Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-10-29


Seth Low and the George Vote.
The death of Henry George, on the very
eve OF the election in New York intensive;
the confusion that has prevailed through
out the campaign. The first question that
naturally arises is as to the effect that this
event will have upon the fortunes of the
three remaining candidates. The nearness
of the election complexities the situation al
most beyond calculation. for Georges cam
pagn has been based upon altogether I'M
usual lines. and his following yesterday.
complex and non-partisan as it was in the
main. is today left floating. uncertain
quantity to add to the chaotic intricacy of
the canvass Naturally the passing away
of the leader would leave the following.
gathered from many sources. free to re-
vert to their first principles. based upon
partisan or personal prejudces. George
has uHquestionably drawn most of his
strength that has thus far been demon
strated from the ranks of the Tammany
democrats. He stood for many of the prin-
ciples represented by that party. He was,
In a large measure. a democrat of the CHI:
cago school He halted. however. on the
conservative side of full Endorsement of
the independent. free and unlimited coinage
of silver at Is to l. He was primarily
single taxer. He advocated municipal cwn-
ership. a revolution of the methods of land
control. d remodeling of Industrial society
He attracted the disconnected the theorists
the eXperimenters.
AS the case stood yesterday there were
three anti-Tammany candidates in the
field. The hearty desire of all friends of
good government was that Tammany
should b. defeated. An unfortunate schism
in the ranks of the natural enemies of
Tammany caused the rival candidates. of
Tracy and Low. The formers chance of
election lay in the magnitude of Georges
vote, which was expected to draw heavily
from Van WICK. Tracy's most formidable
opponent. and somewhat well from Low.
The latest tendencies seemed to favor
slight increase in Tracy's chances to secure
a sufficiently heavy machine republican
vote to capture the decision in the face of
the three opposing forces. But Georges
death has changed all this. 1t has de
stroyed the hope that the Tammany vote
and the Low vote would be weakened by
Georges inEoads sufficiently to ensure a
margin for the regular republican candi-
date.
Henry George stood for anti-bossism
He WAS running primarily non-parti-
san whose individual principles and per-
sonal magnetism were dominant factors in
his campaign. He reviled the leadership
and boss-ship of Croker and Platt in equal
terms His hatred of the machine was in
discriminating 1t was one of the open
secrets of the campaign that he had of late
been advising those of his hearers who
could not come to a full endorsement of his
single-tax views to vote for Seth Low if
they could not vote for him. Indeed 1t was
currently reported and believed with some
confidence that there was an understanding
between George and Low that the former
would throw his strength to Low at the
last hour II it became apparent that George
could not win.
Seth Low will thus gain heavily from the
vote cast adrift by the death Of George 1t
was essentially an anti-Tammany vote. yet
a certain percentage of it. attracted from
Tammany by Georges personality, will in
spite of everything flow back to Van Wyck
Tracy running solely as the Platt republi-
can candidate can apparently hope for little
or nothing from this vote.
This increase of Lows strength coupled
with a smaller increase of Van wSck's vote
operates in { double sense to improve Lows
chances There are many New York voters
everything to defeat Tammany. Their votes
on election day. as between Tracy and Low
would be cast for that candidate who pre-
scented the best prospects of defeating Van
Wyck. The latter's gain from the George
ranks emphasizes the necessity of a con-
centration of forces in order to defeat him,
and the accessions to Low from the George
vote point to Low as the candidate
who offers by far the strongest promise of
an anti-Tammany victory.
The opportunity row presents itself for
the anti-Tammany elements who are not
bound down to machine rule to unite upon
a candidate who represents good govern
ment. sound administration and non-parti-
sanship in the conduct of municipal
affairs.
1t Will be unfortunate if any other result
shall come from this tragic climax 10 IN
intensely dramatic campaign. II the in
fiuence of the dead candidate can last until
Eext Tuesday to direct the votes of his
former followers and supporters the logical
and to most people outside of the hurly
burly of New York politics the satisfactory
result will be the defeat of Tammany and
the election of Seth Low as the first mayor
of the Greater New York