New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-11-27
THE COMING DICTATOR.


David b. Hill is man to be watched. THE
TRIBUNE declares with deliberation and ear
nestness that he is to-day the most danger
Gus man in public life in this country. flrs.'
because of his present grasp on power, MS al
most absolute control of the Democratic party
of this State with its vast and complicated ma
chinery, his evident purpose to use 1t with I'M
scrupulous' recklessness in carrying out his de-
signs, and the towering ambition which does not
stop with aspiring to the highest point OF po'
litical preferment, but seems bent on engrossihg
all mower and breaking down all the limitations
that legislation has put upon the exercise OF
official functions Let people who smile at the
thought of danger from this man. little while
ago an obscure Elmira lawyer, and who scout
the idea that his proceedings have revolutionary
meaning and intent, consider for moment the
steps in his progress, the policy he has pursued,
the motives that have governed him, and the
cool precision with which he has not only pos
sessed himself of the best offices in the bestOwal
of his party in this State, bat has gathered in
his hands the reins of the party in the Nation.
When it first began to be intimated that this
man aspired to the Presidency people laughed at
the idea. They were still incredulous when
little later certain newspapers hostile to Cleve-
land began talking about him as rival OF the
ex-President for the nomination. and it is only
within a comparatively short time that the fact
has become generally recognized that he is looked
upon by Others and certainly looks upon himself
as the probable nominee of the next Democratic
National Convention. Observe, now, how he
has been thrusting himself forward, putting him
self at the head of his party and imposing upon
it his leadership. Leadership, mind you, not
upon any question of principle or doctrine, as
Cleveland leads on the Free-Trade issue or some
other Democrat on free silver or Mills on both
but leadership in machine management, and the
thousand petty details of party policy by which,
and not by considerations of principle or doc
trine the party is held together and discipline
enforced During all the years of his occupancy
of the chair of the EXECUTIVE he has been con-
solidating power in his own hands. Not content
with exercising the functions Of his own office,
for purely partisan purposes he passed over into
a neighboring State and assumed to adjudicate
out of hand the questions involved in the Con-
necticut contested election. No better illustra-
ton than this could be afforded of the utter
recklessness with which he pursues personal and
partisan ends.
Holding the office of Governor and aspiring
to the Presidential nomination, it might have
been thought that he would not have the aSsur-
anoe to be a candidate for anything else at the
same time, but there came an election OF United
States Senator and he quietly absorbed the prize.
II was supposed that even his greed would be sat-
isfed with one of these places and that he would
weld the Executive Office to his constitutional
successor. They who INDUCED the belief miscal-
culated his appetite for power and the extent OF
his mstrust of everybody about him. lie held
on to both. To-day he controls absolutely the
action of New-York in the National Convention.
He has the party machinery so much at his COM
mand that he need not fear opposition even If
in two or three districts Cleveland delegates
should be elected. The unit rule will make an
end of that diversion.
He is not content with this. He has with
clearness and dstinctness that leave no room
to doubt his meaning announced his purpose to
use one of the offices he holds to carry out
deliberate outrage and perpetrate an open, gar-
ing, monstrous fraud upon the voters OF this
State Already Governor, Senator, Presidential
candidate in posse, and, what is more than all,
Boss of his party, he coolly proclaims his pur-
pose as Dictator to make Legislature to suit
himself Notwithstanding that newspapers which
helped him in the late election denounce his
action as lawless and revolutionary, he is inter-
ferng with Canvassing Boards, debating to the
judiciary, and carrying himself generally as
though he was undisputed owner OF the State.
This man not only appropriates to himself every
thing in sight, but openly and shameleSsly, IN
violation Of law, in defiance OF authority and
usage, in disregard Of the protests of the more
reputable of his party friends, and in contempt
of public opinion and common decency, arranges
to gather into his own hands the possibilities OF
the future. We repeat that he is the most dan
gerous man in public life in this country to-day.
No man was ever so near being virtually Die
tator.