New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-02-26
THE 4CTTAL SITU1TION.

,,,,, Inn, only * hc saws by way of suggestion.
;,oriros II there is not possibility that The
Tribune is making n mistake Ill ue'o'ns :"
much space TO "Mr. Pratt. whom ne describes
as "a very active and somewhat inhuentiai lead
r" ..The ancient SAW concerning the under
dog" says this writer and the one ABOUT KICK
"ing fellow when he is down are raihiiar 10
.,.or And vou cannot disregard the knowledge
that Mr. Pratt's numerous frlcnds-warn
friends too and not all Of them liisishiHcaht
"oncs-mav be reused 10 Indignation III the
agony is piled on too frequently or up 100 hish.
"'rbe GOOD Of the country. so thoroughly pouhu
IND in the success Of the Repuplicah party
SHOULD warn every patriot not to foincht 1ac-
.tional strife TOO much" Without undertaking
tn account for the confusion or nilhd WHICH
continues 10 make itself manifest i'll commune
cations from the interior wherein The Tribune
il criticised for attacking MIR. Pratt. we may
say. in passing. that he person referred To Is
nr,bablv not Mr. Pratt ut all. but Mr. Thomas
= Platt who gained National fame several
voors ago bv rcsignng Il seat in the United
States Senate before he was fairly warm III II
hocausc fine President Of the United States
had brokcn faith with him. and who would
hovo becn triumphantly reelected If the Gov
,nor az tho STATE of New-YorlS had not broken
faith with him immediately aftcrward. lie Is.
,s our CORRESPONDENT says. very active ana
somewhat influential leader but his chef dis
,luction now is that four Presidents of the
I,nitcd STATES broke faith with him in rapid
Succession. and pretty much everybody who has
onythin.. 10 do with him lies TO him in the most
outrageous manner. His name Is not irat''
but Platt-Thomas Collier Platt
I.., f.lrs
his friends 10 Indignation IL we coninne 10 at
,,ck him because he is the under dog ana the
"fcllow" who is down" And he fears, TOO,
,hot the success of the Republican party, in
which the good Of the country is so thoroughly
bound M. will be endangered by faclional slrlc'
This leads us 10 say that the figure Of the "uIl-
der dog" not only strikes us as inapl, put II
liable 10 arouse the resentment OF Mr.. Platt,
who will not willingly consent to nave h'lnN'h
catalogucd in any sort Of bench SNOW rs 'li''
kind Of a dog Nor IS he In MS own "plIhoh
clown " but very much up: and instead Of being
kicked he is kicking in the liyciicSt manner ~
all the mowers that be- and everything they are
doing or trying 10 do. our correspondents ''I'
dcptIv misundcrstands the situation. Neither
The Tribune. nor. 50 far as we can Juu-'' Wv
daily press Of this city nor the Committee OF
seventy nor the Chambcr or Commerce hor me
vast aiority Of the 15i. 900 voters who elected
Mayor Strong last November and these are all
arraycd against Mr.. Plat ana his poih''l
schemes have singled him out for attack nor
in the course Of the controversy when ne HIS
invited have they treated him unfairly or zone
ANYTHING 10 arouse anybody's just Indignation
orr correspondent IS doubtless unaware mat
Mr.. Platt has SO pcrsistently ana aggrcsSNey
thrust himself and his own personality into Tie
foreground that 1t has been simply Impossible
10 ignore him. Aud he has 50 impudcnily ana
audacously asserted his right 10 direct the pol
lev and control the appointments OF Tie inliiic-
ipal administration that the citizens ~ ms
town. the 1J4.0W voters who elected Mayor
Strong cannot without ESTABLISHMENT ana SELF
cfracemcnt do otherwise than fight him ana all
his schemes 10 the bitter end lie would not
hermit himself 10 be obsciircd or overlooked.
His challenge has been accepted ana fight TO
a finish is unavoidable.
And II must be- remembered, too, that with
the taxpayers and voters Of this town this
means serious business. II Is no political
tournament: no mere scramble for Offices. The
investigation Of last year disclosed a condition
Of affairs here that may be described without
cxaggeration as astounding. 1t alarmed all
good citizens II disclosed rottcnncSs in all
departments Of the municipal government that
had not been SUSPECTED or dreamed Of. 1t struck
deeper than The widest possimlst had ever In
tjmated II revealed a system Of municipal mis-
rule under which there was no security for life
or property. but everything was at the mercy
Of bullics, blackmailcrs. thieves and thugs. That
was Tammany government and it is demon
strabc that Mr. Plat was an accomplice In, and
a beneficiary Of it. But ii is not for that alone
that Mr. Plat has been attacked Ii Is because
that person has arrOganty asserted his right 10
influence the policy and appointments OF the
Reform Administration In such way as To
defeat the purpos" Of the voters ana continue
the system against which they rose In revolt.
1t is because. under the claim that by virtue 81
his being a political Boss he holds the city ''in
the palm of his hand" he .hrusts himself be-
tween 1J4 900 voters and their expressed VIII.
and demands that their elected Mayor should
be false to his solemn pledges that the hostility
10 him is universal and relentless. lie himself
has made the issue 50 plain, so direct, so unmis-
taxable that il cannot be avoided
That Is the precise situation. And for the on
lightenmcnt Of our correspondent. who appears
10 be sincerely anxious for Republican success.
I'm which the good Of the country is 50 bound
up we may add that no greater impeachment
10 the success Of the party could happen, nor
any greater harm 10 the whole country Than
for the Republican party Of the city and State
Of Ncw-YOrk 10 recognize the leadership Of
Thomas G. Platt with all which that leadership
implies.
KEEP DOWN THE APPROPRIATIONS