New-York tribune., 1897-12-08
TIE MACHINES REGULARITY.


primaries next Tuesday. instead Of surren-
dering at once to the general demand for new
organization, is that the primaries are manda-
tory under the constitution, and cannot be
avoided without self-destruction." He says no
would be In favor Of organizing anew mme-
diately were 1t a physical possibility. but the
failure to hold primaries at the date nXed
would at once destroy our position as a regu-
lar organization"
But what is the use Of regularity" to an or
ganzaton that is already Irregular? What spe-
cial virtue has one particular article Of the con-
stitution that obedience to It can make regular
an organization that has Invited selfdestruc-
ton by repeated violation Of other articles no
whit less important? When Mr.. Quigg sets up
this plea he is simply making mock OF his con-
stitutlon The holding OF primaries on certain
day will no more give character 10 an organlza-
ton which has Systematically violated the letter
and the spirit Of the law which II processes
TO obey than will going to church on Easter
make a Christian OF a man who spends the rest
Of the year in rascality. The only reason the
organization has for existence Is 10 represent
the Republican voters OF this city. That Il does
not represent those voters even Mr.. QulgG can
not deny 1t did not represent them In putting
up General Tracy, for as many OF them voted
for Mr.. Low as voted for General Tracy not
wlthstanding the party tie that led many TO
vote for the organization candidate who would
have preferred the nomination OF Mt Low. Mr
Ougg. who before the convention announced
that "the organization" had decided TO put up
General Tracy. was able to point to the fate
Of Jacob Worth as warning TO all district
leaders who might be disposed 10 advocate the
nomination OF Mr.. Low, and so forced upon
the party a candidate whom Il repudiated. Even
election district captains In districts whose vote
had been cast In convention for General Tracy
voted at the election for Mr. Low.
The machine organization is utterly unrepre-
sentative Moreover, II is utterly illegal Not
per cent Of the district associations have any
existence under the constitution. The machine
leaders themselves admit that most OF them
are dead, unless they can whip their own laws
around the stump Of "mpra ctica bility." There
fore no primaries that can be held In those dis
tricts can be legal and no committee elected by
their representatives can be legal. The new
County Committee which would spring from
these December primaries Mr.. Quigg is so par
tcular about would have no more position as
regular organization than would commit
tee elected In January or May. instead OF De-
weakest link, and an organization Is constitu-
tionaI only when It obeys It's whole constitu-
ton.
Mr.. Quigg has to make bluff for the sake
of appearances, and in his letter to Mr.. Yer
eance, offering to reorganlze by and by, he
SAYS: 1--WE take the view that we are n per-
"fectly regular and well-intending organiza-
"tion." Nevertheless, Mr.. Qugg knows perfectly
we'll that the constitution has been violated In
the refusal to submit the rolls to inspection, In
the failure to publish notices required by the
constitution whenever such notices threatened
to interfere with the plans OF 'the Master" "
and In neglect to dissolve the hundreds Of as
sociatons which the constitution declares dead.
OF course, he pretends the machine Is regu-
lar, but he knows II Is all pretence. III he Is
sincere In his offers Of future reorganization
why should he care about the regularity OF
this one? II the new committee Is to be used
only as a vehicle for new one 1t can make
no difference whether its technical regularity Is
preserved or not. But II the game Is 10 hold
the old organization In hope that the demand
for reform will quiet down, then the anxiety
is perfectly explicable. But In that case MT
Quigg should find stronger claims to regularity
than a single act Of obedience to a consttu-
ton that he has already punched full Of holes.