WHIPPING POST BILL PASSED IN ALBANY

Cortland Evening Standard, Thursday, March 7, 1895.

LEGISLATIVE WORK.

Gerry Whipping Post Bill Passes the Senate Unanimously.

   ALBANY, March 7.—The Gerry whipping post bill passed the senate without a dissenting vote.

   The bill received 28 affirmative votes. It provides that a male person convicted of  indecent assault or felony, consisting of the infliction of physical pain upon a female or of a child of either sex under 16 years, may, in addition to the punishment now prescribed by law, have inflicted corporal punishment. The sentence shall specify the number of strokes, not to exceed the number of 40, to be laid upon the bare back. Such punishment shall be inflicted by an officer of the prison within the prison inclosure and in the presence of a physician, but no other person.

   In the house, by unanimous consent, the bill went to third reading as soon as received and will be passed this week.

   The committee on finance reported favorably several nominations, which were at once confirmed. Among them were those for managers of the Buffalo state hospital; as civil service commissioner, Silas W. Burt.

   The bill changing the name of the village of Havana to Montour Falls came over from the assembly amended.

   On the motion to concur in the amendments, Senator Cantor said that Havana was the birthplace of a distinguished senator, Hon. D. B. Hill, and he thought it a shame to change the name. He voted no, but the bill passed, no one else voting with him.

   Senator Mullin, from the special Troy elections investigation committee, presented the report. It was made a special order for Monday night, when Senators Guy and O'Sullivan will present the minority report.

   Bills passed:

   Senator Smelzer's, requiring governors of state hospitals to hold bodies of patients 48 hours for relatives to claim them.

   Senator O'Connor's, allowing supreme court judges to issue injunctions against state officers in absence of the general term.

   Mr. Husted's, appropriating $75,000 for improvements to Sing Sing prison.

   Mr. Hamilton's, providing for a second deputy secretary of state; no additional salary.

   Adjourned.

In the Assembly.

   Mr. Howe's bill, requiring the erection of fire escapes on buildings used as hospitals or asylums for the insane, was passed in the assembly.

   Senator O'Connor's corporal punishment bill was received from the senate. The bill went to third reading and the house adjourned.

Signed by Governor Morton.

   ALBANY, March 7.—Governor Morton has signed:

   Chapter 78—Mr. Stewart's bill, amending the act governing the college land script fund.

   Chapter 79—Permitting the people of the state at the fall election to vote on the question of expending $9,000,000 for canal improvement.

Put Off the Assembly Floor.

   ALBANY, N. Y., March 7.—Commodore Elbridge T. Gerry of New York City was ordered put off the assembly floor in open session by Speaker [Hamilton] Fish this morning. Mr. Gerry, as president of the Children's society in New York City is here in the interest of the whipping post bill, which was introduced at his request. The bill provides for the paddling of persons assaulting children under 16 years of age.

PAGE TWO—EDITORIALS.

The Situation.

   It always pains us to differ with our friends on any matter of public interest, and especially on the question of the best method of enforcing the law. The utterances of The STANDARD have always been in favor of the enforcement of law, and we believe there has never been a subscription paper circulated to raise funds to aid in this work by private effort which we have not signed. We are in favor to-day of using every legitimate means to see that violations of the liquor law are ferreted out and punished. The all important question is as to what are the best means for this purpose, and how they are to be applied.

   We said nothing about the issues involved in the coming village election till all the tickets were placed in the field. A careful survey of the situation then led us to believe that only one of two results would be reached—either the straight Democratic or the straight Republican ticket was to be elected. Of the two we are very frank to say that we prefer the Republican. It is only a short time since Democratic town conventions in this town were nominating license excise commissioners and making the question of license or no-license a party issue. The Republican majority in this village is not so large as to stand any very heavy reduction without disappearing entirely. Would even the most radical temperance man be pleased, as a result of the citizens' movement, to see the village board controlled by out-and-out license Democrats?

   This is on the theory that the village board is the proper medium through which to enforce the no-license laws. In the first place we do not believe the board could do this without funds provided for the purpose. A law enacted without any appropriation for carrying it out is a dead letter. We are in favor of a special appropriation for this purpose, and we do not believe that Messrs. Reid and Smith, the Republican nominees for trustees, in view of their public declarations, can do otherwise than vote to submit the question of making such an appropriation to the people at a special election provided such submission is asked for by any considerable number of our citizens.

   We believe, however, that any attempt to make the board of village trustees and the village president a board of prosecutors to hale offenders against the law before a police justice's jury will end only in failure of justice, A justice's jury is almost certain to be made up of hangers on about saloons or sympathizers with them, and its verdicts are almost equally certain to be in favor of the offenders. It is notorious that good citizens, men of intelligence and presumably law-abiding and favoring the enforcement of law, dodge service on a justice's jury in every way they can—and ways are numerous and easy. The STANDARD said long ago that attempts to prosecute violators of the liquor law in justices' courts were usually utterly futile, and it has not changed its mind. Witness the last proceeding of the kind before a jury in Justice Bull's court. The friends of law in the town ought to recognize this fact without any argument.

   The only place where, in our opinion, proceedings of this kind can be conducted with any hope of success is before a grand jury, where an indictment can be secured, and then by trial in a court of record before a petit jury made up of citizens of character and standing. When facts or evidence are brought to the attention of the district attorney showing violations of the liquor law, it is his duty to present the matter to the grand jury. He is elected and paid for this special purpose and the expenses attending proceedings instituted by him are also provided for. Judging from past results in this village a trustee or president would play the fool if he took on himself the work of attempting to prosecute a violator of the liquor law in police justice's court, and we believe that any theory of action which makes the village board detectives and prosecuting attorneys before a police justice is a most mistaken one.

   We do believe most thoroughly, however, that means should be provided by which special police or detectives could be employed at the village expense to ferret out violations of the liquor law and present the evidence to the district attorney, to be laid before the grand jury. No possible legal objection could be raised to this. If the village can employ four policemen or detectives it can employ eight or twelve, and the people should provide the means to pay them and demand that they be set at work.

   Whatever errors President Tisdale may have committed he was certainly not in error in taking the position that he was not a detective. Does Mayor Strong, the new reform mayor of New York city, act in this capacity? Does he in fact, or can he, do anything in matters of violation of law except when the facts are presented to him to lay them before the district attorney for action?

   It is the duty of every citizen to interest himself in the enforcement of law. We would have been glad to see party tickets left out of the field entirely in this election and the issue made solely on the enforcement of law, but this was not to be. The Democratic party put a full ticket in the field with the expressed hope and determination of electing it because of the voters whom the citizens' movement would be apt to draw off from the Republicans. We prefer to see the Republican village ticket rather than the Democratic elected, and we cannot see any other choice. Without a special fund to draw on, no village board, in our opinion, however strongly temperance, could do much towards the enforcement of law. Mr. Reid and Mr. Smith stand pledged to submit the question of such an appropriation to the people, if it is desired, and to expend it according to the directions of the charter if raised, and the district attorney also stands ready to do his duty. Certainly here are the means for enforcing the law, if only they are used.

A Faithful Carrier.

   Probably there is no carrier of the STANDARD that is prouder in the discharge of his duty than the fine dog which belongs to Mr. L. Greenwood who lives on the top of McGrawville hill. Mr. Greenwood is a subscriber for the daily STANDARD which is taken from Cortland by Mr. H. Wood, driver of the McGrawville stage. His dog knows the tinkle of the bells upon the stage team and each evening as he hears them coming up the hill, without waiting for any bidding, he stations himself at the side of the road in front of the house. Mr. Wood stops, the dog places his fore paws on the side of the stage and receives the paper in his mouth. Then with head and tail on high and majestic step he walks back to the house with the paper.

BREVITIES.

   — The Loyal circle of King's Daughters meet with Mrs. A. M. Johnson, 54 N. Main-st., on Friday, March 8, at 2:30 P. M.

   —John Stevens paid a fine of three dollars for public intoxication in police court this morning. Two tramps secured lodging.

   —A meeting of the managers of the hospital will be held Saturday, March 9, at 3 P. M. at the home of Mrs. F. O.  Hyatt, 182 S. Main-st.

   —The town board met at 10 o'clock this morning. They were the guests of Mr. E. C. Rindge at dinner to-day at his home on his stock farm.

   —Rev. G. W. Powell, M. D., of Scranton, Pa., for several years a noted lecturer on the English platform, will preach at the Universalist church next Sunday.

   —The last two engines for the power house of the Cortland and Homer Traction Co., arrived from Watertown today and will soon be set up at the power house.

   —The First ward Republicans will hold a meeting in Attorney N. L. Miller's office at 7:30 o'clock to-morrow night. Every First ward Republican is requested to be present.

   —Auburn went Republican on Tuesday by large majorities. For the first time in over twenty years says the Democratic Auburn Bulletin, every office in the city will now be held by a Republican.

   —The Woman's edition of the Cortland STANDARD issued from that office on Feb. 22 was a grand success in every way, The literary talent displayed by the editorial staff was exceptionally fine, and about $1,000 was cleared.—Dryden Herald.

   —The Ladies' Aid society of the Memorial Baptist chapel gave a musical and literary entertainment last evening at the chapel [Tompkins St.] which was a decided success. The music and recitations were of a fine order and much praise is due to the management.

   —Car No. 7 of the electric road has been completely wired for use by electricity and has made its trial trip. It is all ready for use on the Homer and Groton Aves. route and on the D., L. & W. station route. It will doubtless be running in a very few days.

   —The Myers ballot machine at the Geneva town meeting tangled itself so that little more than one-half the full vote was polled yesterday. The great delay attendant upon use of this complicated contrivance has compelled a continuance of election through a second day. Voting in Geneva is going on today as it did yesterday.—Ithaca Journal, Wednesday.

Americans for America.

   The fourth entertainment of the Normal course which was held last evening was a lecture by Dr. Madison G. Peters of New York upon the subject, "Americans for America." An enthusiastic audience was present and listened with the closest attention to the lecture throughout.

   Mr. Peters spoke at length upon the effects of unrestricted immigration upon the condition of our country and maintained the time has come for unrestricted immigration to cease.

   To this cause more than any other is due the greater part of the labor troubles of the present time. The temperance question, also would soon be solved by a proper restriction of immigration.

   Ballot reform, the public school system and the taxation of church property were other questions which received the attention of the speaker. The public school system is the great assimilative organ of the body politic. It is upon the American schools that we must rely for making American citizens. Foes of the public schools are foes of the American government.

   The manner of the speaker was earnest and impressive and the lecture was full of patriotic sentiment and incentives to good citizenship.