Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-03-29

oo7ssp0ndenesOf TIE EVENING STAR
NEW YORK, March %
Rarely has the game Of local politics been 80
exciting as now and rarely has the truth of the
proverb that pride goeth before destruction
been 30 strikingly illustrated. Fourteen months
ago Tsmmany seemed inSincible, and in this
very strength lurked its ruin, for il felt 90
strong that its chiefs thought they could afford
to forget their promises. Last year the repub-
Leans made their deal with Tammany, but after
Grants election he and his colleagues developed
a short memory toward Tom Plat. The re-
publican boss said nothing, but bided his time,
and now that time has come. The scourge
which he has used is the County Democracy,
which only few short months ago WAS SO COM
pletely beaten that most persons supposed it
was destroyed But it is very hard to destroy
brains in this world. and as 1t happens the
Comfy Democracy had brains if not votes. Its
leader is William R Grace, one Of the
most astute politicians in the country.
he has been hiding his time also and within a
Few weeks he made an alliance with Platt, the
results ofwhich we already see in part and
more are vet to come. The attack was made on
the sherifs Office, which has been one of Tam
manys strongholds for twenty years. A re-
publican legislative committee got its orders
from Plattto probe the plague spot to the very
OF local politics, showed the committee where
to penetrate. As often happens to men who
make wise plans. good luck has attended them.
The result you already know is one of the
most frightful exposures of official corruptio n
since the days of Tweed.
THE TIGER AT BAY.
When Tammany found that its enemies really
meant business it exhausted the resources of
bulldozing, bribery and chicanery to divert
the attack. The statement is made on the
pest authority that as a last resort q fund Of
800, 600 was sent up to Albany to be used in
squeiching further investigation. Plat vas
told he could dictate any terms Of surrender
he pleased, but he was shrewd enough to refuse
to enter into any dicker, however advantageous
He said that public opinion had become so
aroused that compromise was impossible
Mayor Grant himself is to be spared indict-
ment, but this Is due more to cool political
JUDGMENT than to either mercy or q sense of
Justice. <gis
The man next, to Flack and perhaps Grant,
who has suffered most in reputation and prestige
is the self-exiled Tammany boss, Mr. Richard
Croker. Now that the catastrophe has come
it Is evident that his i-health is largely polit-
icaL. 1t is perfectly true that Croker is quite a
sick man, but he is no worse than he has been
for two years, and his fight Just at this time
must have been due quite as much to his law
yers as to his doctors orders. There is a loud
call for his return going up from the dismayed
braves OF the wigwam, but we may be pretty
certain he will stay abroad till this storm blows
over.
;IlF, A QUEER SORT OF INNOCENCE.
Flack, OF course, is done for. His resigna.
ton was the coup de grace. In its language
the sheriff's letter to the governor was a docu-
ment of the loftiest virtue, but its elevated
sentiments deceived nobody and only made the
writer laughing stock. The psychologists
would lind in F1ack an interesting subject for
their scalpel and moralists could use him as a
picturesque text. In his letter of resignation
Flack poses as the victim of an inhuman and
cruelpersecution and resigns from nice sense of
propriety, although proclaiming himself guilty
OF no crime. II would be interesting to know
what the sheriff OF New York county considers a
crime. Apparently he ia one of those repro
bates who really think they are pretty fair SAM
pies OF a man, although they systematically VIC
late every law Of God and man. To be sure,
they commit adultery and swear and cheat and
lie and break the Sabbath and gamble and in
dulge in a few other such trihing errors and
frailtes, butstil they consider themselves pretty
good fellows, very square" and white and
''genteeL" They would be almost as much as
tonlshed as insulted il they overheard them
selves described in their true character.
THE EFFECT ON THE PARTY FUTURE
But now what is to be the outcome of this
dramatic collapse of Tammany2 For the
moment it looks like the restoration of VIM. r.
Grace to the real democratic leadership in
local politics. Grace is one of the enigmas of
the town. He is immensely rich and very am
bilious. In some respects lie much resembles
Plat, with whom he is at present the close
ally. But he is more fond of personal distinc-
ton. He undoubtedly wants to be governor,
and no doubt would like to be President I
am told that Platt has offered him the mayor
ship if he will run a fusion ticket. but that he
has declined the proposition. He has been mayor
once, and he filed the office very creditably
though his political affiliations dimmed his re-
cord He might not care to take another
term. However, in the large field Of politics
the important thing is that he is the strongest
Cleveland man in New York. and his ascend
ancy means therefore another streak of luck
for the ex-President He doesn't like Cleve-
land, but he believes in him and his leadership,
in local politics would strengthen Cievelands
chances as a candidate immensely. One gossip
goes so far as to say that Grace would do his
best to re-elect Cleveland in order to be his
Secretary of the Navy, position that would be
most congenial to him, and for which he
would be we'll qualified, but which he would
particularly like because Of his vast South
American connections. Within a few weeks
negotiations have eliminated by which, if all
goes we'll, he will become one Of the richest
men In America. The settlement of the Peru
Wan bond question, though in our modern jour
naiism 1t has attracted less attention than a
cock fight, was one of the most mastery coups
in the history of financiering am reliably in
fprunad HAITI no Of 4 ,p;ll