New-York tribune., 1894-03-29
THE DEFEAT or BINGS.

The habit into which the metropolitan press
has fallen In late years of treating public affairs
with lcyity. and ominclt men with familiarity.
cannot hc viewed with Indifference 10y serious
minded citizens. II i, 10y no means improbable
thlt The continuance or The practice will prcs-
emily have The effect ~ driving many sincere
persons into private life who might under proper
treatment from ,hc press render useful service
i'm purifying municipal and other politics. We
ar, lcd To- these reflections by the comments
which have been made during the last week on
the candidacy II Mr.. John Kcndrick Bangs for
Mayor IL Yonkcrs. and 10y the manifestations
of hariry on the part of newspapers nominally
~ the Same party with Mr.. Bangs over his
quite unexpected defeat. Mr. Ban=~. aS * well
known g. the editor of the humorous depart
mont II "Iiarpcr's Monthly Magazine" fuuc-
tloi i'm which for a length 81 time We viii not
pretend - define accurately he has contributed
to IN, .arcty Il nations He has Also rs we
understand. assisted in extending the circula-
tion II other publications Of Mc>>rs Harper.
rs. for iu>ianc" The journal OF civilization.
hv ,mbroid"rins with the qupS and fantasies
of his humorous invention the more serious ana
wrghty profunditics of General Carl SchuH
and other editorial writer's Notwithstanding
the humorous habit Of mind cngcndcrcd by this
professional practice. We have reason 10 believe
that Mr. Bangs entertained serious purpose
i'm permitting himself To be- drawn into the
boistcrous whirl Of municipal politics. We be
licvc that he was pcrmcatcd with the spirit Of
Reform which animatcs In such high degree
the various periodicals which cnJoy his con
trIlmtionS and though we do not know what
prcciscly If anything was the matte" with
YonkcrS. We believe that he looked with con
Germ upon that city and in the spirit OF self
sacrifice remarked no: without tinge Of mel
aucholy: "Yonk"rS needs first class Mayor
and VIII b" it"
We do not think 1t WAS Il joke on his part.
We have no idea HAT he so intended II. Hut
our city contemporaries almost without cXccp-
tion broke at once into unSccmly mirth over
the nomination. Some Of them went so far as
10 call him kenny" that being the familiar
term of cndcarrncnt. derived from his middle
name by which he had been known during his
professional career and by which he was adj
dressed by those who enjoyed his intimacy in
the intervals Of relaxation in which even the
most dliGcnt humorists sometimes indulge
That 1t was Il highly improper form Of address
to be used toward Il candidate for Mayor hard
" needs to be pointed ont To the intelligent
reader They not only called him kenny"
but they rcpublishcd some Of his best things;
even his poems did not escape. And all of this
was done with n jOcosc manner and tone Of
lcvity which conveyed the impression that moth
ing of much moment was involved In the new
departure Of Mr.. Bangs-in fact, that it was
no new departure ut all, but only new form
Of facctousncss on his part 1t was evidently |
forgotten by these ribald commentators on cur
rent events that Mr.. Pcck-whoSc Christian
name we do not just now remember made |
Governor Of Wisconsin by the Democratic party
of that State wholly on account Of his humorous
contributions 10 literature, and that the same
party once nominated John G. SAKE for Gov
crnor Of Vermont because he wrote humorous
poetry 1t Is one Of the paradoXcs I'm the history /
Of that party that when II rises 10 serious |
situation 1t takes along n humOrist for leader |
1t was so in Yonkcrs.
Mr.. Bangs was defeated We know not why |
For Yonkers Is usually Democratic IL is true !
that cities usually Democratic are going the !
other way with considerable regularity this |
year. but Bangs, we believe. favors the Wilson !
tariff and, in the opinion Of "Harpcr's Weekly" |
the chief II not the only cause for Democratic |
rcvcrscs Is the delay In passing that bcnenccnt |
measure Nor can we believe that his defeat
was due to the fact that Democratic newspapers |
treated his candidacy as Il Joke The only OK |
PLANTATION We can offer IL that he was not the |
right kind Of n joker for Yonkers. 1t might |
have been different If some practical Joker |
from the editorial STAFF OF "'rhe Journal of |
Civilization" had been nominated: some one
whose sense Of humor lay in dcpositing a
banana-peel In the shape Of tariff In front of
the American people and seeing them slip ND |
on It A practical joker might possibly have