New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-06-01
THE SYRACUSE CONTENTION.

Saving it would ne'er consent, the Syracuse
Convention cCnsented-nOt to send contest
ING delegation to the National Democratic Con-
venton. In other words, the offspring of the
Farchild- Grace Anderson mountain is mouse
quite a spirited mouse, but still mouse. The
speech of John ID. Herman on taking the chair
contained good deal of ginger lie assailed
the machine which was responsible for the
midwinter blunder in drastic terms holding
that in some respects the Hill convention was
"a crime indctable at Chicago" The refusal
of that depraved body to eulogze Cleveland
also received particular attention at Mr. ker-
mans hands. He was pleased to refer to the
ex-Presdent as Noses" forgetting in his eX-
element that it was not permitted to Moses
to enter the Promised Land but merely to view
it from the outside uplands. The platform was
of piece with this speech, in It's denuncIatIon
of the earlier convention and It's outpourlng
of incenSe-the incense of nonsense, as 1t were
ON the altar of Cleveland.
All this was promising. 1t went to show
that Fairchild, Grace Anderson, Frederic IL.
Coudert and the rest of the seven hundred
delegates in attendance meant "war to the
knife. and the knife to the hilt and the hit
to the heart" so far as that perfectly dreadful
February exhibition of applied llilsm was
concerned. But their curses red with uncom-
mon wrath, ended in an anti-climaX. The plat
form as originally drafted provided for con-
testing delegation But the platform which
was adopted did not. 1t rOared as gently as
sucking dove, thus, and only thus: We
pledge ourselves to support the candidates
nominated at Chicago. The delegation chosen
by this convention is instructed to act as
unit according to the determination of ma
jorty of the members" This was palpable
funk. The delegation to Chicago was left free
70 do as it chooses to try or not to try TO enter
the convention. And, according TO the general
understanding at Syracuse last night of those
who are in position TO know what they are
talking about, it will decide to content itself
with making gentlemanly protest. 1t will not
attempt to take part in the proceedings OF the
Presidential convention but from the gallery
of the convention hall, or from the cogn of
vantage of one of the hotels or standing on
the site of the building which is to be the head
quarters of New-YOrk at the coming Exposl-
ton, it will hur quantities of grass at Hill and
his daboical February work. OF course this
will be magnificent. But it will not be war.
If this rendered the convention absurd, what
it failed to say rendered it contemplate. Look
at it. Here was body of men seven hundred
strong who professed to be inspired by patrl-
otto motives and TO represent the better ele-
ment of the Democracy of Newly ork, the elc-
ment which stands for what is honest and truly
progressive in public life. And yet not word
was uttered by any of them not word was
placed in the platform which they adopted, IN
condemnation of the revolving crimes against
the baot-box which were perpetrated last
winter by HILL Maynard, the State Board OF
Canvasserg and their tools in the Boards of
Supervisors The convention declared against
the IF orce" bill as " a blow at the supremacy
of the ballot" but made not so much az an
allusion to the startling fact that three men got
seats in the Senate Of New-York for 1928
all of whom had been defeated at the polls.
In the circumstances, the Syracuse Convention
is entitled to pass into history as particularly
good example of straining at a gnat and swal-
lowing a camel. Oratorically it was resound-
ing Cleveland convention, as a matter of course,
but practically it stopped short of ordering a
contest. That tells the story.