New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-05-25
Tile SYRACCSE CONTENTION

TIE SYRACUSE CONTENTION
There will be a convention next week al
Syracuse. IL will be called State Conven-
ton, and will no doubt contain delegates from
all, or nearly all, parts of the State. In ITS
preliminary stages it has been called by various
names. such as Anti -Midwinter" Anti
Snapr "Anti-Hill,r but the actual naming
will have to be done by the convention itself
Not until it has assembled will it be positively
determined what it has come together for. how
| long it will stay. and what shall be the name
Of il. 1t purports to be Democratic Conven'
| tion, and the call for it is said TO nave been
signed by great many thousand Democrats
who are represented to be in a state OF burning
inclination. What precisely they are indlg-
nant about cannot be definitely told until the
elements are fused and an organization is effect
| ed. Then. if it should not be decided to call
il a miscarriage and dissolve, doubtless plat
| form containing some of the most captivating
phrases of current politics. constructed with
view TO the rhythmic flow Of the rolling "r''
and rounded 90" in Democracy" will inform
the world imprcssiyely and at great length what
il is all about Meanwhile the organized De-
mocacy scott at the movement as signifying
nothing, and say the persons engaged in it are
political dyspeptcs who have mistaken the
rcgurgitatons of a sour stomach for the birth
of great purpose.
Every manifestation of human activity on 4
scale so large as this promises to be is of public
interest This demonstration, because of its
unusual character and the spontaneous energy
of its origin has not ceased to attract attention
from its inception. 1t will continue to pique
curiosity for at least week longer, and may
after that time become permanent feature IN
politics. IL has not yet, Notwithstanding the
large number of persons who seem to be en-
gagged in it, passed the danger of becoming a
fzzle. For when one comes to analyze it, it
does not seem to have an adequate reason for
being. The first question that will naturally
arise after the organization has been effected
will be, What are we here for?' The natural
answer will be- "To affect in some way the
action Of the Democratic National Convention"
But. being an irregular body without creden-
tials or known relations or affiliations, IT must
have some pretext Of a grievance or complaint
against the regular organization in the State to
put it in 4 position TO claim even a hearing
before, TO say nothing of standing in, the
National Convention. Otherwise, its repre-
scntatves can get no nearer that body or any
OF its committees than any other helter-skcltcr
crowd of political tramps In the existing po-
itical conditions and in the face of the record
they have made for themselves, it will not be
easy to formulate an adequate excuse for at
tempting, even though they be 2OO. OO0 strong
as they claim, to interrupt the orderly and reg
uar proceedings of the National Convention.
For they have nothing 10 complain OF except
that the convention which appointed the reg
ular delegates in the regular way was called
at a time Of the year which seemed to them in
convenient. They have confined themselves to
that special ground Of complaint by the terms
Of their call and all their preliminary proceed
ings. 1t is, 10 be sure. the biggest demonstra-
ton for the smallest cause that was ever known
in our politics but that of itself can give it no
standing before the National Convention. That
body, if il regards the precedents and traditions
of the party, can only give them the same OPP
portunity to be heard that il would out of mere
good nature. offer struggling lot Of female
suffragists or labor rcformers. For the CON
yenton to pause in its work 10 discuss So frivo-
lous a question ~ whether the official repre-
scntatiycs OF the party in any state had yitiated
all the proceedings OF their State Convention
by calling it in February instead of May would
be too ridiculous for a moments consideration.
IL might have been possible had the movement
been begun earlier to have based it upon real
grievance a., for instance. If it had been in
tho nature of protest against the dcspotic rule
Of Tammany, which had stilcd by brute force
all opposition or against the methods by which
Hill and his co-conspirators had defrauded the
voters of the State True, there would have
been small probability of success, but there
would have been at least something of dignity
in the position taken and standing place from
which To reach the door of the convention.
As it is, they are shut up to the " Anti-Ald-
winter and Ant-Snap' cries, both of which
mean "Anti-IIl," though they have not quite
dared put it in that shape. They condoned all
the of ences that they ought TO have denounced
and condemned, and only at the last moment
fired up with indignation over pitiful little
date in an almanac They ought to have got
mad, but they got mad too late. And now the
public waits with some curiosity to see how
they are going to get out of the prcdicament
in which they have put themselves.