective In debate. Record OF votes OF
city measures continued excellent
Cronin, John ]. (Dem., 13th).-Nev
member. earnest and conscientious. bu
with little in record to indicate promise
Dickstein, Samuel (Dem., 4th)-Nev
member, attentive but with colorless rec
ord. Poor record of votes
Dcnohue, Charles d. (Dem.. 6th.-
In second year as minority floor leader
Showed increased capacity in debate an,
firmer grasp of legislation generally. De
serves credit for restraining tendency o
his coIlea CUES to put through mandator!
payroll bills.
Goldberg, Mark (Dem., 14th) AL
| though record showed some improvement
II still falls short of the sort expected
Of any member with thirteen years ex
perience. Record OF votes In commit
tee good and in Assembly fair.
Hamill, Peter ]. (Dem.. 1st) .-Activ
In behalf of own legislation but other
wise not Of much value. Record show
no independence. Frequently unre
corded
Hawkins, John c. (Rep., 21st).-I