The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-01-05
THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 1883
A Great Governor Speaks

The people of this state can be justly Inauguratcd for his second term yesterday he delivered an address that marks him as both a scholar and statesman extraordinary. It was no commonplace speech that the governor gave upon the occasion of his in- augurstion. It was an exquisite piece of literature dealing with the ever SO prosaie topic of government. If any man is skilled enough to turn this subject into literature, it is the learned executive whom voters of Connecticut have chosen twice to guide their destinies. We dare say that the message delivered yesterday by Wilbur l.. Cross will easily rank with the most outstanding in this field.
 Once again Governor Cross reiterates his stand on certain matters. five to be exact. It doesn't seem two years ago that he was suggesting, better still recommending, to the General Assembly that it accomplish lcgis- lation which would widen the powers of the chief executive rather than curb them; remove our courts from the tant of patronage by installing the district court system; revise the existing tax structure with view towards uncovering new sources of taxation; over haul the various state departments to cut ex- penses and prevent overlapping of duties; revise the public utility statutes.
 It was unfortunate that these rccommen' dations met with such short Shrlt at the hands of the Legislature two years ago. That they are vital is undeniable. They also bear the distinction of being n-partlsan. If they are viewed as the contrary, 1t IS through the partisan eye. In once more asking the legislative bodies to concur with him Governor Gross does so with the knowledge that the l933 session IS apt to be far more productive of progressive leglsla- ton than was its immediate predecessor. There must necessarily be some common ground of meeting this term with the two houses divided in control the Senate being democratic, the House republican.
 If we were to display the merits of the five recommendations echoes of l93l, we would take far more space than these col umns allow. We have dealt with all of them individually In the past two years and will probably continue to do So in the
  not confine himself to mere retrospect of lo3l's lost causes. He dealt on such va riety of topics that we can think of noth- ing that he might have mentioned. Further changes in our banking laws, neeesstated by inc cxigencies of the times. are suggested by common sense. likewise by the governor
 The sweatshop evil is one that recon. mends itself for correction. It IS unfortunate that Connecticut permitted nelghborln8 states to advance in this respect while Il stood still It has thus become the dump ing ground for undesirables forced out of these states whose laws forbid sweatshops. Old age relief. unemployment. county JaIIs all come in for their fair share of attention. So do city charters the state budget. the Merritt highway, seaside parks. rural roads, and the 18th Amendment. Governor Gross is opposed to prohibition. but he does not believe that the state should repeal its enforcement act unless Congress shows a tendency to ignore the mandate of the peo- ple of the nation. In that event he thinks inc enforcement of prohibition should be left strictly to the federal government. States should withdraw their support. He IS cor rect Tn the meantime let the state prepare for the eventuality of repeal or modification by naming commission. as the governor suggests to formulate the states policy.
 Every citizen of Connecticut should acauaint himself with the governors nau' ural address We certainly hope that no legislator will fail to do this It is part of his or her duty to the commonwealth. And in view of the perous times it behooves all of us to cooperate as far as possible with the sound advice given us by an expert in gov ernment our governor.