Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-10-19
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THURSDAY EVENING. OCT. 10. 1889.
Collapsed Movement.
The q" Citizens " movement in New
York city has collapsed under the Dem
ocratic nomination of Mr.. Edison for
mayor and ths Republican journals are
very much disgusted thsreat. The idea
of the movement was to secure honest
and capable municipal officers and
when the Democrats made nominations
of this character of course the bottom
was knocked out of the movement. The
merchants and men of wealth and re-
spectability, who proposed to put their
energies and money into an effort to Sc
cure good municipal officers, had no in
ducement to this sacrifice when the
Democrats nominated men who are
acceptable to them, and conse.
quently they withdrew from the
undertaking. The Republican partisans
who went into it, having another motive
for their action than the public good, are
disappointed at the failure of their
scheme. Their main purpose was to de-
feat the Democracy and help their own
party. and they proposed to use the re-
spectacle, independent and wealthy citi
zens to draw their chestnuts out If the
fire for them. Their organs declare bit.
terry against the men who have with ]
drawn themselves from the Few politica!
association and have no words hard
enough for them they deDounce them
astraitors and rail at them as dolts. They
declare that the fact that Mr.. Edison is a
very proper man for mayor has nothing
at all to do with the question as to the
!, propriety, of. supporting him for the
Office; that being settled by the fact
that lie is the nominee of the Democratic
party, out of which nothing good can
come. J0hn Kelly is hung up in the
usual manner as the red flag 10 excite
the antagonism of the people. 1t is un-
fortunate for this effort that Mr.. Edison
is the choice not only. of Mr.. Kelly and
of Tammany Hall, but Of all the Demo-
cratic organizations of the city; and
that, m0veover, he is not member of
Mr.. Kelly's particular organization.
No doubt there are many people
who have been SO unobseryant Of the real
merits of our public man as to have had
their prejadices much aroused against
John Kelly; and to such it might seem
a strong argument against a candidate
that Mr.. Kelly supported him but this
must lose all its force, among Demo.
Gratis at least, when the party in New
York city is unanimous in its support of
Mr.. Edison so that it would he folly to
ask Democrat Of the city to oppose its
united party's candidate admitted to be
fit for the place. The nomination of
such candidate necessarily brought all
good Democrats to his support and,
withdrawing them from the Citizens
movement, left it to float alone with it's
Republican crew. The situation much
resembles that in Philadelphia, with
the exception that there the CIti-
zens' committee has been sometime
established and is in good heart and
funds and has had so far a successful
though brief career. 1t finds itself in
the present contest, however, slorn of
great part of its strength, because the
democratic party has a ticket in the
field which it unitedly sustains, and the
regular Republican candidates are none
of them as Objectionable to the public
sentiment as those the committee has
met in its previous battles, while some
are quite acceptable to the party gener.
ally. The real fact is that the
necessity for the committees in
reference in the election is not
so conspicuously apparent as it has been
heretofore, and it is likely to have this
fact exhibited to its somewhat Obtuse
understanding in the vote cast for the
particular candidate 1t has set up for
sheriff.
The moral taught will he that Citi-
zens' movement is a very good thing
when Citizens movement is needed
and only then. Citizens who are bold
and wise and rich enough to start a
needed reform movement ought to be
sufficiently sa gacious to retire grace
fully when their interference is not
called for but when they get wound up
and going, and have had an opportunity
to spread their feathers and plume them
selves over their victorious onse;s, they
do not seem to be in a frame of mind to |
think that they may not always be a |
necessary and ornamental institution.
MIR. JAY GOULD, we are told, has |
signed the contract with Messrs. Cramp |
s. Son, of Philadelphia, for that steam |
yacht which he has been advertised as
intending to build for voyage around
the world. The vessel is to be ready in
the spring. We hope Mr.. Gould will
60. We can spare Mr.. Gould and the
voyage will do him good. There is ample
room for great deal of good being done
to Mr.. Gould. It might be most speedily