New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-10-20
MACHINE AND PARTY.

In the course Of his speech nj the Clcrmont
Avenue Rink. In Brooklyn, on Monday night.
General Tracy asked this question:
In view OF the battle that is now pending and
that Is to be fought next year. In lS}S. In the
election Of your members Of Congress, and the
final struggle that awaits us In I."F. when All
the elements that CONSTITUTED Bry6n.sm ana are
summed up In the word Organism. VIII We
arreyed against tho Republican party-ls Il wise,
is I. patriotic is II just for you II defeat your
party in this struggle?
The prophecies OF tho occasion did not permit
a spoken reply to this inquiry. but doubtless
there werc many persons in the hall who were
tempted TO tell General Tracy that his defeat
and the election Of Mr. Low would not be equiv
alent to defeat Of the Republican party IN
this straightforward, in fact be just the re
verse There are tens of thousands OF Eepub-
leans who are going TO vote for n Republican
who can be elected nstcad Of a Republican
who, as everybody knows and nobody knows II
better than General Tracy has not the rcmotest
chance Of being elected They will do this with
full conviction that the election OF Mr.. Low
would not only put the business OF the consolI-
dated city In the charge OF n man who is adj
mlrably qualified by character, capacity and
experience to direct it In a thoroughly satlsfac-
tory manner, but would also fortify their party
In the goodwill and confidence Of the people.
General Tracy. In the heat Of conflict In which
his personal interest Is naturally intense, as
sumes that the election Of Mr.. Low would de-
moralze and disrupt the Republican party,
when In fact, the only thing which the authors
Of his candidacy and managers Of his campaign
fear is disaster TO the machine through which
they prosper mt the common expense.
If n multitude OF Republicans are able To con-
template such q consequence rs TINT without
regret is there anything surprising In the fact!
They remember, what even General Tracy ought
not 10 forget that the machine under discussion
Is based on an enrolment which Mr.. Cornelius
~ Bliss has recently described IA rotten 10 n
degree never before paralleled IN tho history
"of the party" whereby "the entire party struct-
cure Is tainted and unworthy Of confidence and
support; that II Is the machine which declared
through It's president last spring that Tam
many victory would be far more desirable than
the election Of ally candidate whom II could not
CONTROL that it Is a machine with whose choice
OF standard-bcarcr In this fight the Repub-
lean party had no more to do than had the
subjects Of the Khan Of Tartary; that 1t Is the
machine whose nominee was finally selected.
not with any expectation Of his election. but
in the hope that he might at least defeat Seth
Low and give 1t claim on Tammany for
spos: that It is the machine which last year
was defaming the man whom Republican opin-
ion had designated IA the Republican candidate
for President and thereby doing what It could
TO make his election more difficult, and that 1t
is the machine which is likely to be found three
years hence employing whatever power II may
have retained in the same sort OF operation.
Such IS the Republican machine. The Repub-
lcan party Is an institution Of a radically differ
ent sort. whose integrity and strength Mr..
Lows election would not impair. but renew.