Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1897-11-26
THE SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.


that under the existing system in that
city the bosses make the nominations
and not the people. lie says further
that if there had been full, free and
independent primaries in the Dem
cratic and Republican parties, neither
Van Wyck nor General Tracy would
have been nominated; that the immense
vote for Low, which was $4,000 more
than that received by Tracy, the regular
Republican nominee. was in great
measure revolt against the tyranny of
the party machine, and that this we'll
understood fact has given rise to a
general discussion Of the subject of
reform of the primaries, which is adj
mitted to he essential to the reunion of
the party and a recovery of the strength
that was lost in the factiona contest of
the last campaign. Several plans are
proposed. One is to place the primaries
of all parties under the operation of
state law, similar to that which governs
elections; another is to abolish con-
ventions altogether and give citizens
when they go to register, as they are
obliged to do in order to qualify to vote,
the right to name the men they want as
candidates, the results of these informal
ballots to be binding upon their parties;
and a third is to have nominations made
exclusively by petition.
There are objections to all of these
remedies, but the need of some change
which will give to the Republicans of
New York the right of nomination is
beyond dispute. People in New En-
gland, where caucuses are free and
conventions are generally honest, and
as a rule represent the opinions and
wishes of the parties they act for, are
unable to understand to what an extent
the great mass of the voters in New
y orl are robbed of their rights in the
primaries through the agency of the
despOtic aud merciless machines which
are controlled by Croker and Patt. We
have heard many men say within
month, "If the Republican party in
New \ DIRK city does not want Platt as a
leader, why isn't he turned down." and
again, "If the Republicans did not want
Tracy put into the field, why did they
nominate him." The answer is that the
great majority of New York Republicans
are not consulted as to the leadership of
Plat and had absolutely nothing to say
about the candidacy of Tracy until they
got to the polls. The political organ
izations or machines are ingenously
cOntrived and fearfuly and wonderfully
made, for the purpose of giving to a
boss and his satellites autocratic powers.
Such caucuses as we have in New
England, which are open to all members
of a party and in which malorities can
always rule if they will, are unknown in
New York The system there is illus
trated by recent history. Senator Plat |
had secured control of the Republican
city committee and had driven out of it |
all who were not subservient to his |
wishes. From top to bottom it was his |
committee. By his orders it sent out
into every precinct selected men to make
an enrolment of the Republican voters
and the list made NY by these men con-
sttuted what claimed to be the Repub- /!
lican party of New \ ork. No others |
were allowed to take part in the caucuses
or were recognized as having a right to
participate in any way in the nominations. |
1t was charged and proved that this |
enrolment was padded In all the |
precincts where it was necessary with |
the names of Tammanyites and other
traitors who could be depended upon to
support the Platt machine in the caucuses,
and that the names of thousands of
Republicans who were known to be |
hostile to that machine were deliberately |
left of was admitted the claim being
that they were mugwumps and had for |
feited their party rights.
With the enrolment thus made up the |
caucuses we're called and in them Platt's
men were of course elected members of a
new city committee without opposition.
This committee was then called together
to nominate city ticket. AS soon as it
had assembled some one moved and it
was voted that Platt's factotum. Quigg,
be authorized to cast one ballot for a
candidate for mayor. lie voted for
Gendral Tracy, with whom Plat had
made an arrangement to accept two
days before, and in this way the general
became the party candidate. That he
was the choice of a majority of the party,
or Of any one except Plat, does not
appear. That he was not the favorite Of
majority of the 250.000 who were OBJ
pOseu 10 1ammany Is certain; Tor al
though he went into the canvass as the
regular Republican nominee and was
supported by the machine, he got only
two-thlrds as many votes as Low, who
ran as an independent.
The Tammany nominations were made
in similar way by committee whose
action was dictated by one man. The
DeODle. whose votes were wanted TO
elect the candidates, had nothing to say
about the nominations. Their rights in
the matter were ignored or brutally
trampled under foot. The Tammanyites
submitted and marched to the polls as
usual to do their masters bidding, but
many of the Republicans would not, and
their revolt was one of the factors In the
overthrow which has put New York
at the mercy of the banditti. And this
e histOrrr that mill ranoot ;teolf ,,nIoee