The Washington critic., 1886-09-06
TIE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD.

has no definite expectation of being
elected Mayor Of New York, but there
will probably be no great difficulty in
obtaining the thirty thousand sigma.
tures which he wanted as a guarantee
of good faith before consenting to be-
come a candidate II Is problb'e that
an agitator much more rlllcIsr4inan
Mr.. George could sgclGssa Similar In.
dorsemcui II l-.srt tiligeu,ic TO work
to get it,~s-fr
.Ilaefact In ID. .,f lae5 no, show that
Mr.. George, or any other man of the
same way of thinkjug, unaidcl by the
usual political organizations and with
out the customary .iuews Of partisan
warfare, is ever utc'y to be elevated
TO a position of such hgh response
bility as tie Mnyora,,y of the McuOpo-
lis; but 1t does show that thirty thou
sand men or more in the city of New
York are foot.loose from party contr,l
ard ready to disuNu ot "a moments no.
ice their o!d.timo oOic!imcc to party
bosses. Thcrr is much significance in
this, and it goes far 10 corroboratc
what Mr.. George himself remarks
about the political situation. He says:
The most casual observer can see that we
nre in transitional period in politics. The
old issues have passed away, and on the
new and living issues Of the day party lines
have yet to be drawn. Allegiance to party
is Just now matter OF mere habit or per-
sonal consideration, and the feeling Of
very large number Of voters toward existing
parties is well illustrated by the remark OF
John Randolph of Roanoake to the waiter
"lf you call that tea, bring me coffee: If
you call it coffee, bring me tea.n IL is GER
tain, from general principles, that some
such movement as is proposed by the work
ingmen of New York will spring up and
sweep aside the old parties, or at least
make new distribution.
But while it Is true that many of the
''old issues" have passed away they
are not extinct. On the contrary they
are constantly being reproduced in new
forms. The great battles of the future
are to be fought on new lines, 1t may
be, but they will be contests of about
the same composite characteristics as
those of the past, so far as they relate
to the financial industrial and COM
mercial policy of the country. The
iduOl luSstAOu 10, VI COulsc, w OCCupJ
a great share of public and legislative
attention but its intimate relation to
other questions of reform which are
not entirely new, is such that neither
can be considered independently OF the
other. The interests of the working
classes are so closely interviewer with
thcse Of all other classes and so de-
pendent upon the general monetary
welfare of the country, that all must BE-
embraced within the scope of states
manship; and party lines will not be
slow in adjusting hem elves to such
new eXigences as may arise. Old
bosses will pass away, but their places,
in the very nature Of things will not be
left vacant.
1t may be set down rs certain, how
ever, that the time is not yet rife for
the citizens of New York to adopt the
improperly. y.in.lond theories of Mr..
George, as the announcement of his
candidacy would speedily and over
whelmingly show. THIS is indeed a
transitional period in politics, but it is
not to be revolutionary transitional
is not from Conservatism to Com
munism-still less from Law and Order
TO Socialism.