New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-09-09
THE GERN4N-IUERICAN VOTE.

THE GERM4NlMERICAN VOTE.
| Very earnest people Of an excitable tempera.
ment and narrow horizon are apt to make mis-
| takes about the number OF people whom they
| represent and the amount Of space they are en-
| titled to occupy in the public mind They may
| be- and doubtless are, sincere about IT. The
| three alors Of ToOley-st. were unquesonably
sincere when they began their petition Of griey-
| ances to the House OF Commons with I'VE the
| People OF England" In much later times,
| 10 wit year ago last July. Mr.. Eugene DebS
| and a few associates in the American Railway
| Union made just such Il mistake; only there
was more Of T. and II had larger consequences.
| These gentlemen. because they represented, or
| thought they represented. the laboring men Of
| the country. who constitute a vast majority Of
| tie voting citizens. assumed TO speak and act
| fer the entire body Of men who work for hire.
| Upon this assumption they proceeded 10 con
| stuute themselves the actual majority. and
| without waiting for the formalities Of election
| and induction into office TO exercise the func-
| tions Of government. They thought they had
| the whole force Of laboring men in the country
| behind them. because they had set up the rights
| Of labor as their standard. and were fighting
for the ma terial interest and welfare Of all men
| who work for their living. They did not reckon
upon the possibility Of differences Of opinion ~
to principles and policies, methods and meas
| ures among the men upon whom they depended
| for authority and support
| The three tailors Of TOOley-st. have become
| bywoIL and laughingstock Debs and his assoc
ciatcs are doing time" In penitentary The
| former excited mirth. the latter instruction.
| Both were cases Of big head. one. harmless
| and amusing: the other. turbulent and danger
| Gus. Hence the difference in what happened 10
them. The moral is the same, however.
The German-American Reform Union-a
political association whose remarkable activ-
| tiles have provoked the humorous properlsl-
| ties Of our Democratic contemporary THE
| New-York SUM-" TO such an extent that
| it habtuay describes lis members. from
| a pervcrsion Of their initials as "Garoos"
| appears TO have fallen into the error Of the
| three tailors and Of DSbs. 1t assumes 10 speak
| for all German-A merlcans like the tailors and
| 1t declaims violently against statute laws and
| their enforcement like Debs. This association
was one of the organizations forming the munic-
| ipa alliance which last year elected Mayor
| Strong and the Reform ticket. 1t was. and still
| Is. a somewhat scf-assertive body Of men. hay.
| ing the characteristics fully developed Of the
| tailors with the characteristics then in embrvo
but now rapidly developing Of Debs. Its de
| mands for representation on The ticket an
swered in the nomination Of Tamsen for Sheriff
| and Hoeber for Coroner 1t was very liberal
| allowance. Both these gentlemen have so amply
| eXemplihed the qualities for public office when
| find favor in the German-American Union that
| no comment upon them Is needed. But the Ger
man American Union Is dissatisfied with pretty
much all the results Of the Reform victory OF
| last year except the election Of Tamsen and
| Hoeber. That Is to say, the speeches made and
| the resolutions passed at a meeting Of the Union
| on Friday night lead clearly TO that concu
| sion The speeches were violent in character
| as any Of the Ctterances OF Debs, and the reso
| lutions which were adopted by a unanimous
| vote were simply the rawlings OF n small body OF
| angry and excited persons. who conceive that
| the liberties OF all the people, and particularly
| Gcrman-American people are in danger because
| Of the enforcement OF law which they do not
| like
| But does any one suppose for moment that
| these vOciferOus ranters have any authority 10
| speak for the great mass Of lawabiding German
| American voters! Ii is a libel upon the ntelli-
gence and good citizenship OF the large body Of
voters Of German birth to credit such a suppose
| ton for an instant. Tamsen, the Sheriff, and
| Crosse the Internal Revenue Collector were
among the most conspicuous and violent de-
| Chalmers at this meeting against the enforce
| ment Of law. But these men do not control the
| German vote nor lead the German voter by the
nose. The German voters as body were not
consulted in the selection OF Hansen as their
| representative on the municipal reform ticket
| nor Of Crosse as the recipient Of their share Of
Federal patronage. Each pushed his own claim
for office upon the strength Of his own impudent
assertion Of his ability TO influence the votes
| OF German citizens as class. Bbth are nolsy
pushing the same pretension now. In this they
| are not only using without authority the name
influence and prestige Of large and respectable
class Of citizens, but. what Is much worse. they
are, for their own selfish purposes. bringing all
| German voters into dscredt and disgrace by
| representing them as an ignorant mass obedcnt
TO the dictation Of demagogues, and with so little
sense Of the duties of citizenship as to make
| organized resistance to the enforcement OF plain
ly written and clearly understood law. They are
| not anything OF the sort. The Tamsens and
| Crosses misrepresent them. using and abusing
| them most shamefully
| III Hansen and Crosse had n sufficient follow
ing In their notions about the enforcement Of
law. they might become dangerous and presently
incur the fate Of Debs. Fortunately for them.