The sun., 1895-01-29
A Very Amusing Situation.

The Committee OF seventy, the loo Zoos,
and Boss PARKBURsT have issued call for
mass meeting, in which they speak Of the
last municipal campaign as having been
distinguished by the principle Of mon
partisan" city Government, and the victory
secured in it as the triumph Of that great
and novel principle.
Really, of course, there was no such prin-
ciple in 1t. The ticket which was elected
was a fusion ticket, it is true, but 1t was
made up according to strictly partisan
methods, and as the result of the political
deals upon which such combination is al
ways made. In principle 1t was the same
as the other fusions made in the past, in the
Great SCoTT campaign, for instance. and
the only difference was that it proved sue
cessful in the general Democratic overthrow.
Not a candidate on the ticket was nomi-
mated for any other than purely partisan
reasons, and with view to appealing to the
spirit of partisanship to get votes. Not one
was selected because Of his special fitness
for the Office to which he was nominated,
and, in fact, none Of them had any such fit
ness, and several of them. at least, were dis
tinguished by their special unfitness II it
had been the purpose to nominate only
men eminently qualified for the offices, and
for that reason alone, not single candidate
on the ticket as constituted, would have
been selected or even considered.
Col. STRONG was put at the head Of the
ticket for strictly partisan reasons only. He
was put there simply because he is a Repub-
lican of an unvarying record as straight
out and stalwart Republican politician,
known and trusted by his party as such.
The Republicans refused absolutely to go
into the fusion unless the candidate for
Mayor, the only office of political impor-
tance, were Republican of that sort. They
would not take any Republican who
was not distinguished for his partisanship
as such, and they said so fatty and
persistently. Otherwise they would have
made no deal and would have nominated
a straight ticket of their own; but STRONG
could not have been elected except as Re
publican, for from that party came nearly
four-fifths of the vote received by him. and
he got it simply as a Republican. He would
never have been thought of as a candidate
except as a Republican partisan, known to
his party because Of his previous attempts
to secure an elective office, and because of
his consequent prominence in the party
management in fine, as machine politician.
So also every one of the candidates for the
minor Offices on the fusion ticket was
selected solely from purely partisan con-
siderations. They were all put on it in
pursuance of political deals. They were all
professional politicians and were picked out
for that reason only. They were not hunted
up for their intrinsic qualifications for the
offices, but were presented and accepted
solely because of their political availability
and in accordance with a bargain made with
professional politicians
From beginning to end it was political
game, played for personal and partisan ad-
vantage only, and strictly according to
methods used in machine politics from time
immemorial. The Republicans distrusted
their ability to beat Tammany Hall unless
they had outside aid; and therefore they bid
for the support Of anti-Tammany Demo
cratic factions by Offering them chance of
getting the other offices, besides the Mayors,
which were voted for at the election. There
is nothing novel about that. 1t is an old
device. They wanted to lenRthen their pole
in order to knock down the per
simmons, and they did the splic-
ing after the usual political fashion.
The Committee Of Seventy, the Goo Coos,
and Boss PARKHURsr simply assisted in the
job as fresh and amateur politicians and
the people, desperately tired of Democratic
treachery and incompetence at Washing
ton, followed the example OF the people in
many another Democratic stronghold in
New Jersey, for instance, and made the
deal successful.
II the proposed mass meeting occurs, it
will be only ludicrous exhibition OF the
delusion of a few self-important individuals
that the public take them as seriously as
they take themselves, and attribute to them
distinction as the inventors OF the principle
OF non partisan politics by means of notori-
Gus political deals made to secure partisan
advantage. Humbug is always with us,
and vanity and folly have not yet departed
from this woful world.
The Chiapas Frontier Dispute.