The New York herald., 1879-09-17
The Tammany Hydra.

his power, it is also probable that Mr..
Kelly is committing political suicide. But
there is no reason to believe that he loses
anything by his mutiny which he would
not have lost by submission. Mr.. Kelly has
some of the wisdom of the serpent, though
very little of the harmlessness of the dove.
His serpent-wisdom is of the same order as
that exercised by the snakes of ireland in
the remote period when the bright EN-
erald Isle still had snakes. When the ven-
Grated st. Patrick came to the island all
the serpents, large and small, had wisdom
enough to know that they were doomed,
but too much pride of character to antici-
pate the good-natured capitulation of
Captain Scotts famous coon. AS the
truth-telling ballad narrates, "the beasts
committed suicide to save themselves
from slaughter" Mr.. Kelly has copied
the wisdom of the renowned Irish
snakes and his copy is an improve
ment on the original, since it is not
recorded that those serpents employed their
fangs on the exterminating saint while in
ficting justice upon themselves.
While we are on the subject of snakes
we may, perhaps, be pardoned for pursuing
this interesting branch of natural history
little further, still following the veracious
accounts transmitted by the poets and fab
ulists Laying out Of view his subtle
snakeshp who tempted and misled our
primal mother, the most remarkable men,
Der of that ancient family was the we'll
known Lern9an Hydra, more famous in
classical times than the veritable sea SER
pent in our own. All the celebrated SER
pents are typical, even including the one of
which the mother of Alexander the Great
dreamed as being the father Of her un-
born child. The Hydra which Hercules
had SO much difficulty in subduing was
type, and among all its applications we
doubt if any was more apt than the one
which we are about to suggest. The true
antitype of the famous Hydra is Tammany.
You may lop off, one after another, the heads
of this modern hydra, but new ones i'm
mediately sprout forth in their place. How
ever many heads you decapitate this
political snake is only ''scotched but not
killed" When all the heads of the old
Tammany Ring were crushed it was
expected that the monster would die,
but it proved to have vitality
like that of the Hydra The Tammany
monster did not die, but put forth new
heads to supply the place of those which
had become defunct. When Mr.. Kelly and
Mr.. Schell and Mr.. Clinton and the rest Of
the last crop OF heads are struck off and roll
into the dirty marsh which is the habitat of
this modern hydra, fresh crop of heads
will shoot forth, named Tilden and Cooper
and Etcetera. Mr.. Tilden and his satellites
would be only too glad to step into the places
of Mr.. Kelly and his satellites. If Boss
Kelly is flung out and Boss Tilden comes
in there will be a fiinging up of Tammany
caps, with parody on the shout at the de-
mise of monarch and the accession of his
successor:-"T King is dead; long live
the Kngv'
| An inquiry into the sources of this mex
tinguishable vitality of the Tammany
hydra makes interesting political prob
lem. We can recall nothing in politics
so fitted to excite amazement as the
survival of Tammany after the downfall
and infamy of the old Tweed Ring. 1t was
cratic party to destroy Tammany, root and
branch, to abolish both the name and the
sting, that it was astonishing to see the
hydra survive and put forth new heads.
Even apart from the disgrace and scandal
which Tammany had brought upon the
party, the kind of dictatorship it practised
was SO thoroughly undemocratic, SO SUBJ
varciva IF tbe free action of fba raorla
that the party should have emancipated
itself from such tyranny without the
powerful incentive of shame and humili-
alton. And yet the monster was per-
mitted to live and to sprout forth new
heads.
Whence does the Tammany hydra derive
this irrepressible vitality? How does it
happen that an organization which has
covered the party with disgrace, which has
been the odious instrument of hideous and
revolving corruption, which is perpetual
obstruction to democratic unity, which is
inconsistent with every democratic prin-
ciple, survives triumphant through all
changes of leadership?
Surprising and shocking as this political
phenomenon may appear, its explanation is
easily found. The reason why there is
Tammany in New York. although there is
nothing equivalent in the politics of any
other great American city, lies in the fact
that in no other of our great cities is there
so prodigious disproportion in the local
strength OF the two political parties. Any
person who will take the trouble to look
through the election returns, for the last
ten or twenty years, OF Philadelphia, Gin
cinnati, Chicago, Boston and the chief
cities in other States, will find that the two
political parties in them are much more
evenly balanced than in the city of New
York, and that when in any of these cities
one party happens to be preponderant for