The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-01-29
A Death Dance.

Although we have established the
falsity of every specific charge yet ut
tered concerning serious corruption at
the recent Republican city primaries,
and expect to have little difficulty IN
disproving any others which may arise.
it should not be overlooked that the
publication of these wholly false or
else grossly exaggerated allegations in
the Scranton Republican is merely part
of 4 carefully drawn plan, conceived
months ago by Joseph A. Scranton,
John II. Fellows. Matthew Dale and
their respective followers, to make
bold raid upon the local party organiza-
tion and, failing in that raid, to concen-
trate their energies in an attempt to
ruin it. Nobody who knows Scranton.
Fellows or Dale can be in doubt as to
the spuriousness of their pre-
tended devotion to pure politics; their
purpose is wholly one of jealousy and
revenge. and in it they have grown so
desperate that they will stoop to any
falsehood or bend to any political crime
to further 1t or to bring evil upon
those whom they oppose.
Six months ago Fellows said upon the
street that if Ripple We're nominated
he would fight him to the bitter end"
Last fall Scranton called exSheriff
Stevens into his office and told
him that 1.-The Connells must be killed
OFF politically, cost what 1t might" Dale
kept further in the background; he was,
1t Is believed, the cashier of the 1nde-
pendent movement. The meetings In
Durr's, Moir's and Fuller's halls were
part and parcel of this preconceived
purpose to capture the party leadership
by storm or else to ruin the party and
build up new dynasty over its newly
dug grave. Hence the slanderous pre-
dictions. weeks in advance of the pri-
maries. that "if money were used.
effort being first to poison the public
mind against the men whom the con-
spirators had marked for slaughter
before sending them to their death.
What would have been thought, in
this community. If Colonel Ripple had
primaries. insinuating that Moir was
planning to corrupt the caucuses and
threatening q bolt? What would have
been thought of The Tribune as n
party newspaper if it had said. in effect
eight weeks before the primaries, that
If its pet ticket was not chosen by the
party, it would set up an independent
one or else go over to the Democrats?
We appeal to Republicans to lay aside
all prejudice in this matter and look at
the facts fairly, as they exist. We re-
peat our charge that the Scranton-Fel-
lows conspiracy planned the present
fight over half q year ago; that they
made all arrangements for it, passing
the word along the line that the pre-
text for the bolt, should a bolt become
necessary, would be the cry of fraud"
and that every allegation of Irregular
ity now uttered by this conspiracy,
through its newspaper organ or in pri-
vate talk. is calculated item in the
elimination Of the plot first to raid
the party, and next in the event Of that
failing, to work for its destruction.
To be sure, the conspirators have
been and are yet glib of tongue and
agile In Justification. First Scranton
tickled the vanity of the asinine Eel
lows and turned him from bombastic
foe into cringing and obedient lick
spittle ally; next he practiced his arts
Of Establishment on honest Tom
Davies, whom he finally hypnotized in
to making up with the man who boast
ingly defeated him for county treas
urer in 1894; and from these he passed
on to the good-natured and amiable
Captain Moir, whom, we believe, was
usedas an unconscious tool in this cam
paign Of political highwaymanism.
And thus, step by step, the plot was
worked out, the wires were laid and
the details adjusted for the final cli-
max. 1t was Scranton's thought that
he would win the primaries. because
he fancied he had covered his plans.
When he lost that hope, he fell back
on his precautionary reserves, and has
since given us a demonstration Of his
capabilities as a wrecker. He is dane
ing his last Jig, and knowing that it
is his last one. he is dancing 1t desper-
ately. But his very desperation gives
his case away, and reveals him to the
party as foe who would willingly stab
1t to the death in order to climb over
its quivering form to a new lease Of
power for public mischief.
We regret that Captain Moir did not
see At to accept our courteous invita-