Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1883-05-26
SournaI ana Courier.
SINGLE COPIES THREE CENTS.
Saturday, May 26. 1888.
THE PARTY WHIP.

THE EAhTX WHIP.
The so-called 'regular" organizations of tbs
Republican party in the Assembly districts
| of New York city have long been run in the
| interests of the machine politicians. Riya
associations were the natural outcome OF
this monopoly of party management and the
Republicans of New York city became divid
| ed into organized 'sStalwsrt" and Half
breed'' factions a committee representing
| both factions and known as the Harmony
committee has recently been appoint ed to
devise some method of organization by
| which all the Republican voters can share il
the government of the party. This laudable
scheme seems now in fair way to succeed.
A singular criticism has been made upon
the work of this committee which at once Il
lustrates the peculiar view which the stal
warts take of the party management and
points out the difference between them and
the Half breeds. The leaders of the old as
sociations object to the new system of organ
ization proposed because no penalty is pro-
vided for those who bolt. In other words
they protest against the abolition of the par
ty whip. The Stalwart argument is that q
u1A Ou&Ae AOb w JUN q R@Agy OASoA44AeS4oA
unless he will abide by the action of the ma
jority, no matter what that is. In short,
.StalWartism demands a complete surrender
of the individual conscience and self-respect
to party management. All this goes to show
that the Stalwart chiefs have learned moth
ing and forgotten nothing.
No one can deny that the Republican party
has grown considerably in character in the
last ten years. During that time it has got
rid of a good deal of corruption and a good
many corrupters. Its leaders have been
forced, in many instances very reluctantly,
into the advocacy of Civil Service reform.
All this is due to the strong spirit of person.
al independence which has pervaded the mass
of It's voters. In other words, to the dispo-
sition to bolt, which the bosses still think
ought to be repressed by penalties. It is the
especial pride, as well as the good fortune OF
the Republican party, that it has contained
within itself the elements of It's own reforma-
ton. The spirit of independence has been
the salt without which the party would have
lost its SAVIOR. This spirit of independence
which the Stalwarts regard as a source of
WA4AC44
has held the party together. In spite of
scandals like the Credit Mobilier fraud, the
party has remained substantially intact at
the presidential elections because the Repub-
lican masses believed that it could and would
reform itself, and events have justified this
belief. The Stalwsrts will have the very
Half breeds, whose independence they wish
to restrain, to thank for it, that the party
will enter the coming campaign possessing
more than ever the confidence Of all its vot-
ers in its honesty and its integrity Of pur.
pose.
The last election in the State of New York,
as the majority clearly showed. was in no
sense Democratic victory. It was really d
Republican protest against dishonest nomi-
nation. : The election of Pattison in Pennsyl
vania was the result Of a Republican insur-
rection against bossism and gives no promise
that the Democracy will carry that State in
the coming presidential contest. If these
elections could be called Republican defeats
they are the sort of defeats which render
final victory more secure. They are instances
in which independent Republican votes have
defeated the party for the party's sake. They
are defeats which strengthen confidence
where ordinary defeats weaken 1t.
The Harmony committee, of New York,
has, in the name of harmony, very wisely de
cided to abolish the lash. Its members evil
IDENTIFY accept the lesson of recent party his
tory, that henceforth one of its cardinal prin-
ciples must be the federation of personal in
dependence. The lesson will be pretty gen.
orally accepted. Hereafter party measures
and party nominations will be forced to rec
ognize this. independence and nothing will
more certainly insure wise and wholesome
party action than just this recognition.