Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-10-18
THE MACHINE.
Federal Interference In state Poll
afca.
Neso York Indep endent.

| Neto YORK I1adep e7tdent.
The question whether the President of
the United States, either directly or in
directly, by what he himself does and
says or by what he permits to be done
under his sanction and approval, is to
control political State conventions Of the
| party electing him. dictate the nominees
| thereof, and run political campaigns
through the patronage of the govern
ment and subordinate Federal officials is
coming to the front as one of the grave
questions of the hour. The people are
asking this question. They are thinking
about it. They have opinions in regard
to it, and they do not hesitate freely to
express them. The public mind gener-
ally, including thousands of Republicans
in this State, is becoming thoroughly
awake to the merits of the question.
The antecedents and concomitants Of
the recent Saratoga convention have
given to the inquiry sharpness and d.
rectness which no lover of good govern
ment will for moment regret. 1t was
well understood, for weeks before the
meeting of the convention, that Secretary
Folger was the administration candidate;
and hence we find that during the pre-
liminary canvass. the leading Federal
officials in this State, with but few ex-
ceptiOns, worked night and day to secure
his nomination and to defeat Governor
Cornell. They ran the machine" at
the primary meetings, and large num-
Der of them managed to get themselves
elected as delegates to the convention
They were on hand in full force when
the convention met. There was no
doubt among them as to what they
thought the President wanted. He was
understood to be with them, and they
were with him in common purpose. His
sympathies were with the ''stalwarts."
The influence of the administration was
put into the scale in favor of Secretary
Folger and against Governor Cornell; OF,
in other words, the Federal machine lent
its powers as a factor in this struggle.
Such is the view of the people, and the
facts scarcely leave a doubt of its cor
Tectness.
The intrigues, trickeries and infamous
forgeries perpetrated at the Saratoga
convention, in carrying out the pro-
gramme, have produced profound SEN
sation in this State, and this sensation is
one of disgust and intense disappro.
baton. No one can fail to see this who
will read the daily papers. There is no
use in ignoring or Disgusting the fact. 1t
was quite bad enough to have the admin
istration interfere at all with this ques-
ton of local State politics, but when we
are compelled to add fraud and rascality
thereto, then the whole thing becomes
intolerable. Wedo not wonder that DIR.
Cuyler, a lifelong Republican, de-
nounces it; or that District Attorney
WOodford, another lifelong Republi-
can, characterizes it in terms of
truthful severity; or that the Young
Mems Republican Club of Brooklyn
should pass resolutions c0ndemnatory of
so great an outrage The simple truth
is that the nomination of Secretary Fol
ger has the basis of its success in the
power of the Federal machine, supple
mented by the rascalities at the conven-
ton which capped the climax. The
Republican party in this State is dis
graced, and Secretary Folger, notwith-
standing his great merits as a iurist and
a statesman, will 60 into the canvass
under enormous disadvantages. 1t is
one thing to nominate candidate, and
it is another thing to elect him. When
a nominating convention not only mis-
represents the party for which it acts,
but by its method cffends the moral
sense of a large body of voters, it. makes
very dangerous crisis for both the
party and its candidates and this is Just
the present position of the Republican
party in this State.
We cannot forbear to add that the
President of the United States has quite
enough to do in discharging the duties
assigned to him by the Constitution,
without undertaking to manage the local
politics of the respective States, and to
this end, distributing the patronage Of
the government "where it will do the
most good" He had better leave this
business to take care of itself, according
to the wishes of the people in these
States. They better know what Jney
want than he can know for them and are
much more likely to be displeased
than pleased with his volunteer SER
vices. 1t is better for him to keep his
hands off, and equally best for the party
to which he belongs. If he thinks that
the party cannot live without this service,
we beg leave to assure him that it can
not live with it. The loss, in the end, is
always greater than the gain. The Re-
publican party in the State is to-day
shivering on the brink of peril under
the weight of the Federal machine.
Thousands of Republicans, offended and
disgusted, are at this moment considering
the question whether they will, in the
circumstances, sustain the party ticket.