The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1897-11-18
AFTER THE BATTLE.
THE NEW YORK CONTEST
REVIEWED.
Some Rambling Thoughts.
BY "NEMO. "

BY "NEMo."
! Copyrighted by Dave & Tabor)
The hero's last despairing cry.
Falling for faith and liberty,
Re-echoes round the world:
| And in dark dens where failure mopes
| Among the wrecks of ruined hopes,
| Fresh banners are unfurled
This Thought" is for myself, writ
ten few hours after the close OF the
historic "Cltlzens' Union" campaign in
New York City. Though wearied with
outdoor speaking; heart-burdened be-
cause a self-evident public need has
been waived aside by party greed dis
traught by the backward step of mu-
nicipality to the fiercest form of fierce
partlanship, yet only hopeful notes will
be sounded in this column.
| ~
Since the "Citizens' Union" move
ment was never called into existence to
perish in one campaign, it is perhaps
wise to enlist the interest of the open
minded of all parties the country over,
so that its future career may be hope.
fully watched. A few words concern
ing its purpose are also needed because
partisan papers have here and there
striven to show that it was merely a
heartIess conspiracy to destroy the old
parties. This new organization, less
than a year old, and yet honored with
the votes of 10000 men who could
neither be driven nor led, set out to
maintain and will continue to maintain
| this self-evident truth that large
clty-or small one, for that matter
| is a business concern. It's details OF
light, cleaning, paving, ventilatlng
with parks etc., and general sanitation
are, in effect, municipal housekeep-
ing" Just as with a business man
seeking an assistant, or housekeeper
seeking servant, the inquiries are not
as to the color of the hair, nor as to
! views on theology, but rather as to past
experience so the test-questions in
selecting a Mayor are-or ought to be
t-exclusiveIy confined to those relating
to the welfare of the city. The "Citi-
zens' Unio1N' was further encouraged
to its non-partisan stand by the fact
that the new constitution of the State
of New York recognized the mayoral-
lty absurdities where the choice was
made on national lines, and expressly
provided that cities of the first class
should forever hereafter have their
domestic elections on "off" years, when
there was neither State Senator nor a
President to elect. Furthermore the
"Citlzens' Union" expressly dlsavowed
any designs on national parties by
showing clearly that the line of cleav-
age in local contest must necessarily
be different from that in a national
one, whence it follows that in local al
fairs a black Republican (whatever
that may be) could safely have deal
lngs with a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat
(also a dubious expression y when the
health, welfare and education OF his
family were toterlng In the balance OF
an election, and beyond all this, the
statement was clearly made-so clearly
that wayfarer, though goose, need
not have erred therein-that national
party did not lose its existence when
ever it's legitimate field was empty. 1t
simply lay quiescent until national
questions aroused it again.
| We therefore called on the open
minded of all parties to sink national
differences in the presence of mutual
local need, and 10000 or more re-
sponded, both Democrats and Repub'
licans.
| So
Here I approach danger point with
your readers, according to their polite
al leanings, for must chow how oul
defeat came about. Yet L do not
hesitate, tor know there are thous
ands of Republican patriots who under
stand the difference between a machine
and party, and an equal number O
whole-souled Democrats who have nc
sympathy with our local Democratic
organization, called "Tammany Hall.
Senator Thomas G.. Platt. on the Re
nubIican side, insisted that Bryanisn
was the issue, his candidate, General
Tracy, re-affirmed this in his speech o
acceptance, and upon that non-existent
issue in purely municipal election
!, they stubbornly went to defeat them
selves, defeated Seth Low, and precipi
tated Tor their party the conflict of 1900
FOR OVER FIFTY YEARS