New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-10-03
GERN1N DEMOCRACY.

| There are iu this City some Thirty or Forty
| Thousand voters Of German birth or lineage.
Though they generally vote against u.s. espe-
! cially since Republican Legislatures evinced a
! DISPOSITION to enforce the immemOra inter-
dictiOn by our laws of liquor-seling on Sun
day, we recognize them as "a most intelligent,
! honest and independent portion OF the body
polite. The systematic, wholesale frauds
whereby our elections have been debascd into
vilainOus farces were neither planned nor eX-
cClHcd by Germans. Though from Twenty to
Forty Thousand illegal votes have been cast
(Or Counted) almost solid for the Democratic
tickets Mt most of our recent elections, we are
confident that not one hundred were cast
in any contest either by German hands or
at German instigatOn. In short, the Germans
truly believe in popular rule, and not in gov
ernmcnt created and sustained by repeatcrs and
false counters.
The earlier developments Of gigantic en-
bezzlement and profigacy in our Municipal
administration were ignored or derided by the
well subsidized leaders of the German De-
mOcracy. The masses waited and doubted,
but not long. Very soon, they began to say,
AIf stealing is Democracy, then we are no
"lOnger Democrats" The leaders took the
alarm, for power was plainly slipping from
their grasp. If they hestated much longer,
they saw that they would have nothing to sell.
Upon full consideration, they executed flank
movement which brought them again to the
head of the column. "DO not leave us they
imploringly called to the recoling masses;
eve are your brethren; we are as much OPP
posed to peculatiOn "a you are Down with
the Tammany thieves"
We knew at the time that many of them
| were insincere-that they were professedly
Ring only because nothing else would
save their power. Yet we believed the pressure
behind them 30 strong that they would have to
seem anti-Tammany till after our approach
ing election.
1t now appears that we over estimated their
regard for appearances. They are already ex-
posing the clOven foot which they had swathed
SO eumbrously. In the resolves passed at their
meeting on Sunday to choose delegates to the
Democratic State Convention, these leaders de-
clare that Republicans "have no higher object
Ethan to turn the recent exposures in our City
"to IIarty account that "the Republican
"party of our State 10. the original cause of
"whatever msgOvernment there has been in
"our Gty"-and that, "even The TRIBUNE
~ has become a party tool instead of party
LEADER" by supporting the nominees of the
Republican State Convention.
These gentlemen do not let their followers
know the fast that THE TRIBUNE has for
many years insisted and proclaimed that the
| Augean. stable Of Municipal corruption can
never be effectually cleaned by any political
| party-that this most needful work can only
be achieved by q combination of good men of
all partes-and that, i'll pursuance of this con-
viction we have repeatedly supported anti
Ring Democrats for Municipal Offices and done
our best to elect them. We did this last Fall {:
had the German Democrats then chosen to CO.
operate with lis, Oakley Hall and Connolly
would have been beaten by anti.Ring Demo
Gratis and the tide of Municipal corruption
arrested and rolled back. 1t was the solid vote
Of the German Democrats that gave the Ring
its latest lease of power, when no Republican
candidates for their places were in the field,
aud the only choice was between the Ring and
its Democratic adversaries. Does it, then, be-
CONC these gentlemen 10 talk of TIE TRIBUNE
Us - patty to4l" We gave our support to
Democrat, candidates in order to bead the
RIM. the Herman leaders rejected those can.