New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-11-06
AFTER THE RATTLE.

AFTER THE BATTLE.
In the opening of our late canvass, we as
sured our rural friends that this City and its
suburbs would make all the gain that was neces-
sary to restore Republican ascendency IN the
State if the rural districts would simply hold
their own and this assurance has been made
good. Last FALL Seymour had 72,74 majority
in these two Counties of New-YOrk and Kings,
where Nelson has now barely more than
5O,0O0-far less than the number by which
Seymour was beaten in all the rest OF the
State. Hoffman had in these two counties Gas
returned) 1920 majority, and was beaten in
the rest of the State by 56474 majority. If,
then, our friends above Harlem Bridge had
only lost 10000 of their last years majority,
we should have carried the State.
Our gain here was made in defiance of
frauds as mOnstrOus and shameless as those
which the Editor of The World saw practiced
at our polls last year. and which Che testifies)
were the work of VIM. NJ. Tweed and Oakley
Hall. Not one vote short of $4,000 were fraud
ulently cast at our late election, mainly by
organized and well paid gangs of "repeaters,"
some of whom were so audaciOus as to vote
several times at the same poll. Purge the re-
turns of the votes thus villainOusly fabricated,
and Franz Sigel is elected Secretary of State
by more than Ten Thousand majority.
Our Republican vote is the largest we ever
polled in the two cities, save at the last Presi
dental election; Sigel having received thOus-
ands more than President Lincoln or Gov.
FentOn ever did. We drew it out in spite of
general apathy, of the hopelessness of local
success and of our having some local candi-
dates fOisted upon us who were enough to turn
the stomach of horse. We had to bear up
against the fact that the Tammany Ring has
bought and owns a number of our most active
and prominent Republican managers, who will
not leave us because they can better earn their
wages by sticking to us and Obstreperously
bowling "No Surrender" "NO bargains !"
keep the flag flying "a clean ticket !" &c,
&c. If we could have Endorsed and
run the anti ammany Democratic local ticket.
distinctly on the ground of prefeTing
Democrats who had MT yet been caught steal
ing to those who had MT for years been known
to do anything else, and thus.offered our people
a prospect of beating the Tammany Ring, we
believe thousands of our stay -at-homes could
have been drawn out to vote our State Ticket.
But the Ring has hitherto needed, and bought
and used and paid for, certain nominal Re-
publicans, and these would MT let us do what
would have given us the best chance of sue
cess so we did what We could.
There is much that explains, if it does not
excuse, the apathy of our rural brethren.
They had to throttle the corrupt legislators
who for years have been trading upon and
trading away the good name of the Republi-
can party; and publication, though q neces-
sary, is seldom joyous, exhilarating fattening
process. On the contrary, the fat refusal to
nominate, distinctly on the assumption that
they were thieves nine-tenths of the corrupt
rascas who disgraced us at Albany last
Winter, naturally cost US good many
votes; but to have attempted to whitewash and
uphold them would have cost us far more.
They would not, as a body, get out of the
way, so they had to be kicked out and they
revenged themselves on our ticket generally,
but especially on our candidate for Comp
troller, whom they held especially responsible
for their exposure and downfall. If it was a
mistake to nominate him under the crcum-
stances, we beg leave to say that we did not
favor nor approve such nomination.
Almost every County had its regiment of
soreheads, who were impelled to stay at home
or go wrong to avenge some real or imaginary
affront or grievance. 1t was in vain that we
urged these ito bolt or scratch, if they must
(fOr we believe in. boiling and scratching as
often wholesome and sometimes necessary
correctives of grayer evils)--the great mass
of them were bent on q great revenge; and
they took it. We return especial thanks to
those who, feeling wolfsh against one Horace
Greeley, scratched his name off their ballots,
and voted the rest of the Republican ticket,
(or most of it) like gentlemen. These know
what they are about, and how to be yindictive
to some purpose. and we honor their sagacity
and pluck. But for the poor creatures who refused
to vote at all, because they disliked some one
Republican candidate = still more. for those
pseudo philanthropists, reformers, Quakers, ETC.,
who pretend to deprecate the persecution and
injustice which the unhappy Blacks have too
long endured, yet who. on one frivolous pTetext