The morning call., 1892-11-04
SMASH THE MACHINE.

Mike de Young says in his paper: "Men
who call themselves Republicans, and who
are doing all In their power to defeat the
Republican legislative ticket. may be set
down as traitors to the party"
Let us distinguish. No honest man is
traitor to his party when he stretches forth
his hand TO save il from destruction. The
truest devotion to party principle is evinced
by opposition TO bad leadership. Parties
cannot be taught by talk; they learn by
defeat only. When a party falls under the
control of corrupt bosses, who pack con-
ventions and nominate unfit candidates.
the duty of loyal member of the party is
to rebuke it by voting against its ticket. At
the present time the Republican party in
this city finds itself bossed by men who are
base and venal and who have made it a
mere tender to the railroad. With that
condition Of things staring them in the face
the great mass of self-respecting ReDub-
licans propose to chastise the bosses by de-
feating their nominees at the polls. Is this
treason? Which is the traitor-the con-
scientious Republican who stands for Re-
publican principles against Republican
bosses, or the poor craven who has not
manhood enough to assert his own
sovereignty in order to save his party from
being dragged down into perdition through
the tricks of professional eorruptionists?
Before US stand a gang of tricksters, who.
with the help of the machine and Of Mr..
Huntington's money, propose to gobble the
city government, to get control of tie LegiS-
lature. and TO send Mike de Young TO the
Senate. They could not accomplish their
purpose if they had nothing but railroad
money to fight with. The purchasable
vote is limited. But with the aid of the
machine they think they can win. There is
a large body OF Republicans who have been
In the habit of following where the machine
led, Of voting as it babe. If these men
could be induced, by appeals to party fealty
and to ancient "reminiscences, to stand by
the machine on this occasion, the tricksters
might succeed. Hence the despairing en-
treaties Of De Young to be true to the party
But II Republicans generally have risen TO
proper understanding Of the situation and
have resolved, in this crisis, to set prin-
ciple above party, The tricksters will be
beaten so badly that on Wednesday morn
ing they will be creeping into holes and
trying TO pull the holes in after them.
That is precisely what the great bulk of
the rank and file OF the Republican party
in San Francisco have determined to do
They are intelligent, and they see that
when Mike de Young adjures them TO
| stand by the party locally he does not mean
that they should stand by Republican prin-
cples and Republican doctrine and the
Republican theory Of government, but that
they should support the Republican ma
| chine. That machine they have vowed to
! smash. 1t has become a mere contriVance
for the organization of fraud. corruption,
and all that Is basest and vileSt in politics.
! The engineers OF the machine are knaves
the subordinateS are hoodlums and ballot
| box suffers; their methods are brute
| violence ana fraud; their object is the divi-
sion Of pubic plumber among a robber
! band. The machine is an instrument by
| which the worst members of the community
steal the property of other citizens. 1t has
been potent by reason OF the patien; deyO-
tiOn Of faithful Republicans 10 the ticket Of
| their party; but the knell of its downfall
has sounded After a time even the most
| long suffering descendant Of Job gets tired
! OF being robbed.
Does any one imagine that if there had
been no machine Mike dc Young would
have had the impotence to offer himself as
a candidate for the Senate, or Dibble and
Phillips and the other ccrrupti0nists Of the
| last Assembly would have presented them
selves for reelection? They knew that on
| their record they must expect opposition,
which under ordinary circumstances would
be fatal But they relied on the powerof the
machine, supplied as it was with railroad
money TO carry them to the winning post
in spite OF all obstacles. They believed that
when the machine locked horns with the
! people it must win. They actually per
| suadeG themselves that the machine was an
omnipOtent being Ike the Almighty. which
! carried elections In the hollow Of its hand
But the machine, powerful as it has been.
| IS nothing without voters behind II. And
the Republicans Of San Francisco have quite
| fully made Up their minds hat they will
| not be there this time. They have judged
| the machine by its fruits, ana have no fur
Their use for it. The watchword of the day
in respectable Republican circles is: Smash
| the machinel