The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1888-02-12

The falling of in these was at tho rate Of
30 per cent, not 65 per cent, A decline Of 80
per cent. below 1886 would still have left
HENRY GEORGE $4,000 in the city, and 125,ooO
in the whole State, giving the United Labor
people the balance Of power In New York In
1888. As it turned out, the Democrats did
better in the State In 1887 with a Labor ticket
in the field, than they did in either 1888, 1884,
1885, or 1886.
The present crisis in the affairs Of the
United Labor party turns on the question OF
protection and free trade, and has eliminated
In an estrangement between HENRY GEORGE
and EDWARD McGLYNN. for some time
regarded as twin brothers in municipal
politics. DR.. McGLYNN has Joined his for
tunes to those Of VICTOR WILDER and GAY
BERT BARNES, who want a straight-out ma
tional ticket, while HENRY GEoRdB opposes
any competition with CLEVELAND. and ad-
yocates free trade as q cardinal first princi-
pie In his theory Of land taxation. Judge
MAau1RE, who is the lawyer and jurist Of the
United Labor party. summarizes the situa-
ton from HENRY GEORGES point Of view. He
opposes q national ticket for three reasons:
~. Lack Of money to carry on the campaign.
q OIL DIG NIilLk W tHtoW s"sy s'o -
chiss In q national contest BY support Of . hopeless nj
nority candidate.
.a. To enter upon q national campaign on . sineie tax
platform, ignoring the tariff question. as some Of our
ablest and most Jealous leaders propose, would practi.
cally be to enter the campaign without any platform At
all, for. as / have already said, the single tax reform
belongs peculiarly to the several States individually.
How. then. can we enter tho national campaign without
taking up the tariff question: Indeed, I do net see how
We can consistently ask for popular support except ~
the party Of absolute FREQ trade"
As the latter proceeding Is quite out Of tho
question, Judge MAGUIRE concurs with
HENRY GEORGE in advising that no national
ticket should be run. From the publication
of this determination dates the second breach
In the United Labor party.
While a vote of less than $4,000 In this city
does not give large promise Of future polit-
ical Importance, the fact that out OF a total
Of ], III, 263 votes cast in New York at the last
Presidential election, the winning candidate,
CLEVELAND, had q plurality OF only 1,047, and
was in a minority Of $4,000, shows that In the
event of a close national contest the number
OF Labor votes cast in the State for HENRY
GEORGE last year would be important, and
might, in fact, determine the result. It Is
not easy to 500 just how much the GEORGE
party will hold nine months hence Of its fol-
lowing Of last November, but it is clear that
II HENRY GEORGE adheres to the policy Of
not running a national candidate his party
will be entirely disrupted.
Everything considered, it is probable that
the Labor party has in the city Of New York
a following to-day Of from fifteen to eighteen
thousand voters who In an ordinary State
canvass would support the nominee Of their
own party. Should, however, the super
jealous leaders Of the party succeed In over
ruling HENRY GEORGE, it is extremely doubt
full II they could poll half this strength for q
national Presidential candidate; and the con
| sequence would be that the votes so lost to
the Presidential ticket would DO sacrificed In
the State contest also, and all chance Of So
curing local recruits enough to duplicate the
success Of the municipal canvass of 1885
would have to be abandoned.
Whatever may be thought of HENRY
| GEORGE as a political leader, he Is certainly
not lacking in original ideas. Conspicu-
ously wrong in the expediency Of the posi-
ton which he assumed toward the German
w%orkingmen. he Is conspicuously right In his
attitude regarding a Presidential nomination
for the Labor party, II the interests Of the
organization Of which he used to be the
mouthpiece are regarded solely. But the
present indications are that the more jealous
and less experienced members Of the GEORGE
party will from this time forth dominate its
counsels. and will insist on the nomination
Of q full ticket and thereby work the destruc-
ton Of the whole fabric-a state Of affairs
which Democrats will not very seriously de-
plore, but which, acting against tho Labor
party, they would not probably be able to
bring about 30 easily. For a united Labor
party the GEORGE people have proved tx be
about the least united, most fractional, and
most disputatious organization during the
brief period Of their now closing existence.
that ever engaged the attention and chal.