New-York tribune., 1896-01-15
THE DANGER or OTERCONFIDENCE.
humanity.


canvass. will pardon Us if we again remind them
of the danger of ovcrconfdcncc II Is 10 be
feared that the surprising success with which
they ACCOMPLISHED the extremely difficult task
Of overcoming the Governors reluctance may
have made them ovcrSanguine as to the event
next in order which is. Of course. the nomina-
ton by the Republican National Convention
The election Of the Republican candidate is,
fortunately. already assured. if any depcndcnc"
can be placed upon present Indications But 1t
must be borne in mind that many Things re-
majncl 10 be done even after McssrS. flait.
Depcw. Miller and lIscock had mad" the an
nounccmcnt that not only had Governor Morton
onsented. but that these four gentlemen the
big Four" 50 called Were honestly sincerely,
unanimously and cncrgctically in favor OF his
nomination without reservation. evasion or pre-
varcatlon. first. last and all the time. mat
was "A most auSpicious beginning. Bui only
beginning In this age Of sccpticism ana douDt
il WAS not perhaps surprising that for several
davs after the announcement there wcr" in
timatipns IN interior political circles and in ia"
columns of "A ribald and irrcvcrcnt press that
the Big -Four were working something called
Il racket" and that when they mot each other
they exchanged the grand hailing sign OF The
Roman au.ur~ That disa.rccahlc suspicion
had 10 be dispcllcd Mr. Plat on his part with
his usunl promptncS,. took immediate steps IN
that direction 10y entering into negotiations with
Mr. Quay coasing communication with Mt
Manley on account Of that scn'lrm1nS hrca'h
Of faith, and establishing relations with South.
ern Republicans whose chief anxiety + for sound
money. The other three have not been ="
prompt but all doubt rs 10 their sincerity VIII
be removed within few months. Even then
II will no, do 10 be ovorconiidcnt.
Considerable stress has been laid upon The large
and liberal spirit in which The Governor him
self has entered upon the work of uniting The
party and making everybody feel good" 10y the
appointment Of Eugene Butlinramc SPECIAL
commissioner In the BAT" shea case, bu' -
this appointment differed only In degree from
ali others that have been made. from Nj NJ
dridgr ~ Superintendent of Public Works 'o
Mr. Stewart H. Inspector ~ Gas Meters. n has
not been hailed with The enthusiasm that WIS
expected Indeed. the Governors purpose would
hardly have been clearly unfodsd hni FOR 'h"
announcement that il WAS 10 unite thr party
and make everybody feel good" This served
10 make his intention plain. And vet II would
bc the unwi>lom Of ovrrconildcn"c {" Jump p"
the conclusion that this move ON tie part Of The
Governor was absolutely decisive in making
''cvcrybody though II may have made almost
everybody "fccl good" Candor compel, H. 10
say that there are still lurking signs Of dis
satisfaction with the Governors appointments.
II woulG be- extremely unfortunate II possible
friction should be- allowed 10 generate thercfrom
Even now there are Republicans who say that
making appointments with view 20 uniting
the party and making everybody feel good i
such risky business that the Governor will do
well to refrain from making any more until
after the National Convention.
Again. what strikes us as another sign Of
ovcrconhdcnc, is the publication within the last
few davs in a city Journal which. though Dem
ocratc in politics is very favorable To- COY
ornOr Mortons nomination. and very close To-
Mr. Platt of what may be called an accom-
panying "sate.' which names General AlEcr
for Vice President. Mr. Dcpcw for Secretary Of
State, Mr.. Platt -oi course for Secretary of The
Treasury. Mr. Miller for United States senator.
General Tracy for Ambassador 10 England, Mr..
Roberts, Of Buffalo for Governor ana Mr.
Lauterbach for Mayor Of Greater New York.
Now so far ~ the nomination for Vice Ircsi-
dent is concerned II iS, of course, quite proper
that some candidate should be- agreed upon by
Governor MortOn's supporters. and there are
business considerations which point 10 General
Algcr for that place But IL does seem 10 us
that it is taking too much risk 10 nominate any
part Of the Cabinet al this early day. unless I,
be Mr. platt for the Treasury that being uni
vcrsally conceded as the logic of the situation
Nor do we believe that this slate has been agreed
H., .. 4 1,
crnor Morton is actually committed TO IT. with
the exception. Of course of Mr.. Plat The
omission of Mr. Hiscock's name would make
trouble for one thing. That gentleman has al
ready entered into the Morton canvass with all
the enthusiasm Of his ardent nature. and, al
though he has the same aversion rs Governor
Morton to public life, his three associalcs would
not consent to take office without being assured
that he also was willing to assume similar re-
sponsibilitics. Hence we assume that the pub
LEGATION Of the entire list is unauthorized if not
unwarranted. Whether 80 or not. the simple
fact that the Governors supporters have per-
mittcd the publication though harmless in itself
to be made seems 10 us an indication Of that
overconlidcncc which at the present juncurc II
is Of the greatest importance To avoid
One other thing. There is good deal Of talk
about holding the State Convention 10 appoint
delegates to the National Convention some time
in March. II Is most earnestly 10 he hoped that
If the State Committee should decide 10 call thc
convention in March, they should not in the
rccklcssnc>s Of ovcrconidencc neglect 10 con
slider the Importance Of avoiding the 18th Of
that month. known in the Roman calendar os
the ldcs Of March For that was the day fixed
upon by another Big Four in Rome many
years ago-to viii. Bruius. Cassius. Casca and
Cinna-for the first step in a great political
movement. and ever since then it has been con.