New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-10-22
THE DISSEMINATING CUMMINGS,


Among the many impressive spectacleS in this
camnaion of the square drinker and frequent
voter against the men who cheated them out
of three hundred million dollars there Is MOTH
ing that takes stronger and more enduring
hold on the mind and memory OF the spectator
than the Hon. Amos J. Cummings as he appears
uhen disseminating. Mr.. Cummings, as Is well
known. has been engaged these many years III
disseminating things of one sort and another
and always or almost always, to the edlncatioh
and entertainment Of the public. One OF the
mistakes of Roswell Flower after his first, OF
wanting to 90 to Congress, was in putting the
" tattered remnants of his Constitution into
"Tbe Congressional Record" in order to have
tbem "videly disseminated" At that time he
did not know what a gift Amos Cummings had
for disseminating. He has found out about it
since. AS soon as he was nominated ne realIzeu
the necessity for having first-claSs dissemnatOr
To disseminate "facts about his record" Ills
mind turned at once to Amos Cummings VINO
had sat near him in Congress and was famlar
at first or second hand with most of his "seO
sneeches.v And he said to himself: " Here
now is a dissemination who disSeminateS one
who has been at it all his life a dissemination,
so to speak, from Disseminatorville; man VINO
does not have to wait for the raw materlat OF
facts and statistics to keep his mill gong Dut
can make them himself out of the liyellest
ina gination that ever supplied a campaign bu-
reau - And 80 he sent for Amos, and put him
in charge. Since which time the work ot dls-
seminating has gone on, as one might say OH
the keen jump
There have Iprobably been a greater number
and larger variety of middle names disseminated
thus far in this campaign than in any previous
one since the adoption of the Constitution. ms
particular method of conducting campaign IS
Mr. Cummings own invention. 1t has been
found to be very effective with the thoughtful
and intelligent voters among whom 1t has been
disseminated. Take for instance, that large
and influential class Of our felow-cltzens VINO
are STAYING among us for few weeks at the
expense of the organization which sits up nights
70 give lis good government in order that they
NAV vote to perpetuate pure politics and honest
administration. These gentlemen are of course
more or less reused to patriotic endeavor by the
information. which Mr. Cummings has widely
disseminated, that Tom Platt has prevented
a rise in the price of real estate but what
kindles them to the widest enthusiasm-so that
after hurried drink and w1ping their mouths
off on their sleeves they precpitate themselves
into torchlight procession and perhaps carry
a transparency-is AmOs'S great act with middle
names If Roswell Flower is elected, as Amos
confidently believes he will be, by several hun
dred thousand majority, it will be due chiefly
to the mastery manner in which General James
W. Huted's middle initial has been handled
in the campaign. 1t is now seen that members
Of the Manhattan Club who thought after some
fifty or sixty changes had been rung that there
was danger of doing it so much that it would
cease to be funny were entirely wrong. Moth
ing that has been disseminated has produced so
much enthusiasm. The members of the Man
haitian Club are obviously not in touch with the
masses
There was an evident attempt at the time
Amos first began disseminating to confuse and
break him up. Our gay and happy contempt
rary, "The Sum- remarked one day that he
was daily importuned for facts about Mr.
Flowers record in the House" 1t was plain
that these opportunities came from people who
did not believe Mr.. Flower had any record in
the House, or that if he had Amos Cummings
had any "facts" about it. Whoever thought
that way did not know Amos Cummings. One
day, after this had been going on for some
time Amos, in few earnest and well chosen
words, administered cutting rebuke to the
Democrats who were going round saying it
was a shame and disgrace to put such man as
Roswell Flower in the seat once filed by Will
lam L. Marcy and Samuel J. Tilden. He said
Flower did have record. for he made d" set
speech' before a committee on one occasion :;
and +" rose above party" like little man to do
il. lie also said "Mr. Flower is no mans
man. lie belongs to the people" Which, it
will be observed, means a great deal to the
people, to whom he belongs, and who are just
now, in proof of their ownership dividing him
up. Since then insinuations from the Manhat-
tan Club about Flowers record have pretty much
ceased.
Congressman Cummings does not conine his
activities to disseminating through a bureau.
He also disseminates from the stump. On Tues
day night. at meeting of the Roswell p.
Flower Coored Democratic Association. which
had to be held in the Excelsior Assembly Rooms
because the Robert G.. Ingersoll Baptist Church.
corner of Park Place and Twenty third St, is
not quite finished, he delivered an address.
Just as he started in the president of the meet
ing, without any notice or warning asked him
for " the solution of the negro problem" evil
IDENTIFY expecting to "bal him up" Not much.
The man, black or white, who thinks he can
ball up" Amos Cummings with conundums or
fifteen puzzles makes the mistake of a lifetime
My answer said Amos. lis that the negro
will settle that for himself. Let him become
educated and wealthy and let him walk on an
equality with his fellow-men and there will be
no problem" Words of great wisdom and
power No wonder they were vociferousIy ap-
plauded. For this may be considered the Off
cial utterance Of Tammany Hall The last time
Tammany Hall attempted a solution of the
L l..