New-York tribune., 1920-01-01
Speaker Sweet
Opposes Radical
Changes i'm Laws
Tells Diners at Saxess Home
Republicans Should Hold
Off Until They Have
Own Governor i'm Office

Thaddeus c. Sweet, Speaker Of the
Assembly, was to a very large extent
the central political figure at the din
ner to discuss state legislation given
Monday night by ex-Tax Commissioner
Martin Sake at his home in West Sew
enty-seventh Street to about fourteen
Republican leaders, among them ex-
Justice Charles E. Hughes, Republican
candidate for President in 1916
Among those at the dinner were the
three mentioned. j. Henry Walters,
President pro tem. of the Senate;
Henry W. Taft, George W. Wicker
sham, former Attorney General of the
United States; ex-Judge William M. X.
Olcott, George A. Glynn, chairman Of
the state committee; Robert C. Nor
ris, ex-senator Theodore Douglas Rob-
inson, ex-senator Ogden L. Mills, SEN
ator Frederick NJ. Davenport and Sam
uel S. Koeng, president of the New
York County Committee.
Judge Hughes Speaks
Judge Hughes made what one Of the
conferees said yesterday was one of
the most brilliant speeches of his life
in advocacy of the main recommends
tions of the constitutional convention
of 1915, including the four~year term
for Governor, the short ballot, the ex-
ecutive budget and the cutting down
Of the various boards and bureaus from
about 1877 to less than twenty.
Speaker Sweet, it was said yesterday,
took a decided stand in opposition to
any legislation for 1920 which might
be classified as radical He called the
attention of those present to the fact
that it was of little use to make
changes unless the taxpayers money
was to be saved, and that making
changes for the sake of changes would
not deceive any one.
He said the present system of making
the state budget was a vast improve
ment over the plan used when Mr..
Hughes was Governor, and gave his
reasons for thinking so.
He made it clear to his conferees
that the upstate Republicans were in
no mood to hand Tammany Governor
political capital with which to club the
Republicans after he had made use of
1T, leaving the impression that in his
Judgment reform measures could we'll
afford to wait until next year, when a
Republican Governor would not make
use of the we'll intentioned work of the
Legislature to "show up" the Repub-
lican majority in both houses.
Mr.. Wickersham. Mr.. Taft and Mr..
Olcott strongly supported the views of
uNSr IA uSl licS, anu sNctdlOF w alters
and Senator Davenport indicated the
Republicans in both houses would be
glad to go reasonable distance in
passing new laws of the forward
looking" kind.
None Of the arguments seemed very
much to impress Speaker Sweet, who,
it is said, uttered a word of caution,
against the passage OF bills until they
are thoroughly scrutnized and as far
as possible tested as to their availa-
bility.
The net result of the conference at
the very excellent dinner given by
Senator Sake" said one of the guests
last night to a Tribune reporter, "was
good deal of a disappointment to
Judge Hughes ahd others, who brought
away distinct impression that
Speaker Sweet is opposed to reform
legislation unless there is the fullest
assurance that there is a statewide
demand for it,"