The New York herald., 1874-11-04
The City Election-A Divided Victory
and . Warning.

The City Election-A Divided Victory
and = Warning.
The result of the city election has been .
victory for Tammany on the Mayor and the
defeat of Tammany on the Register. Mr..
Wickham has plurality of twenty thousand
over Mr. Wales, the next highest candidate,
while General Jones leads Mr.. Hayes about
ten thousand votes. An analysis Of the vote
shows that the democrats on Governor bave
majority Of forty-two thousand, and on the
two democratic candidates tor Mayor, Mr..
Wickham and Mr.. Ottendorfer majority OF
about forty-fve thousand over Mr.. Wales.
General Jones must, therefore, have received
about twenty-eight thousand democratic votes,
or nearly one-third of the whole number cast
by the party. At the same time the united
votes of Wales and Ottendorfer show ma
jority Of about five thousand over MI. Wick
ham. If Tammany Hall is ruled by prudent
and intelligent men these facts are sufficient
to set them thinking, and to temper the en-
thusiasm they will no doubt feel over their
triumph.
For they show very clearly that the city Of
New York is not favorable to the present
local management of the democratic party,
and only needs to be united in opposition to
overthrow the Tammany nominees. If sim
gle candidate acceptable to the people had
been nominated for Mayor, as single candi-
date was nominated for Register, Mr.. Wickham
would have been to-day mourning over q de-
feat in company with Mr.. Hayes. It was the
good fortune of Mr.. Kelly's nominee that the
experience Of Havemeyer had prejudiced the
public mind against q union candidate for
Mayor, and that the republican leaders were
determined to make q strict party nomina-
ton for the chief magistracy of the city, in
the hope that by some lucky chance he might
slip into Office between Mr.. Wickham and Mr..
Ottendorfer. It was the bad fortune Of Mr..
Morrisseys nominee that the opposition found
. candidate upon whom they could unite
and for whom the citizens were satisfied
to VOTE Mr. Wickham has won by the
default of the elements opposed to Tammany,
and his escape is as significant warning to
the democratic leaders as is the defeat of his
associate on the city ticket.
The local nominations have been unques-
tionably source Of weakness to the democ-
racy. While Mr.. Tilden obtained eighty
seven thousand votes In the city, Mr.. Wick
ham received only fitty-seven thousand and
Mr.. Hayes sixty-one thousand. Mr.. Wick
ham is, indeed, shown to be the weaker of
the two latter candidates, receiving four
thousand votes less than Hayes The ques-
ton, therefore, arises whether Mr.. Morrissey
or Mr.. Kelly is the most powerful as Tam
many leader, and the answer, according to
these figures, seems to be in favor OF Mr..
Morrissey. No person can very we'll say, in
the face of the returns, that the nomination
Of Hayes was any more of blunder than the
nomination Of Wickham, for at the polls
the former has beaten the latter. If
the opposition had united against Wick
ham he would have suffered worse defeat
than Hayes has encountered. Tammany
Hall as at present organized is therefore
weakened both by the accidental success of
Mr.. Wickham and by the defeat of Mr. Hayes
If Mr. Kelly and Mr.. Morrissey, who are the
acknowledged heads of the organization-the
Siamese twins of the Wigwam-read the les
son OF the election Alright, they will acknowl-
edge this fact and profit by the experience. 1t
will no doubt be said, in view of the defeat of
Hayes, that Mr.. Kelly was censurable for
yielding the nomination of Hayes to Mr..
Morrisseys pertinacity, and this is in o
great measure true Mr.. Kelly, who had
displayed such an overbearing and stubborn
temper when dealing with the country dele
gates in the State Convention, was hardly ex-
pected to be SO plant and weak in the man.
agement of his own household, and his friends
not unjustly condemned him for yielding his
own judgment to Mr. Morrisseys demands in
the matter of the Registers nomination. But
it may be as Justly claimed that Mr.. Morrissey
was to blame for suffering Mr.. Kelly to force
upon the party the nomination Of Mr.. Wick
ham, who goes into office, like Mr.. Have
meyer, as a minority candidate, and who
showed less strength than Mr.. Hayes at the
polls.
When the opponents Of Tammany Hall
review the figures of the election they will
doubtless regret that they did not unite on
some such candidate as William Butler Dun
can or Royal Phelps for Mayor. In that event
they would have won a substantial victory
As it is, by electing General Jones and casting
a majority, although a divided one, against
Mr.. Wickham, they have proved that they
have the power to defeat Objectionable Tam
many nominees whenever they may feel dis
posed to do so, and that the machine is.
after all, not so terrible an engine as it has
been supposed to be. 1t only requires united
opposition to throw it from the track
Appropriations and the Elections.