New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-08-09

of corrupt politics and bad government. This
seems to be the plan of Mr.. Dennis kearney,
the born political economist philosopher
and statesman, who is the present SEN
sation in Massachusetts, and we observe that
by one newspaper at least, this part OF his
programme, or his platform, or whatever ne
calls his fux of prOfane and denunciatory dis
course, is singled out as worthy OF COM
mendation. His speech in this regard Is
called "a bold and healthy protest against
"machine politics." aud he is credited on
this account with having political gumption."
But mere profano denunciation is not bold"
though il may sound So nor is flatulonce gen.
orally esteemed sign of health. Promiscuous
and sweeping cussing" of everything that
is. NAV be sign az political gumption" in
Massachusetts wei DO not know. The special
clause In the orator'A remarkable harangue which
calls out such wGrni praise is that in which he
said: ave barbaIians out West choose our
chairman after the meeting has begun; we
" don't have him fixed beforehand.n And that,
we take it, is the model for our imitation If
we would get rid of machine politics. Nothing
must be "fixed beforehand" everything must
be spontaneous Well, it must be confessed
that this strikes at the root of the matter;
this certainly would destroy machine poll
tics and do away with the machine. Only
it occurs to us that in every such
meeting some one person must call the
meeting to Order--or doesn't Mr.. Kearney
propose to have any order land then some
one must nominate q chairman. The person
who does this must have a" fixed his mind
upon n suitable person beforehand, and we
h,,t hot ouch fat lpaVpg
him open to the same objection that runs
against machine politicians It's machinery
whichever way you take 1t; the machinery OF
organization. The objection to machine politics,
as we understand it, is to the control OF
the organization of such a meeting as the
orator refers to by ring of machine politi-
clans. The remedy he proposes is to reduce
the number of engineers and have one man
run the machine instead of several.
This would do very well if we could always
be sure that Mr.. Dennis Kearney, or some other
born statesman who is known to be incOr-
ruptible, could be everywhere at the same
time, and prevent sef-seeking and mercenary
persons from running the machine by presid-
ing and running it himself But this we can
not have in the nature Of things. So that unless
we do away with political meetings, caucuses
and conventions altogether, and leave politics
to run themselves, we do not see how we
are going to get along without some kind OF
machinery in politics. Mr. Keamey's plan for
disestablishng the machine goes much further
than the plan of the present Administration,
about which there was so much talk
and so many proclamatiOns year or
more ago. And yet we are not prepared
to deny absolutely that his plan is " a bold
"and healthy protest against machine poll
"hcs." man whose house was infested with
bugs might enter a bold and healthy protest
against bugs by burning down the house, and he
might take great comfort in being pat
ted on the back and told he had
shown "gumphon" by some enthusi-
asst on the subject of bugs but
his example would not be likely to find mauJ
imitators in intelligent communities. If Mr..
Kearney should ever catch up with what he
says and find out what he means, we presume
be will discover that his grievance is not
against the machine, but those who run it, and
that even he could not get along without il If
the milennial day should arrive tomorrow
when the regulation of the affairs of the uni
verse should be intrusted 10 his infallible
wisdom. But we don't suppose that either he
or his newspaper admirer viii ever find out
that blasphemy isn't "bOld and healthy" or
that rant isn't gumpdOn."