XII

MISCELLANEOUS

FRANCHISE TAX APPRAISERS' FEES

Letter to Martin H. Glynn, State Comptroller, Respecting the Collection of the Transfer Tax

STATE OF NEW YORK

EXECUTIVE CHAMBER

Albany, January 8, 1907

Hon. MARTIN H. GLYNN, State Comptroller, Albany, N. Y.: MY DEAR SIR.— In order that I may be advised of the precise facts as a basis for recommendations to the Legislature, I should be glad to receive at your earliest convenience a detailed statement showing the amounts expended. during the past ten years (exclusive of county treasurer's fees, appraiser's salaries and expenses incident to appraisement), in connection with the collection of the tax on transfers of decedent's estates, whether for counsel fees, or otherwise.

I remain

Very respectfully yours (Signed)

CHARLES E. HUGHES

Responsibiliy of Local Officials

Governor Hughes received many inquiries with regard to his attitude toward local officers charged with the enforcement of the law. On March 6, 1907, the Governor made the following statement:

"I am in receipt of many letters from various parts of the State with regard to violations of law. They are of various degrees of importance. Many of them are anonymous. They form a large part of my mail, the mere examination of which consumes an enormous amount of time. Whenever such a communication, apparently from a responsible source, is sufficiently specific, it is my practice to refer it to the local authority responsible for the enforcement of the law. I assume that the officers to whose attention such matters are brought will do their duty according to the facts of the particular case.

'Local officers elected by the people are responsible to the people. My official relation to them is that I am vested by the Constitution and statutes with the power of removal where charges sufficient to warrant that course are sustained after due hearing. Such a matter, therefore, properly comes before me only upon the presentation of charges accompanied by such specifications and evidence as would warrant me in taking action."

Statement by the Governor Regarding General Roe

Albany, N. Y., April 25, 1907.

"I greatly regret that statements have been made in the public press to the effect that General Roe was ignored or his recommendations overruled in the orders recently issued relating to a detail of a portion of the National Guard.

“In fact, the action finally taken was after conference with General Roe, and was in accordance with his own recommendations as expressed in his letter.

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The published statements to which I have referred are unjust, and it is only fair to say that there was entire harmony as to the conclusion reached, and there is no friction. between General Roe and myself."

ONEIDA INDIAN LANDS

Letter to the Attorney-General Regarding a Petition of the Oneida Indians

Hon. WILLIAM SCHUYLER JACKSON, Attorney-General, State of New York, Albany, N. Y.:

SIR.— I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your communication under date of the 28th instant, giving the results of your examination into the matter of the petition filed with me by chiefs of the Oneida Indians and stating that in your opinion if the band is dispossessed under a sale in the pending suit to which you refer, that act would constitute a v10lation of Indian rights.

In view of this conclusion I approve of the course you propose, that is to say, of the presentation by you of the facts to the Supreme Court.

Hon. THEODORE A. BINGHAM, Police Commissioner of the City of New York, New York City:

SIR. In view of the vast importance to the community of having elections honestly conducted, I request you to use all the means at your command to secure the enforcement of the law in connection with the coming election.

While the State Superintendent of Elections for the Metropolitan Elections District is vested with large powers and corresponding responsibilities, the department of which you are the responsible head also has its obligations, the due discharge of which is essential to protect our citizens from the corrupt perversion of our election machinery.

I, therefore, ask you, by appropriate instructions to the police force and supervision of the exercise of their powers, to use your best efforts to secure an honest election on Tuesday and the apprehension of violators of the law.

Very respectfully yours

(Signed)

CHARLES E. HUGHES

Commissioners on Banks and Trust Companies

Albany, November 13, 1907

Governor Hughes to-night gave out the following letter: Messrs. A. BARTON HEPBURN, EDWIN S. MARSTON, EDWARD W. SHELDON, ALGERNON S. FRISSELL, STEPHEN BAKER and ANDREW MILLS, New York City, N. Y.:

GENTLEMEN. In view of recent events it has seemed to me desirable that information and recommendations should be obtained from men who, by virtue of long experience and expert knowledge, are in a position to judge of the measures which may be desirable to safeguard the interests of our citizens by promoting the security of financial institutions organized under the laws of the State and by preventing to the fullest extent possible the recurrence of disturbances such as we have lately witnessed.

For this purpose I have no authority to create or authorize any State obligation. But for my own guidance and for the benefit of the people of the State I deem it both proper and important that at as early a date as possible,