New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-10-22
TIE STRIFE OF MACHIYES.

TIE STRIFE OF MACHINES.
A hundred boss machine is better than one
boss machine of course. If it were not, Mr. John
+. Develin and Mr.. "Miken Norton, Mr.. Will
ian C. Whitney and Mr.. "TOm" Creamer,
Mr.. Edward Cooper and Mr.. Jake" Seebacher
never would have gone to so much expense,
trouble and worry in getting up the hundred
boss County Democracy machine in order to
nut down the one-boss Tammany machine.
Still the hundred-boss machine is not quite
perfect With great respect for its inventors
we are compelled to say that it is just q trihe
slow-what might be called ogy-in its move
ments, 1t "gets there" after n while to be
sure, but somehow the One-bOss machine "gets
there lust ga cete aheadr And this gives
the average spectator notion that the hun
dred-boss machine is either too slow to be of
any practical service or is actually tender to
the one boss machine.
Take, for instance the nomination for
the most important Office to be filled
at the coming election. The One-boss
machine got it, Convention under way and
nominated Mr.. McKcon almost before the Cen
turions had made up their minds about pre-
lminarics. So it really looked, to a man up
tree, when the hundred bosses came up puff
ing and blowing and protesting that MckeOn
had been their candidate all along, as though
they were only a SOFT Of tender to Tammany.
But then they said it WAS only Tammany
trick; that McKcon was raying, foaming-a
mouth opponent of Tammany and never would
pay any attention to nomination from such
a source And they might have made people
believe it if they bad hustled committee
4 e..
tancc. 4 ouc-boss machine would have at
tended to it at once. 1t takes a hundred longer
To get around. The hundred appointed a COM
mittcc, and the committee formally invited
Mr. McKcon to come mp aud see them.
But the aged candidate was mo- 50 fresh as
not to know that the invitation to come up
and see them was only the prelude to a re-
quest to see them and "come down." and he
was in 40 hurry. Having been advised by the
newspapers OF his nomination 10y MI three
of the factions, he knew that the past at least
was secure, and that he had nothing person
ally to gain by chasing up committees to get
informed about n matter concerning which ne
was already loaded with knowledge. 50 il"
sent back word, with all the confidence of a
hirt with three su:torS, To the effect that he
was not looking for committees very much
this fall, but that if any committee was look
inc for him it could find him at his office in
business hours This sort Of communication
does not ordinarily provoke enthusiasm. This
one had "A tendency to make the absence Of
enthusiasm with which the nomination was
greeted at the beginning mach more prevalent
AMI profound. II was decpcncd still further
when the news came in little later that Mr.
McKcon had received the TJmmany Commit
tee graciousy and gratefully and accepted
their nomination with thanks. The one-bosS
machine, hlyingagain got IN ahead, the hundred
bos.-cr decided to wait on the candidate next
day with their Endorsement.
The hundrcd-hoss machine is a very great
and admirable institution. No one will deny
that But there is beginning 10 be a suspicion
that il is tco slow. Boss Kelly is a bold, bad
nan, and Boss Of the onc-boss machine. But
somehow he "grts there And he keeps get
ting there. And what people are beginning to
wonder at Is that after bee get, there with the
onc-hoss machine, Mr. Deycin's hundrcd-boss
machine, that was invented for the sole pur-
pose of driving the former out of the market
comes numbering up and plays second to it.
They say il il very beautiful machine, and
mat Nj, DtNtllN, NliH II I'u NHlit anu IL hp'th-
in, trunprt. and Il belt round his comfortable !
stomach. looks too sweet for anything. and !
that the hundred statesmen on the brakes are |
a very fine body OF men; but since, instead Of |
,uperscding the old one, it plays second to 1t, /,
they can't make out that it answers any use
ful purpose.
# will be- claimed by the Ccnturions that |
although they were slow on the nomination of |
District Attorney, and got left twice, they |
have more than made it APP 10y their swiimcss |
i'm the matter of the Surrogate. In that they |
ran SO fast that they got ahead Of their can
didatc. Mr. jackson, their nominee, has given |
them notice that he does not want It. And |
there is something in the argument 1t i, only |
fair to say that The average is good. The |
man who having been left hy one fcrryboat |
rushed for the next before it had reached the |
dock, and fell into tho slip, cOnsolcd himself /
with the same reflection, that his average was |
good. As he got wet and nearly drowned, and |
did not get across after ALL no one bcgrudgcd |
him the consolation. The hundred boss-cr is a |
fine machine and manned with uncomla0nly |
fine statesmen, but thus far in its practical |
workings it seems to bc just little too logy |
for successful competition with the one
boss-er "
THE COPYRIGHT QUESTION:
1. 1T.