New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-10-12
4 HEAVY RESPONSIBILITY.

There is no use Disgusting the fact That the
coming municipal election is viewed with great
anxiety and apprehension by serious-mindeu
citizens. They are face to face with ire
mendous crisis, and with all too much reason
they fear that the force of evil will prevail
against them. Hope as they will. they cannot
help seeing that political conditions make
probable the election Of Judge Van Wyck and
q four years' carnival under fewer restrictions
and in a larger territory than ever before OF the
old Tammany which stands TO the world ms
the svnonyme for utter ineficiency and cor
ruption of city government. That great ma
tortv of the inhabitants Of the enlarged city
prefer good government to bad and desire 10 be
freed from Tammany rule there can be no
doubt The problen,-the unsolved problem
OF the moment is TO bring that majOrty into
effective cooperation. and whoever stands in
the way of that cooperation and helps 10 make
the problem nsoluble to the injury OF the com
fort. the credit and the morals of three million
people. assumes a heavy responsibility for
himself and the organization for which he
speaks
If the next Mayor Of New-Yorl is the creature
Of Tammany Hail. to Thomas {. Plat. and TO
him alone will be due that result. Not by any
means that he Is the only person who las blum
dered blindly Or s,lfshly in this campaign.
but that 1t has been in his power TO save the
city constituted by him from the clutches Of
Tammany in spite of others mistakes. He
made the Greater NcwYork. He could save
It. If he will not on him rests the blame.
Mr. Plat forced the new charter through the
Legislature in spite OF warnings Of many
friends. who believed 1t was dangerous. Scna-
tors who We're not his enemies voted for it
under pressure. declaring that they believed it
was against the best interests Of the party.
Under such circumstances Mr.. Plat had a pc
cuar obligation not to let his pc. project be
turned TO TammaEy advantage or result disas-
tiously to the citizens of \ew-IO DIRK and Brook
lyn who had Ovcrthrown their old corrupt gov
crnmcnts and. If left TO themselves, were i'll a
fair way TO continue the work of reform. If.
row, from piquc or pride, because of any tech
nical question, or for the sake Of any selfish in
terest, he manages a campaign for the defeat
Of a machine Republican candidate and uses
that machine defeat as a weapon 10 destroy
an Independent Republican, candidate IA well,
there can be no excuse to party or TO people
that can bring forgiveness for that leadership
to slaughter.
1t is for Mr.. Plat 10 choose between Tam
many Mayor and an independent Republican
Mayor. The organization has prOfessed It's will
ingness to withdraw General Tracy, but has
refused to accept the most available man with
whom TO beat Tammany because of fancied
Sights The Sights were purely fancied, and
owed their existence to the fact that prctcxts
were sought for injured feelings; but even sup
posing they were real, they came not from
Mr.. Low, but from some Of his Overenthusastic
young admirers. The Tribune has not been
"a blind advocate Of Mr.. Low. 1t advised
against the method of his nomination. But
date whom every Republican can cordially sup
FORT. The important thing is to save the city
from corruption, and the particular man is not
important. If some other person than Mr.. Low
could better obtain the anti-Tammany vote 1t
would be the duty OF all good citizens TO turn
TO him. But it IL evident that General Tracy is
rot the man. He can at best get no indepcn-
less, while Mr.. Low better than anybody else
can hold the necessary independents. will have
q great body OF Republicans with him anyhow
and nothing but the word Of one man prevents
bis having united Republican support and de-
stroying Tammany, root and branch. If Mr.
Platt should say Low, the organization would
be for Low, as 1t was for Olcot and is for
Tracy. The choice is Low or Tammany. Even
now 1t is not too late for the maker of the
Greater New-York to rescue his creation If
in mere wantOnness he dooms il TO perdtion
his must be the blame forever