New-York tribune., 1881-09-14
THF JOINr STOCK DEvOcP1cy

THE JOINT STOCK DEWOCR1CY..
The Tammany Democrats are becoming less
tuIculcnt daily. Only short time ago they
were defiant as in 1879, breathing out
tlTcatcnings and slaughter, and making
dire predictions concerning the fate of
anyone who should presume to ignore Tam
many in a Democratic State Convention. But
the country Democrats did not show them
selves pauic~>trchen. They did not hasten to
tender IT, cir submission, and it is beginning
to dawn upon the intelligence of Mr. Kelly
and his friends that they have made
mistake. Cancellation has taken the place OF
defiance. Tammauy is in trading humor
and disposed at once to open the new books
of the joint Sock Democracy Unlimited AS
surancc Company.
We are not quite sure that thS stock scheme
is not superior, for the time and occasion. to
the lottery scheme which the local Democracy
employed Just before the last election. Every
form of lottery has been made odious. A Re
publican Governor was found dcnouncug the
ordinary form of this swindlc just nj the mo-
mcnt that the Democracy made mp its mind to
employ it politically. The spectacle of the
grim viSagcd Mr.. Kelly and the jolly and rub-
cund Mr.. Thompson drawing lots for Offices
from hat was such a gross parody on the
emblem Of that incurably Democratic state
with the motto Of United we stand. divided we
fall,' that not only its brilliant representative,
Mr.. Watterson, but Democrats everywhere
with any spirit in them were disEustcd with
the exhibition. While the whole body of the
Democracy, with the possible though not prob
able exception of the temporarily patriotic Mr.
Beck, are firm in the old principle of the party
that "to the vctors belong the ,poils, and are
ready to grab all from the common enemy, they
are opposed to the grab-gumc within strict
party lines. While they are ready to employ
any device of stuffed boxes to enable the mi
norty Democracy to win, they are morally op-
posed to the usc of the lottery wheel in dividing
the suoilS among their triumphant factions
there they insist the majority rule should pre-
vail. Hence the lottery scheme disgustrd the
decent men among them, and did not satisfy
the pickcrs and stcacrs who did the worl only
to lose It's advantages by chance. The ioint-
stock scheme is superior also. in that it is more
in the spirit of our times and institutions.
Wall street huanccrS have made stock schemes
OF every sort scm-rcspcctahlc by their magni-
tudc alone. The system, under the name Of
Syndicate, has been employed To iloat the
securities of the Nation; why may it not be
depended upon to raise 10 the surface n long
Sunkcn political mlk9 The same system,
under the disguise of varOuS pools has been
largely used, especially 10y the present Apostle
OF the Democracy, to rule and wreck railways;
why may it not be employed to spool the
issues" and apportion the spos of n half bank
rupted and wholly disrupted political party
The Joint Stoci Democracy is not SO mclodious
nor yet so inspiring a name as The United
Dcmocracy"; but the meaning is the same, and
does not need to he SO often explained TO the
! average Democratic intellect, which readily
c0mprchends anything like II joint stock
| swinGlc OF any class. Every considerations in
| fact, commcnds the use of the new device par
| ticularly as the most rcpulsve feature of it
| the distribution Of sharcs--unlikc the lottery
drawing of last year, can be done without DIS
! guStng publicity.
But we can imagine if we cannot see the in
| tcrestng process. We can almost time it, too ::
for the distribution, if it takes place at ALL must
! be made before the meeting of the Democratic
Convention. 1t cannot be made, however.
until the chairman of the State Committee. Mr.
Faulkner has seen Mr.. Tilden. As the
| latter has conveniently returned to Grey
| stone, this need not occupy much time: and
the next step after taking Mr.. Tilden's instruc-
| tions would be simply to hear all claimants as
to what number of shares they want out of the
| hundred shares into which the capital of sDoils
might be divided. Let us suppose that the
| shares are divided pro rata among IRVING
| Hall, Tammany, and the Hundred as they
were represented OF the recent meeting of
! the State Committee, after rescrving at
| least fifty per cent for Mr. Tldcn, who
usually gets that amount by concession, or else
scizes the lions share of everything he organ
ICES or disorganizes. That would leave to Iry-
ing Halls two representatives ten shares; to
| Tammany's three delegates fifteen and to the
Hundreds five members twenty-five. Then
the harmonious proceedings of the company
would begin in earnest Mr.. Kelly would rise
up to remark that Irving Hall controlled no
votes that the Hundred already had all the
offices without moro than fourth of the votes.
while Tammany, with its invncible and un
broken phaanx of fifty thousand true and tried
Democrats, had no patronage to speak of.
| Whereupon MIR. Hubert o. Thompson would