Evening star., 1928-11-03
TEXT OF GOV SMTTH'S ADDRESS TN BROOKLYN E7HWI

~ lY ILL ~
amendment to the constitution, when
the fact, known even to the page boys
in the Legislature, is that they persist
emily and consistently stood against it
with all the vigor they could bring to
their command Nobody knows this bet
ter than Gov. Hughes himself.
The companion constitutional amend
ment providing for an executive budget
likewise met with bitter opposition from
the Republican leaders. Mr.. Machold,
himself, when speaker of the Assembly,
followed me around the State talking
against it. 1t was finally accepted be-
cause of the pressure of public opinion.
I next come to subject that is very
near and dear to my heart, and that
is the Department of Labor and work.
mems compensation. The Republican
candidate said that if he is elected
there will be a reorganization of the
Labor Department. That is exactly
what the people of this State do not
want That department has been re-
organized and disorganized by each
succeeding Republican administration
since 1911. The effect of the last re-
organization of 1t under Republican
auspices was to cut down appropriations
by one million dollars, paralyZe the de-
partment and leave it helpless. This IS
| the record and nobody can deny it.
Just before election, here as through
| out the entire country, they talk about
their great love and their great devotion
to the workingman, but every time they
have had an opportunity in the State
of New York they have done every
human thing they could to reduce the
efficiency of the Labor Department and
| Il 1irfNn ~ IN
| labor laws.
| In 1925 q Republican Senate COM
mittee, presided over by Senator Whitley
| of Rochester, recommended that IN
view of the increased business of the
| bureau of workmen'S compensation 1t
was necessary to add two members to
the industrial board. What became of
that recommendation? 1t was defeated
by the Republican Legislature of 1925.
Upon what theory? Upon the theory,
as one Republican Senator put it, that
lit gave Smith two additional appoint
ments." Were they with the working
man at that time? Were they with the
injured man or injured woman? Not
at all, they were with the Republican
| machine.
| Statements Denied.
Two years later they were forced 70
yield. and as it turned out, no active
member of my party was rewarded with
+ the appointments. Because promoted
men inside of the department. Only
| last wear we again find Republican
charges against the Labor Department.
| T appointed Prof. Lindsay Rogers OF
Columbia University as commissioner
| to hear the charges, and when the
power of subpoena was invoked ana
! these critics were confronted with the
prospect of having to make good under
oath the statements made to the news
papers by Republican legislators, they
were denied or withdrawn.
No, the people of this State, in the
| light of history want no reorganization
| of the Labor Department. They want
| adequate appropriations to make lt
| effective. They want intelligent, honest,
progressive personnel to operate it, and
neither MIR. Ottinger nor anybody else
| can say that under my administration
| these conditions were not fulfilled.
The Republican candidate speaks
| about extending the benefits by law TO
men and women in industry suf1ering
from any occupational disease. why,
| the Republican Legislature has had
! four years to do that. recommended
it repeatedly. Bills were introduced TO
bring it about-one of them by
BROOKLYN Senator, Senator Love. Every
one of the bills went down to defeat.
Nobody can seriously consider that
promise, Nobody believes that there
is anything behind it. The record or
the party is altogether in the opposite
direction.
Where did we get the great body of
law enacted for the protection OF til2
health and comfort and the Well-be!ng
of men, women and children engaged
in industry? Why, it is a matter OF
history that it came from the Demo-
cratic party. 1t is further a matter or
history that the Republican party. did
everything they could to break down
these statutes. recommended 48-
hour law for women as far back as 1918.
1t was never enacted until 1927.
Court Kills G. o. r. Law.
I read with a great deal of amuse-
ment that Mr. Ottinger claims that we
got the workmens compensation act
during the administration OF Gov.
HUGHES, He cannot mean that He
could not have looked it up. The work
mems compensation law was enacted
and became law in this State in 1913.
The act was signed by Martin H. Glynn,
one of my Democratic predecessors.
What the Republican candidate should
have said is that the Republican party
attempted in the administration OF Gov.
Hughes to give us some form OF work.
mems compensation, but made such a
poor job of it that 1t was set aside by
the Court of Appeals as being In con-
fict with the constitution.
The Republican candidate for gov
ernor in Utica on the Goth OF October
made speech on social welfare, and he
4 7@Irn 1A1n a
establishment of orphan asylums and
other institutions where the mother
would be permitted to see her child, to
be with her child every day rather than
to permit it to rest in an institution
away from the home.
What does he mean by that? The
whole policy of this State for 13 years
has been to get away from orphan asy-
lums and to leave the children with
| the widowed mother, and to have the
| locality wherein she resides to make the
same provision for her, for the care of
her child at home, that would otherwise
be made to an institution.
| The Republican candidate apparently
| talks about this matter without even a
| primary understanding of the States
| policy. AS far back as 1913, while
| speaker of the Assembly, appointed a
| commission to study the whole question
of pensions for widowed mothers, and I
| had the satisfaction and the pleasure
of leading the fight for it in the Repub-
lican Assembly of 1915.
The Republican leader of that body
| in that year made the same argument
against widows pensions that is now
being made by the Republican candi-
date for President against great many
of the forward looking proposals that
the Democratic party is urging. He
| called it Socialism.
| I do not think the Republican candi-
date for governor means to recommend
a change in that policy, but I cannot
| eScann the conclusion that he does not