The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1880-06-03
Who Can Garry the pivotal
State" ofNsw York.
A NOTABLE INTERVIEW.
General Faulkner. Chairman Of the
Democratic State Committee,
Speaks. -
r1LDEN's POSI- rxON AND PROS
PECTS. -,
From N. Y. Herald.


in the pivotal State-as New I OK is
understood TO be in the coming nationai
canvass -must be studied wIth consider
able interest at the present time. Ihe
regular Democratic organization IN New
York is formally represented by the state
committee, chosen by the Syracuse con-
vention last month. The chairman OF
that committee is General Lester b.
Faulkner, of Livingston. In certain
sense this gentleman must now be looked
upon as the official leader and spokesman
of bis party in this state. While furnish
ing the Herald during the Legislative
session with various letters and interviews
as to the political situation at the state
capital found it impossible to procure
authoritative statements from representa-
tives of the Tilden or regular Democrat
ic" side of the controversy. These gen
tIemen we're always provokiugly reticent.
was anxious to get at their real inside
movements and policy, General Faux
ner, in bis capacity as chairman of this
important committee, with whom con-
versed here last week, has at length con-
scented 20 break the ice and give to the
Herald an interesting review of the polItl-
cal situation from his standpoint and that
of a majority of his colleagues.
DO you think il Governor illden Is
York; | first inquired.
II have no doubt of it.
SIS not your confidence in such result
affected by the defeat of Governor Robin
son p
Only in the direction of Increasing that
confidence, if you refer to the Robinson
campaign as a whole. There are esse initial
differences 10 the cases. which it is ne dis
paragemeut of Governor Robinson to
point out. Governor Robinson was not
nominated because of belief that he
would be sure of election. No great po'
litical organic alton deserves or can hope
to live long after it has forfeited the re
spect OF the best classes of the community
Governor Robinson had, during forty years
of public service, filed with great honor
and administrative skill every position TO
which he had been called. He was man
OF such known official ability and integrity
that the Republicans had been compelled
to nominate him formerly for comptroller
of the state, though he had not allied him
self with their organization. We had
elected him governor His administration
had been pure, economical, Democratic
and, upon the whole, wise. In pew and
difficult fields he had been harvesting for
the people the reforms Governor Tilden
had planted. Taxes had been amazingly
House" had been driven from the legisia~
ture. bad bills had been mercilessly We
toed, generosity 10 individuals at the
expense of the masses had become inta-
nous as official crime. and Republican
government as administered in our state
had taken stronger hold upon the effec-
ton of the people and the confidence of
the country.
You think, then, that Governor Robin
inson's nomination was wise as we'll as an
absolute necessity
Il certainly do. It was believed, in
view OF these facts, that the democratic
party could better afford defeat by u cor
rupt combination in a single election, if
need be, than to confess an inferiorlty of
character to that of the Executive heads it
had in two memorable campaigns and for
a period of five years chosen for itself and
the people of the State. i said at the
State Convention that the wisdom of Gov :
ernor ROblnson's nomination was not to be
determined by one event, but many,
believe that the fruits of that sacrifice to
principle will be gathered by the demo
cratic nominee for the Presidency. Ii is
with parties as with individuals, A man
may make disreputable gain by abandon
ment OF his principles in one transaction,
but he is ever afterward compelled by
repeated sacrifices to pay dearly for his
temporary success. In that very campaign
10000 Republicans and independents pay
the tribute of their votes to the character
of our party"
but the net result was not successful,
even from your standpoint"
The apparent certainty of defeat so
parayzed large portion of our people at
the outset that the brevity of the canvass
did not suttIce to inspire them with con-
fdence which insures a full poll of the
vote, OF to enable ali the better class OF
our opponents to escape from party Lon
degc under the guidance otse patrioti C
public spirit More than tighty-seven
thousand Democrats fsiled ~ vote.
believe that if the electioD had been the
last instead of the LIST OF Novemb Der Gov
ernor Robinson would have been elected
AS il WIS the federal ADMINISTRATION had
to part with what character renamed to
it after rewarding the thieves of 1876 and
and come into the State to save from
crushing defeat the very man it had
denounced and removed from an inferior
place.
In what you say you seem to mako no
direct reference TO the attitude and per-
formancs OF Tammany Hall?"
L am coming 10 that. One cause Of
weakness in the democracy of this State has
long been its alleged subserviency to that
organization, with its methods of govern
ment and one man power. GovernorsTil-
den's war upon and defiance of Tweed
wrought out for US at last the great
triumph of 1874, though Dix had. in the
meantime. been chosen Governor. The
party's refusal to be the slave of Tweed's
successor will bring us victory in 1880,
though Cornell has meantime been elected,
In 1874 we Won in spite of Governor Dixie
comparatively good administration,
1t will be easier to win ia 1880 in the face
of Governor Oornell's comparatively bad
one"
You seem to regard the threatened
Tammsny detection more lightly than
many others dol"
''In a comparison of the approaching
with the last election there is an important
fact which seems to escape general atten-
ton. Up to 1879 to be member of Tam.
many Hall was in New York and 10 the
popular view to be par excellence demo-
ocrat. The privilege of that organization
alone to represent the great masses of
Democrats in city and county had been
Tor years conceded by successive State
conventions. On tho the overthrow of
Tweed 10 1871 the State Convention at
tempted to reform the system SO as to
include the whOIa narfx, h,k L.