Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-10-08
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SETH LOW PUBLICLY ACCEPTS.
Considerably Shortsns His Speech 50 Not IA
Weary the Audience.

New York. Oct. 6.-Seth Low, tonight,
publicly accepted the nomination Of the
Citizens Union for mayor of the
Greater New York, at a large and enthu-
siastic mass meeting held in the
Cooper Union. Charles Stewart Smith
called the meeting to order and made
the opening speech. Carl Schurz de-
livered a long address which was en-
Enthusiastically received.
Mr.. Low had carefully prepared
speech covering several pages Of type
written manuscript. He stated, how
ever, that owing to the lateness of the
hour and desire not to detain the au-
dience unreasonably, he would curtail
his remarks. Following is a summary
from the text of the address furnished
the press:
Mr.. Chairman and fellow citizens:
From the point of view of the Citizens
Union this campaign has only one OBJ
ject, namely, to secure good govern
ment for the city of New York. The
problem before the voters of New York
at this election is not simply to secure
a capable and honest administration of
a government or organization already
in position. but 1t is to stall over an i'm
mense territory and entirely new city
government; to unity and harmonizc
in this that have hitherto been separate
and more or less conflicting and to
make the new agencies of government
as efficient as these which they sup
plant throughout the length and
breadth of the territory affected. IL
seems to me to go without saying that
i, .t1 .f,rIt
dealt with by any man who goes into
the office of man or with a double OBJ
ject in view.
Now let us see the form that this con-
test has taken. There are four tickets
in the field. Two of them, the ticket
headed by Gen. Tracy and the ticket
headed by Henry George. openly pro-
claim the doctrine that in the solution
of this tremendous municipal problem
that confronts the city of New York.
national issues and not the local issues
ought to dominate in the mind of the
voters. Gen. Tracy or the platform ON
which he stands says, that the general
issue is Bryanism, with free coinage Of
silver of 16 to l and all that that i'm
plies. Both of these gentlemen pro-
pose certain things for the city Of
course. n-f
Nevertheless they do say. both of
them that the city's interests are not
the paramount issue and that the voter
ought to cast his ballot primarily with
Difference to national issues. Translated
into plain English this means that APP
pointments will be made to strengthen
the party and that the patronage of
the city will be usedffor the same pur-
pose. There is one point on which
Tammany, the Republican organiZa-
ton and the adherents of Henry George
are all agreed. With one voice they
proclaim the doctrine that the admin
istration of the city ought to be re-
sponsible to some party as they put it
and directly to the people themselves
In both cases of Tammany and the
Republican organization you have one
man power illustrated in it's most alb
solute form. Against that idea I
stand for direct and continuous re-
sponsibility on the part of city officials
to the people themselves. I make that
appeal now to the people of New York
in their own behalf and in behalf of
officials who will be responsible d.
rectly to them and not indirectly to
some person whom they cannot get at.
In conclusion, / say to you gentle
men, our ticket stands in this cam
paign, first for the independence of the
city; secondly. for the responsibility of
the city official after his election direct
ly to the people and thirdly, for the
independence Of the citizen in naming
the candidate for whom he wishes to
vote. Upon this platform. I shall sub
nit our case fearlessly to the people
of the city of New York.