The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-19
Will He Choose Honor or Dishonor =?

The young man REYNOLDS of the Citi-
zens' Union is reported as declaring that
mo matter what may happen. we AVE Mr..
Lows personal assurance that he will stick
to the end" Probably the assurance to
which the Low agent refers was his can
didate's declaration in the speech accepting
the nomination that he would continue, be
his friends " many or few"
Inasmuch, however, as Mr.. Low had re.
fused to consider n nomination from the
Citizens Union three months before, except
on the condition that he should be demon.
strated to be "a unifying force among the
friends of good government" how can
there be any such Interpretation of his re.
cent language as is made by his youthful
agent without casting a reflection on his
truthfulness and honori Mr.. Low said in
June and he repeated in his letter of last
week that only the compulsion of a sense
of imperative public duty" could impel
him to relinquish the duty he also owed to
Columbia University. He said also that
he would prefer that the leadership should
be committed to some other man, under
whom he would gladly serve in the cam.
paign for good government.
1t is now demonstrated to Mr.. Low and
to everybody else that there is no such call
OF public duty, but that, instead, the pub.
lie duty which cannot be gainsaid" is his re.
tirement as a candidate. Only by so doing
can he prove to the people the sincerity OF
his declarations of n purely disinterested
desire to promote the cause of good govern.
ment, no matter what might be the personal
sacrifice for him. In all New York there
is not a man, even among his loudest sup.
porters, who does not know thai the only
obstacle tothe unity imperatively requisite
for the public interests is the independent
candidacy of SETH Low.
The methods by which the candidacy OF
Mr.. Low wa introduced. propelled, and
finally precipated have destroyed all posi-
bility Of union pom 1t. His lmpracticable
supporters sustained their enthusiasm dur.
ing the summer and up to the time of his
acceptance of their nomination with tho
hope that the Republicans would be forced
to indorse 1t as n matter Of political neces-
sit:. Not one of them, and certainly not
Mr.. Low, has now any such hope remain.
ing. He will not be nominated by the
Republican Convention under any circum.
stances, SO long as he Is the candidate
of the Citizens Union, whose hostility to
the Republican party Is of The most rad.
lcal and bitter sort, and so long as he does
not stand upon the platform which it Is
the Republicans boundcn duty to uphold.
Tammany could propose the Endorsement
OF Its candidate by the Republicans with
as much reason as Mr.. Low Is now flung
at them. That Is a situation patent to
every citizen; 1t is an unalterable condition
from which Mr.. Low cannot escape. His
candidacy is a distinctly and fiagrantly dis.
unifying force, and can result in no profit
to him personally or to good government,
but must tend to the injury of both.
1t is undoubtedly true that even the with.
drawal of Mr.. Low as the disturbing and
disunifying Citizens Union candidate
would not assure his nominali on by the
Republican Convention, hut has become
wholly impossible under any circumstances.
From first to last, Mr.. Lows public AS.
s%urances, however, have been that his can
didacy has no attractions for him, except
30 far as it imposes on him "a pub
lie duty that cannot be gainsaid." II,
then. that duty can be discharged only by
his making way for another candidate, he
is under solemn pledges to remove his W
candidacy AZ the sole obstacle to unity.
Moreover, MIR. Lows declared sense of his
obligations to Columbia University re.
quires that he should not remain in a dis.
unifying canvass, into which that institu.
tion would be precipitated inevitably and
brought to public reproach at a peculiarly
critical period In its history. Even If
he offers his resignation as Presi.
dent OF Columbia it is not probable
that 1t will be accepted by the trustees.
At any rate, his retirement will be under
stood universally as merely nominal and
for tho period of the canvass only. Colum.
biA University, accordingly. will be dragged