New-York tribune., 1882-02-27


beast and the fowl fight literally TO the
death. If success does not bring the pedes-
trian any reputation worth having, TO most OF
them it brings little money. With Few eA-
ccptions they are handled by "backers who
have them wholly in their power, who put up
the stakes, pay the expenses, pocket the
profits and too often sell out their men.
Honest prize fights are things of the past ana
walking-matches about which there is no talnt
of suspicion are becoming extremely rare. IIe
sooner we see the end of them the better.
MR. CONKLING'S GREATNESS" AGAIN.
Is Mr. Conkliug a great mani If he is, IN
what does his greatness consists These ques-
tions have been asked many times; but while
his admirers have always fastened to answer
the first promptly and emphatically in the
affirmative, no one of them has ever ventured
upon reply to the second. Usually when a
, man is great there is no difficulty in point
ing out the elements which constitute his
greatness, but Mr.. Conklng seems to be
unique specimen. OF gorgeous euloSy,
like that of Mr.. Foster and DR.. Newman,
we have had surfeit. but we doubt Ii
even those two eminent slobberers would be
willing to call their eloquencc by so cold
name as evidence. Turning from his friends to
the record of his public career, what do we
find7 Mr.. f. w. Whitridge answered this
question in the October number of The Inter-
national Reriew, in an admirable article from
which we quote elsewhere. He showed that
the record was scarcely more vocal on the
question of greatness than Mr.. Conkling's
friends were. His long career in Congress ana
in the Senate has left no enduring mark upon
the legislation of his time. Ills great efforts
were nearly all made in caucus or III secret
session. and were aimed to defend partisan
ship in politics rather than to promote the
public welfare. AS lawyer he has had only
six cases in the Supreme Court, where Senator
Edmunds has had nineteen, and General Gar
fiel, who was hardly thought of as lawyer,
had thirteen. In the NewYork Court of APP
peas he has had only five cases. two of them
political, in one of which he made his cclc-
brated "halcyOn and vociferous" appeal which
has lived only because Of its SrOtesque ab-
surdity of rhetoric.
"Ah,n lis friends say, "y0u must admit
"that he showed great abilities as politl-
zeal managcr7 No man bat born leader
"could have held the complete sway which
"he held for so many years over the Re-
"publican party of NewYork." Yes,
he did hold complete sway, but now 2 Simply
because President Grant gave him absolute
control of all the patronage of the State. No
man could hope for Office unless he first bowed
down to Mr.. Conkling. If it be an exhibition
of greatness for man to succeed when he has
things all his own way, then Mr.. COnkliDg was
great. By the same rule Tweed was great.
The test of mans ability is his conduct in
adversity. What became of Mr.. Conkling's
greatness when his patronage was taken away 2
From the time his absolute control of New
York appointments ended he did moth
ing but blundcr. Thrown upon his own re-
sources, with the support OF the National Admin
istration removed, he first made great show of
fighting then resigned his seat and ran away.
This was certainly long way from greatness.
But what shall be said of the political sagac
ity of leader-to give it no higher name
who resigns in the expectation of being elected
without first making sure that he can be re-
elected7 What can be said of him when,
after finding that he cannot be elected, he
makes q hopeless fight for weeks for "yn-
dication," only to be defeated in the end
Was there greatness visible in any of this1
Compare him with the other men whose
names have been associated with his
in the political methods common to
all of thc'p. Nobody attributes greatness
to Senator Don Cameron, of Pennsylvania, yet
his sway over Pennsylvania politics has been
as complete for many years as Mr.. Conking's
ever was in Newly ork. Did he resign when
WAYNE MacVeagh was put into the Cabincti
Did he make Wild blunders like Mr.. ConlliuS's,
when adversely came upon him There, too, is
Senator Logan. As a manager he is rs powerful as
Mr.. Conkling ever was. and yet we have never
heard him spoken of rs a statesman whose
greatness was beyond that of all his contcm-
poraries. Mr.. Logan did not have his own way
in Illinois when President Garlield's Admnistra-
ton began, but five remember rightly he did not
resign. To come nearer home, take the case
of John Kelly. He was powerful i'll NewYork
City when he had absolute control of its pat
this day, though he has been without patron
age for several years. If ability as a machine
manager constitute greatness surely Mcssrs.
Cameron, Logan and Kelly are far greater
than Mr.. Conkling.
Wherein, then, is Mr.. COnkling great 2 He is
clearly not great as a statesman, not great us
a lawyer, not great as political manager.
What else remains 2 VIII he, can he, be great
as Judge Is the long deferred greatest
effort of his life to be made on the Supreme
Bench? Perhaps it is. Perhaps he is merely
great in expectation.