Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-19
Willy PLATT'S PLANS.
Endeavoring to Arrange Deal With
the County Democracy.
THE MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY
To be Traded for Five Seats In the State
Legislature.
SOME OBSTACLES TO Be OVERCOME
ESPECIAL r1LsaRAM 10 TEE p,srAroH1

NEW YORK, August 1S.-Another effort
is to be made by the Fassett investigating
committee next month to shatter the Tam
many wigwam. Searchers have been at
work all summer in several Of the city de-
partments, and sensation is promised that
will 5e more damaging than the exposure Of
Mayor Grants godfatherly gift Of $4,000
to Dick Croker's little daughter. All this
means, of course, that Senator Platt is on the
warpath against the Tammany braves, and
that he has the material with which to wage
a pretty hot fight against tie wigwam.
The Republican boss wants Mayor Grants
scalp. and Dick Croker's, too, and he
doesn't care whose hands hold the knife so
long as he guides its strokes and does the
hair raising. Strangely enough he finds
the strongest opposition to his plans in his
own party, despite the fact that men like
Postmaster Van Cott than whom there is no
more experienced judge of local politics, are
heartily with him in his undertaking. The
postmaster has come out openly in favor of
county ticket headed by an independent
Democrat. and he quotes the figures of pre-
vious elections to prove the folly of trying
to elect Republican Mayor in this town.
ONLY WON ONCE.
The effort has only once met with success,
and that was quarter OF q century ago. No
Republican has held the Mayoralty since,
and there will have to be some tremendous
upheavals in matters political if one is to
preside over the city's affairs for q good
many years to come.
Platt points to the figures of past elections
to sustain his argument that no Republican
can win. These show that Tammany Hall
controls full loo, 900 votes for any Mayor
atty candidate it puts in the field.
All the scandals that Investigating COM
mittees may unearth cannot make any ap-
preciable break in this solid phalanx of
Tammany voters. The Republicans can
muster between go, 900 and 10000, and the
County Democracy about the same number.
Neither organization is, therefore, numer-
ically strong enough to overcome tho Tam
manyites, though together they could do it,
with several thousand votes to spare.
MAY BE FRUSTRATED.
The opportunity to do it is ripe, and the
desire is strong with thousands of citizens
who put integrity above politics in the Sc
lection of municipal officers. Yet the plans
for union ticket may be frustrated, be-
cause there are number of Republicans
here who are ready to oppose any PROPOSE
tion put forward by Senator Plat, no mat
ter what the results to the party or the COM
munity may be. These men entered into
an alliance with Tammany last winter, and
through the exchange of Federal and local
Offices managed to gather sufficient strength
to kill the Worlds Fair and our rapid tran
sit measures in the Legislature, and they are
now bent on putting straight Republican
ticket in the field this fall so as to insure a
Tammany victory. All this to 'tget even
with Plat"
TWO IMPORTANT FEATURES.
But why? The Platt programme insures
two things: Republican Legislature, which
means Republican successor to Evarts;
and second, the overthrow of Tammany in
this city. The County Democracy, with
10000 votes behind them, can insure the
election of about five Republican Assembly
men. if, on the other hand, the Republic
ans will unite on a Mayoralty ticket. A
union of that sort would command at least
125.000. votes. a figure which no Tammany
candidate could touch. Thus, a substantial
gain in the Legislature would be made rea-
sonably certain, fact which ought to be
comforting to the half dozen Republican
candidates for Senator Evarts' seat,
for there is every indication that the
Democrats will not be more than
half dozen votes behind in joint ballot.
OF course, the cry is raised that the Platt
men are giving away the Mayoralty for half
a dozen Assemblymen; but, admitting this,
what is lost to the party? Certainly not the
Mayoralty, for no sane man really believes
a Republican candidate would have the
ghost of a chance. The "Straight-outs"
themselves don't believe it. though they pro-
fess to. Mr.. Plat argues that if he can up
root Tammany and gain few members of
the Legislature he is getting ample reward
for putting a County Democracy candidate
in the Mayors chair.
A DETERMINED INDIVIDUAL.
At any rate, he is determined to try it,
and two-thirds of the Republican district
leaders are with him heartily. As these are
the men who control the convention, it is
difficult to see how the "Straight-outs" can
hope to thwart him; but they are making
great efforts to do So and the fight for the
mastery is growing more bitter every day.
1t may lead to a bolt from the party conven-
tion's Endorsement of the union ticket, and
nomination of straight Republican candi-
date, Then matters would be mixed.