The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-09-16
Our New York Letter.
The Row Among the Democracy-Cor-
nells Election Assured-The Tide Set
ting Strongly Towards Republicenism.
NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 1875

New YORK, Sept. 10, 1879.
There has been no such bitter feud among
the Democracy since the old days of Hunker
and Barnburners, Hards and Softs, as agitates
the party in New York to-day. Those who
suppose it will blow over, or that the dissen-
sions will be harmonized, mistake, l think,
entirely the depth and earnestness of the hos
tility which the followers of Tammany enter
tain towards Gov. Robinson and Ex-Governor
Tilden. OF course it is not an easy matter to
induce Democrat to slip out of the ranks,
even for a single occasion, and under the stinl-
uus of great provocation. The members of
the party have been in the habit of ''going it
pnnd an their lives. Every Presidential
fight they laun- generation has been
opened with an apology for, and a recantation
of, the erroneous opinions they held during the
preceding campaign. But the naive confession
of the leaders that they had hitherto been
wrong every time never seems to have shaken
the confidence of the rank and file that they
had got all right at last Now, however, the
difficulties are of long standing and deep
rooted. They relate not to differences in re-
spect of measures, but to questions of persons
and patronage. Gov. Robinson is the repre-
sentative of Tildenism. He has for q long
time been making free use of the official per-
quisites at his disposal to strengthen tie
cause of his chief. This was peculiarly offen-
sive to the Anti-Tilden faction, even when it
was confined to the selection of adherents of
Tilden for places that were actually vacant
But when it came to preferring charges of Off
cial delinquency against one set of Democrats
and making those charges pretexts for turning
out the accused parties and filling their posts
with more pliable functionaries, the grievance
grew intolerable. The wrath of the Tammany
men rose to an uncomfortable pitch when
Gumbleton was pried out of the County
Clerks office with q jimmy and crowbar, and
Thompson was squeezed through the battered
door at late hour of night. Gumbleton
to be sure was declared to have taken illegal
fees perhaps he did; but it was not pretended
that he had done anything which was contrary
to the practice of the Office for all time thereto
fore; the same accusations were made against
other persons occupying lucrative stations, and
they were as fully sustained, but the penalties
were only enforced in this one instance, and
the popular idea is that the other culprits es-
capped election by pledging themselves not to
train any longer among the opponents of
Tilden.
The combination last fall between the Re-
publcans and portion of the Democrats was
a>severe blow to Tammanv, and although Til
den was not openly identified with the coali-
ton, evidences were not wanting that it had
his hearty sympathy. After Mr.. Cooper was
elected and inaugurated there was no longer
any room for doubt on the matter. 1t became
entirely plain very soon that all the municipal
patronage which did not belong absolutely to
the Republicans was to be employed to pro-
mote the ambitious projects of the great Re-
former of Gramercy Park. The scheme failed
through the inability of the Mayor to get his
mountainous confirmed by the Board of Alder
men. The Tammsny members of the Board
voted for the Republican candidates, and they
were duly installed. The anti-Tammany NOM
inatiors were never acted upon and the old in
cumbents hold over. By way of obtaining
some reparation for this mishap, the Mayor set
about getting rid of the Tammany men,
bers of the Police Board. This he couldn't do
without the &C operation of the Governor. The
first object of attack was Nichols and he was
dismissed with very little ceremony Then
dead set was made for the place of Mr.. Wheel
er, one of the Republican members. Here the
Courts interposed and prevented the thing
from being done. AT this juncture it was ne
cessary to resort to bold course. The APP
pointments of inspectors of election had to be
made within a specified time, and Wheelers
case was hung up by judicial decision so that
it could not be acted upon in season. To sur
mount this obstacle Gen. Smith, the President
of the Police Board, against whom allegations
had been filed months before with the Govern
or, but never acted upon, was suddenly de-
posed. and a faithful servitor of the Tilden
clique substituted
These proceedings the Tanmany men de-
nounced as outrages. They certainly did sa-
vor of INSCRIPTIONS partisanship besides be-
ing arbitrary and aggressive. Politicians ale
popularly supposed to be superior to the weak
ness of allowing any nice moral perceptions to
stand in the way of the accomplishment of
their desires But Mayor Cooper and Gov
Robinson had been thought to be very upright
and conscientious men. 1t was a surprise and
a shock undoubtedly to those friends of theirs
who knew them in unofficial life and thought
well of them, to find them consenting to lend
themselves to extremely questionable practices
for the sake of giving aid to the aspirations of
a seeker after the Presidency 1t is barely pos
sbe they may both have worked themselves
into the belief that Mr.. Nichols and Mr.. Smith
deserved removal; but the manner in which |
they were removed furnishes ground for the |
suspicion that they were sacrificed solely be-