The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-11-14
The Independent vote a Serious Ma
tionai Peril.

To thoughttul people II must peShh ~
be apparent that the greatest peril at
present in our National politics is the
Independent vote. This factor came into
being with the Mugwump movement In
1884. 1t did a good turn that year In
making Grover Cleveland President ano
saving the country from four years OF
sure that the good was compensation for
the evil which has grown out of 1t. Be-
fore the good was brought to a stage OF
permanent usefulness, the independent
vote reversed in 1888 its judgment OF
1884. But in two years it again sickened
of its own doings. and in 1890 it recalled
the Democracy to control of the House
of Representatives all too late to pre-
vent the legislation which has brought
years of misery Upon the country. the
tendency of 1890 lasted long enough to re-
elect President Cleveland in 1892, but be-
fore his first Congress met in December,
1888. the reaction had set in and the
minor elections of the fall of that veal
were unfayorable to the Democracy,
-presaging the preposterous 'slop over
of the whole country-it can be called
nothing else-to a wild extreme of Re
publicanism in 1894.
For the year that is. the tendency to
Republicanism survives; it maj perhaps
be granted that it will still prevail next
year. But even this is uncertain. The
total uncertainty of our political future
is well expressed in an article on our
State election in the Newark Cali of
Sunday an article which assuredly was
inspired by no half-heartedness, consid-
ering the great victory for the "Call' it
self which was the inspiration. On this
subject of the independent vote, speak
ing of this State, the article says
The election has demonstrated finally
that there are in this State at least 50,-
600 voters who have become thoroughly
T Tpshn have now had several years train
ing. No Democratic or Repupil,
can politician dare declare what they VIII
do next year, or the year after; but all
partisans are now forced to admit that
Republican maladministration is the nope
Of Democratic and the b fear w OF sepiq If Is
conceded that the independent vote VIII
decide the election. and that its decision
the government which those newly in
trusted with administration may give the
State and nation.
This is a euphemistic way of saying
that, hereafter, elections will not be de-
cided upon the fixed principles repre-
sented by parties. They will not be de-
cided upon the final results of long per-
iods of history. They will not be de-
cided upon the permanent and the essen
tial factors in State and national policy.
They will be decided, on the contrary,
upon temporary issues and immaterial
facts upon crude judgments and upon
p~olitical results not yet mature. We
have not a bad example in recent events.
The people through their lack of fealty
to parity have within a year voted In
hostility to a tariff on the assumption
that it produced bad times, whereas the
bad times have passed away before the
Congress they elected could ever come
together. They have in this State just
placed the government in the hands OF
men whom they have time and again
voted down as the worst enemies OF
the State, and all because a paltry few
thousand were squandered in the last
three or four years by-no not by but
during administrations which have
brought New Jersey to a pitch of honor
and prosperity, never previously dreamt
Of or hoped for.
We believe we are justified in thinking
that from the death Of Abraham Lin
coin to the accession OF Chester A.
Arthur. the administration of National af-
fairs. by the Republican party was
marked by frightful abuses. This is a
matter of history. and it is needless to
20 into details. Notwithstanding these
abuses, the country prospered and grew.
we had a bad tariff, q wastefui and ex-
t-rayagant government; corruption affect
cd both Congress and the Cabinet; our
army was a humbug and our navy a
farce; our foreign policy-weH. we SIM
ply had none. A greaser mob in South
America might slaughter American citi-
gems as happened in Mexico. the Presi-
dent of a South American Republic
might purpose fogging a United states
Minister and his wife as President Lopez
OF Paraguay purposed fogging Mr. and
Mrs. Washburne: a Spanish General was
-
not afraid to shoot Americans by tire
handred as General Juan Napomuceno
Burriel did Captain Ryan and the men OF
the yirgini.s. Oh. talk of the foreign
policy of Grover Cleveland. Do the peo-
bic Of this country never E even re-
cert history?
E,at this is OILY IN passing. The lesson
ii. wish to inculcate IS that though the
people went on over and over again
c.ecting Republican Presidents or allow
ing Republican Presidents to be forced
on tbcm, as was done in 1876, the
country kept on growing in population
in settlezaea.. in wealth., in ART IN IN