The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-06-11
A Dangerous political Flirtation.


mer's visit TO the beer shop Of Mr. Justus
Schwab, the foremost leader of the Amerl-
can Comm unists, has a serious as well MS
comic side. The comic side is, indeed,
ridiculous enough. If Mr.. Dorsheimer were
politician of the same stripe as an average
New York alderman nothing would be
thought Of his visit to the lager beer saloon
of Justus Schwab. But the Lieutenant
Governor is one OF the most fastldl-
Gus men alive. From the time ne
came back to Buffalo as graduate OF
Harvard he has been puffed up with
social and literary pride which has made
him butt of good-natured derision by the
friends who most esteemed him. He IS the
last man in the world TO colleague with an
upstart adventurer like Justus Schwab, ex-
cept for some reason which overmasters his
ordinary social habitudes. By aspiration
at least Mr. Dorsheimer belongs to
the kid-gloved social aristocracy. Any
sympathy which no may profess with the
class of which Mr.. Justus Schwab is the
champion is not genuine, but poiltl-
cal atfectation put on for the occasion.
Mr.. Dorsheimer's social pride is his
strongest impulse. Even his love OF
Office is subordinate to that; for he
values Office only for the social dis
tinction it gives him. A sincere man
like Schwab is entitled to despise m in
sincere man like Dorsheimer, who con-
descends to coquctte with him in the hope
OF playing upon his vanity and making
him political tool. In justice to Schwab
it must be said that he was shrewd enough
to penetrate Mr.. Dorsheimer's motive and
repel his advances.
Mr. Dorsheimer.s ridiculous prostitution
of high social pretensions in seeking and
cultivating the keeper OF small lager beer
shop on the east side OF the city is at least
piquant Only people who know him well
can appreciate this ludicrous side OF his adj
venture. 1t is as if Daniel Webster had
sung negro melodies and jumped Jim
Crow to captivate the darkies on
Southern plantation. The visit to
Schwab would have become any other
politician better than the portly, the fas-
tidious, the socially exquisite Lieutenant
Governor Of New York. Among the young
ladies Of Buffalo, when he had freshly re-
turned from Harvard and put on sublime
airs in society, he was called, in tone
which wavered between admiration and de-
rison, ''the handsome Mr.. Dorsheimer,"
and sometimes .'the magnificent Mr.
Dorsheimer !" and among his male
acquaintance. who esteemed while they
slyly ridiculed him, his literary vanity was
the theme Of many pleasant jest. He had
written for the Atlantic Monthly pleasant
and.really very clever article on Aaron Burr,
which he was always ready to lay wager
that he could repeat verbatim to indulgent
friends who had the courtesy to be bored.
We allude to those juvenile and par
donablo weaknesses merely to indicate
the turn of the magnificent MI.
Dorsheimer's mind and to show how
alien it is to his native instincts to visit
and caress socialist of the standing Of
Justus Schwab. Contact with that kind Of
people is repulsive to oil the tendencies of
Mr.. Dorsheimer's nature, and when he vol
unfairly seeks it his motives are open to sus-
picion It is too clear that he does not
court such society because it is congenial,
but only because he wishes to turn it to po-
litical account.
We publish this morning two interviews
on the subject of this singular visit--one
with Comptroller Kelly, who, in spite Of
occasional mistakes, always talks like a man
of sense, or at least never talks Eighty nom
III Al.
Governor himself 1t is apparent enough
that Mr.. Kelly thinks that the Lieu
tenant Governor was fantastic and foolish
in running after Schwab; but having cap
tured Dorsheimer from the Tilden ranks
the Comptroller skilfully excuses him for
the cscapade, which the charitable Comp
troller attributes to lively curiosity. The
weak point in this explanation is that the
elegant Mr.. Dorsheimers curiosity would
never have led him in that direction. He
is more interested in the latest freaks
Of fashion than in anything which
Justus Schwab could tell him. But
Mr.. Kelly's charitable excuses for the eccen-
tricity of the Lieutenant Governor IRE re-
assuring as proving that the political mas
ter of MIR. Dorsheimer holds Schwab and
his followers in proper contempt. Mr..
Kelly could not very we'll express his opin-
ion that Dorsheimer has made dom
key Of himself in running after
Schwab, but his shrewd attempt to
explain away the Significance of the
visit indicates his opinion that it was a
mistake. When he says that there was no
difficulty in learning the purposes and
strength OF the Communist movement.
without personal visit to Schwab
he conveys an indirect rebuke to the
Lieutenant Governor, who compromised
himself by seeking this information
in personal visit to his notorious
lager beer saloon. Comptroller Kelly,
who has none Of Mr.. Dorsheimer's social