New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-10-22
A QUEER REPUBLICAN, SPEECH.

If devotion to Plat Is measured by plat-
tud,s. Governor Blacks speech In Lcnox Ly-
ceum Wednesday night fills the measure full
In q campaign ostensibly directed against Tam
many Hall, with n view TO prevent the return
OF that corrupt organization to the possession
OF power which it for so many years prOsttuted
and grossly abused. this eminent speaker never
made the remotest allusion to that purpose
never uttered word Of disapproval OF Tam
many practices or Of warning against tho dan.
GER to all good causes which would follow its
restoration 10 municipal control. And yet Gov:
ernor Black Is fully aware that the re-cstab-
lishment Of Tammapy rule means the return TO
a venal and corrupt Police Department; to filthy
streets. spreading Infection and cngenderlng dis
ease: to robbery Of taxpayers and footing Of the
municipal treasury; to the renstallation In sine
cure places of a horde Of Idle. useless and In
competent creatures; TO the substitution OF neg-
gcnce improvidencc and waste for watchfu-
ness and economy; in short to maladministra-
ton in all departments, fitness diligence and
capacity in none. He knows all this Every
body knows 1t.
He knows as we'll that. aside from a few
hundred or perhaps thousand huckserins pro-
fcssional politicians. who ply their vocation be
tween the plunderers and the punderel. eking
out a precarious subsistence from both. the in
tercsts not only Of the great mass Of voters Of
bis own party. bat Of all good citizens are cen
tired in the hope of Tammany's defeat. Yet he
talked laborlously. with turgid rhetoric. mixed
metaphor and stiited figures OF speech. for a
full lf-hour without ever touching Tammany
in his talk or conveying the remotest ntlma-
ton that lie desired its defeat. A stranger
listening to 1t without other knowledge OF the
political situation than it conveyed would have
said that the great danger which threatened the
new municipality was the election Of Rcpub-
lican upon the platform, pure and simple OF
good government and honest administration, as
opposed to Tammany msrue and robbery; that
the greatest misfortune that could happen would
b. the dcfca, OF the two political machines.
which are striving for the mastery Of the city
with no other purpose than to use It's patronage
to strengthen themselves at the expense Of the
taxpayers.
Couldn't Governor Black have made room In
his address for little word Of criticism OF
Tamniany: OF It's record It's purposes, It's can
ddates its methods and its practices? Did he,
too, take his Instructions from Qugg not 10
attack TammaDy but direct all his efforts
against -partisanship and Seth Low? Does
he. too, lndorse the position taken by Iauterbach
and Quigg. that it would be "be;ter far that
| there should be placed in power a true Demo
"crat even 4 Tammany Hall Democrat, than
that We should aid to elect to that state Of
| power and place a man OF no party, whose
| administration is responsible TO party. and
who has no party nj his back: That is the
| only Inference that can he drawn from his
| speech. and that is plain and nnmistakablc
Governor Black was elected as Republican
as a member Of the party whose fundamental
principle is hostility 20 Tammany Democracy
| lie sets himself up as superior sort Of Rcpub-
lican-a thick-and-thn Republican partisan. But
what kind OF Republicanism is this that spends
| a full halflour rejecting upon the motives and
denouncing the acts Of men Of longer service
and equally high standing in the party for TAX
ing what they believe to he the most effective
| action against the common enemy, and never
utterng a word OF condemnation Of the enemy
Governor Black Is in line and in tune with the
| whole Platt-Qugg outfit. Not one Of their
speakers ever has Il word against Tammany
but they are unsparing In denmnciation. abuse
and blackguardism Of reputable Republicans
who avow their intention to vote for Seth Low
lis n queer kind Of Republicanism that these
gentlemen are exploiting.