New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-12-15
not be greatly feared SO long as Kelly and III
don live to fight.
plTcgJyG ZIP A MUD MACHINE.

PATCHING UP A MUD MhCHINE.
just now il is the "Young Mems Demo-
cratic Club" of this city, that has shoudereu
the task of reforming the Democratic party.
The names of many prominent and lnfuential
younc Democrats may be found in the llst OF
members. They seem to be giving GOOD
deal of time to the subject, and have the
appearance of being very much III earnest III
their EXPRESSED desire TO purify politics ana
promote reform. Their zeal Is quite manifest
and we have no disposition to question their
sincerity. There is wisdom, too, IN the pohcy
which directs n reform movement t1Va'u
the Democratic party, where IL Is mos'
needed, and does not expcnd its force
in an attempt to reform the Government
bv putting wholly UNIFORMED and unfe-
generate party i'll possession OF the OFFICES
The chief objection to il is its limited scope
Instead of striking at the principles, or lack
of principle the Inconsistencies OF doctrine con-
tradlctions of creed or demOraliziDg practices
of the party, 1t aims apparently at nothing
higher than the details of organization ana
the methods of conducting primaries. Here
IS party Just emerged from cam
nothing that was not low, grovelling and
base nothing that did not drive away hon
orable men from its support and concenp We
in solid opposition the decency, respecta-
bility and intelligence of the country. Onc
would suppose that a reform movement tol-
lowing such campaign wou!d propose
somewhat wider scope than tinkering with
the details of organization and the manage
ment of primaries.
These gentlemen fail to comprehend the
cause of their defeat. 1t was not so mnch
the fault of the system under which rival
Halls and rival Bosses keep up constant dis
sensions and divide the party vote, as 1t
was of the entire lack i'll the party itself oil
any principle of cohesion other than the greed
of office. This absence of any rallylng
ground of principle the lack of belief. and
consequently Of moral sense and conscience,
left the field open to the Halls and Bosses TO
divide as they pleased over the personal as
poets of contest for mere plumber. 1t was
not the contention of the Halls, the rivalry
of Bosses. the management of primaries,
or the Capitalization of party power
that demOralized the party and caused
IFS defeat. 1t WAS rather the lack
OF any motive except desire for the OIL
ces, with which the people had no sympathy,
and the disgraceiul campaign methods which
dlsgnsted decent citizens aud incensed clean
and honest public sentiment against the invent
ors of calumUy and authors of lies. But
our Young Mems Club seem to have made no
account of this. Their aim appears to be not
to reform the party itself; not TO inform 1t with
living principle. or infuse it with a belief
in something besides the offices but, leaving
il As it is, barren OF craftsmanship, PATRIOTISM
conscience, to patch up the old machinery ana
make il more effective. 70 this end they
have agreed upon a plan for recognizing the
party III this city. They propose to decen-
tralize the power OF the party, giving to each
| Assembly District the power to effect ana
maintain its own organization independently
of any central hall or organization like Tam
MANY or Irving Hail. The details of the plan
are very elaborate.
| This is the full scope of the proposed re-
form. The Young Men expect great results
from #. But is it really reform Does ii
! touch any one Of the many things the party
las to repent of in the past? Does it PROM
Use the abandonment of any OF It's evil prac-
tices or the adoption OF any new and
| worthy purpose AilcI IL has cuI't'"'"
IN patching up the machinery, to what pur-
pose is it to DC devoted Party success Is, or
| ought to be, a means. not an end. Democratic
| success. to which this reform is directed, will
be then means-t0 what Protection or
Free Trade 2 II was for both in the late cam
paign. Hard money or soft 1t is on all sides
| of that question. Can the reformers specify
anything that the party, whose success they
are 30 anxious for, would agree upon i'll case
they should succeed Is it not, then. mis-
direction Of energy to cXpend 50 much time and
| labor upon making effective a machine which
| when perfected has no practical use nor
worthy purpose? The Democratic party Is
covered all over with the disgrace OF lts
management during the last campaign, Ill
which its chef weapons were talsehood,
culumny forgery and perjury. Would it not
show more genuine desire for reform to be
doing something either to clear up or repent
of that record rather than tinkering up
machinery by which 10 make similar cam
naigns more effective in the future Z
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THE VOTE or GEORGIA
The following raises question which, per-