New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-11-07
tatorships do not shock their sensibiities in the
4 LESSON WORTH LEARNING.


A lesson from the late political contest which
New York City Republicans will do well to lay
to heart and remember for all time to come is
that compromises and ideals" with Anti Tam
many Democrat, serve no purpose except to
strengthen Tammany in the end. We have had
all sorts of Halls and "Democracies" during
the last twenty years organized as revOts from
Tammany with the avowed purpose of breaking
down that organization. They rise up and kick
vigorously for a while till they become strong
enough through Republican assistance to com
mel recognition and division of the spoils, and
then they either 60 tumbling back into Tam
many's bosom or render that organization more
effective aid by staying outside and doing its
work as Mr. Cleveland's particular friends did
in the late canvass 1t may seem a hard thing
to say considering the responsibility and stand
ing of some of the men who have been prom
inent in Anti Tammany organizations during the
last twenty years, but it is nevertheless true
that there has not been in that time a serious
revolt against Tammany Hall. Not a single
demonstration that was animated by vire
purpose not one that aimed at anything beyond
ccmpelling Tammany to divide; not one that
meant business. No organized revolt has aimed
at the destruction of the Tammany machine,
though the talk has been endless about its enor-
nous power for mischief, and the constant men,
ace to free institutions involved in its cOntinu-
ance. Always the purpose has been, not to
destroy the machine, but to get hold of it,
Year after year the same game has been
PLAYED. Year after year Republicans have been
exhorted to abandon their own organization and
their own candidates to take up the candidates
of some boiling "Halr' or Democracy" who
had taken the field and were moving heaven
and earth to beat Tammany. And the argyll
ment has always been that, there being ma
iority of Democratic voters in the city, 1t was
only fair that they should have control, and
that Republicans being offered only choice
of evils should support for office Democratic
candidates who were opposed to Tammany. If
they did not do this, they were abused as I'M
patriotic partisans who were willing to put party
above good government and honest admlnSna-
ton. They were charged, indeed, with being
in league with Tammany when they nominated
candidates of their own and left the Kilkenny
cats of Tammany and Anti-Tammany to fight
it out between themselves. The new Tammany
organ, "The Times" repeated this charge only
few days before the late election that the
Republican leaders had contributed to Tam
many's success by putting up candidates OF their
own party instead Of going over bodily to some
mushroom Anti-Tammany Organization.
The simple truth is that the Republican party
is the only Anti-Tammany organization that
can be depended upon, the only one that makes
its fight, not against Tammany men for cam
pa:gn or two, but against the whole mischief
bie siding machine and for all time. The Irving
Halls and Mozart Halls and County Democra-
cies come up with great show of fight in them,
get helped by Republicans to strength enough
to make them formidable, then take their
"divvy" and turn in to make Tammany strong
er. The Grover Clevelands and Charles S.
Fa.rchilds and Francis NJ Scots come out with
doubled fists and defiant cries against this cor
upt and tyrannical concern; but 50 soon as
the concern gets the absolute control OF the
party which makes it more dangerous than ever,
turn to ard work for it with all their might
The lesson for Republicans in all this is to
make always and everywhere their own honest
and straightforward fight against Tammany
without reference to any pretended bolts or di-
vision, among their opponents. Hereafter let
them say to all solicitations to take up the can
ddates of Anti-Tammany boilers: whoever
wants to fight Tammany Hall will find plenty
of opportunity by falling in line with us. We
are making that fight all the time. That's what
we are here for''