The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-02-19
The Halt Breed Fight and the ANTI
Snapper Struggle.

r-.Ns snapper StAOSeAOs
The proceedings in the Hornblower-
Peckham controversy have strong
points of resemblance to the famous
struggle between James A. Garfield and
Roscoe Conkliug, and at the same
time the cases present strong points
of contrast. President Garfield under
took to reward by Federal appoint
ments conduct ON the part of Judge
Robertson of Westchester County,
N. Y, aud others, which Roscoe Conk-
ling, then Senator and Republican
party boss, considered ~treacherous
and dishonorable. CoDkling had
chosen to assume that every delegate
to the Chicago Convention was bound
by certain resolutions adopted in the
State Convention to stand by him in
his famous fight for the third term
nomination of General Grant. Robert
son and the other Half breedn dele
gates cut away from Conkling in
favor of James g. Blaine, and, when
they found they could not nominate
him, Joined in the stampede which
placed Garfield's name at the head of
the ticket.
Garfield nominated Robertson to
the Senate for the lucrative office of
Collector of the Port of New York.
and in distributing patronage he per-
~sistently ignored Conkling and his
colleague, Tom Platt, and bestowed
Office after another upon Half
breed" leaders. Conkling attempted
to establish the principle of Ssna-
torial control of Federal patronage.
He moved Heaven and earth to in
duce the Senate to reject the Presi-
dents nominations, and falling he
wrote the famous resignation from
the Senate, in following which TON"
Platt earned the soubriquet of me
Too" This was Conkling's political
ruin. He sought "~vindicaiionn by
reelection to the Senate; but after a
contest of many months the New
York Legislature turned him dow H."
and he retired from public life for the
rest of his days.
In the present imbroglio. there is
this much resemblance that the Presi-
dent, in honoring and r%ewarding
Anti Snappers, is pursuing asimilar
course to that of Garfield in favoring
the Half Breeds" The anti-snap-
pers also refused to be bound by the
resolutions of a State Convention, or
to submit to the dictatorship of a
boss because he happened to hold the
post of United States Senator. Their
position differed from that of the
HALF Breeds" in that the latter gained
seats in the Chicago Convention of
1880 through concealment of their in
tentions, while the "Antf-Snappers"
wers honorable fighters throughout,
contenting themselves with dignified
protests from outside the precincts of
the National Convention against the
UBIQUITOUS course of the David B.
Hill machine.
1t is remarkable that Roscoe Conk-
ling, who was generous In his nature
and wno really had some color of
right in his position. was beaten by
his fellow Senators and finally driven
from politics; while David b. Hill.
selfish, narrow and corrupt as a man
can possibly be, has so far succeeded
in defeating the Administration and
heaping insult upon men who, in
point of ability and character and
esteem among the people of New
York, tower far above his head.
This is, indeed. q strange contrast in
the story Of 1881 and that OF 1894. IT
is one which does little honor to the