The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-02-03
The Teachings of History.

or the gentlemen who are now ac'Ne
in this city in fomenting Repuphca"
discord with view to- the disrup'ioh
of the party in this critical preslden-
tial year, there is scarcely one who mas
not already. by practices eliciting the
reprobation of honest partisans' cut
himself adrift from possible future pre-
ferment at the party's hands. we
speak, of course. of the leaders of the
revolt, and not of men whom they have
grossly deceived. OF the three or four
inspiring causes of the present division
among the Republican voters Of Scran-
ton we cannot think of one who has
not been personally guilty, time and
, again. of the corrupt acts falsely at
tributed by them to the gentlemen at
whose prominence in the party they are
enraged; who has not repeatedly fought
fairly nominated Republican candi-
dates and whose partisan escutcheon
does not bear the signs of many other
equally nefarious and Objectionable po-
litical practices.
With these men. 1t Is today a game
of manifest desperation akin to that or
the gambler whose last dollar Is staked
on a single play. After years OF steady
losing they have at last hazarded their
all upon a bold project of party treason
and 1t is to be expected that rather
than lose they will hesitate at moth
ing in the line of political daring or
unscrupulousness calculated to pro-
mote their chances of winning. But
even should they capture the one stake,
it would mean simply brief postpone
ment Of inevitable political downfall;
on foundations such as theirs perma-
nent success cannot be builded. In the
fantastic pursuit which men call poll
tics, odd companionships and strange
alliances are proverbial; but the his
tory of politics, like the history of most
other branches of human endeavor,
teaches nothing more plainly than the
eventual futility Of malice, greed and
revenge as the component parts of real
success. Even in politics the pulling
of one man down does not lift another
up. Sooner or later the public regains
its sense of fairness, and the tricksters
and traitors are scourged to their
doom.
We, therefore, have no fear Of the
principals in the present revolt. In
any event their punishment is simply
a question of time. We are concerned
only for the welfare of the honest Re-
publicans whom these experienced dis
simulators are trying to deceive into
an experiment of party recreancy
which, however 1t may affect the Feb
ruary election, can have for those who
go along with it only one result, and
that disappointment and chagrin. Let
the undecided voter ask himself, What
has been the uniform history of organ
lied party revolts? Let him ascertain If
1t has not been an unvaried history of
specious. advance promises and of poig-
nant subsequent regrets. Suppose, for
sake of argument, that the present
Republican ticket were defeated two
weeks from tomorrow. How would
that benefit any legitimate interst OF
the Republican party or contribute in
any degree to the welfare of the city?
Would 1t not be a change from the
known to the unknown; u literal and
dangerous leap in the dark?
There were smoOth-tongued men
who persuaded a good many people to
vote for such a ''change" I'm the larger
election of a president, in 1892. Then
rs now, the advocates of the change
were Reformers. who promised much
Nobody needs to be told ,.hOw that
change worked. Do the voters of Scran-
ton want a second dose of the same po-
litical medicine?