The New York herald., 1871-01-05
Tweed or O'Brien for Our Next Gov.
ernOr S-That,s the Question.

cru0rs-Thups tue QuesthOns
5, In these stirring times Of revolution we don't
know what may happen from day to day, and
so we ought to be prepared for anything in the
changes and movements Of dynasties, States
and political parties. The tremendous events
which for the last six months have been
shaking the political and religious systems of
old Europe to their very foundations have
here 30 far diverted the public mind from our
own political affairs that very few of our
readers are aware how far we ourselves are
Gin the midst of a revolution" Take the
single State of New York, however, and look
at the political ''slates" and plans which on
both sides have been knocked on the head
since our November election, and the intelli-
gent reader will begin to comprehend the
revolutionary drift of events here and all
around us.
Before our November election it was thought
at Washington that General Woodford might
be chosen our Governor. Had he been his
election would have added such lofty feather
to the cap Of General Grant as to silence the
mutineers in the republican camp-Sumner,
Schurz, Fenton and all the rsst-while spiking
at once the big gun of Tammany for the aext
Presidency. But with Hoffrnan's triumphant
reelection Sumner becomes domineering in
his audacity against Grant, Schurz becomes
vainglorious over his Missouri bolt, Fenton is
dictatorial in regard to Murphy and our Gus
tom House, and Greeley is so far en-
boldened as to express his doubts
of Grants availability for another term.
Tammany, on the other hand, is SO far exalted
that her unwise provincial organs and camp
followers forthwith proclaim Hoffman the
coming man-our next President, certain and
sure. But an outcry from the fierce demo-
oracle" of the West against the assumptions
of Tammany and the presumptions Of big
Six" soon puts stop to this Hoffman music.
Tammany, however, has sachem, shrewd
and sagacious 'big INDIAN equal to the
emergency, and Mayor Hall is the man. He
sees how the cat is jumping, and he meets the
case at once by authority from the Wigwam in
the withdrawal of Hoffman from the course
and in recognizing the claims of the great
West. This imperial concession mollifes at
once the Western democracy, and ''the Pen
the shabby trick by which Seymour cut out
their champion in the Tammany Convention
of 1868.
But the withdrawal Of Hoffman from the
Presidential track results in a new democratic
slate for New York. Hoffman, they say, is
reserved for the United States Senate in place
of Conkling, when his present term expires
This will be a nice position in which to keep
Hoffman before the people for 1876. Very
good Who, then, is to take the place of Hsf-
again, that 'Big Six" has booked Mr.. Tweed
for this vacancy, with the idea that
Tammany will carry him through SO
triumphantly that, il either Pendeton or
Hendricks or any other democrat in
1872 is elected President, Tweed will be pro-
NOTED to the United States Treasury. This
arrangement looks plausible and promising, but
what is the special claim OF Tweed to the Office
of Governor? The recent donation of ''Big
Six" Of fifty thousand dollars for the benefit Of
Ia that all? No. that is not all. Mr.. Tweed
has the additional claim of a chairman who
has become millionaire in running the Tam
many machine. Is not such a man as Gov
ernor the man to enrich the State, the man to
pay off the State debt of thirty-fve millions
and to leave surplus at the end of two years
in the Treasury? Perhaps; and yet against
Tweed our man is O'Brien, ex-Sherif O'Brien,
the young and benevolent Jimmy O'Brien.
Wherefore? Because, if Tweed has just
given to the poor of his ward fifty thousand
dollars, O'Brien has been giving for three
or four years past to the poor Of his
ward twenty thousand dollars or more every
winter in the substantial cash article of coal,
good anthracite coal And he has made no
fuss about it, for it is only since this fifty thou
sand fare-up of Tweed that O'Brien's charities
have been found out. O'Brien, too, has a
more popular sound than Tweed The name
of O'Brien recalls the patriots and patriotism
of old Ireland, while the name of Tweed just
as naturally leads US to ''tweedledun"
and "tweedledee." Furthermore, O'Brien
is young, fresh, active and vigorous; while
Tweed, they say, is getting heavy, lazy and
slow. From all that we can learn, too, Bren
is far ahead of Tweed in craftsmanship, and
in the same position would beat him as a
political manager out of sight. AS an off-hand
speaker OBrien is said to be brilliant, racy
and sparklingit runs in the breed--while
Tweed is no orator at ALL There is mine OF
good materials in O'Brien still to be developed,
while Tweeds intellectual placer has been
worked down to the hard pan. And yet,
again, if Tweed has the cool calculation OF
The Yankee, O'Brien has the warm enthusiasm
of an Irishman. If the one goes in ''on the
Make" the other goes in for the cause, make
or break If Tweed excels in money OBren