The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-21
SAILING UNDER FALSE ooIons.
The Eincst type OF n Bc-s-RIdden OrEantrattsu
Extant To-DaS.

bANAuN ho-unA.
To THE EDITOR OF the SrS-Sir. On tho
merits OF the political situation. Seth Low IL the
last of the Mayoralty candidates to deserve sup
port. My reason for this would be that he Is
sailing under false colors." like to see aman
fight in the open. in the uniform that he is not
ashamed to wear. under the flag that he &C
knowledgcs.
Are you a man.of.war or a rrivateer ~ cried
the sailor in the old English ballad. Il am no
man.of-war nor a privatecr," says he, but 1 am
a jolly pirate, a sailing for my fee" And then
what happenedi II you remember, twas
"broadside to broadsidc," and when the pirates
cried for quarter "the quarter that we gave
them was to sink them in the sea-"
No; whatever else wo do. let us give our new
imperial city an open partisan, a man who is not
ashamed to confess his politics by belonging to
a party. What is that but Amcricanism !
Hamilton was q partisan; Jefferson. Calhoun.
Seward. Lincoln. Tilden, Grant. all our leaders.
No ono has ever yet venturcd as a "non.par
tisan in the Held OF national politics.
VI course, they tell you that ,itv matters do
MOI, involve, any Federal questions. Then why
watching our municipal campaign. eager to
point 10 its result MS the triumph Of some politi-
cal principle ! In Philedclnhia the papers print
more about the New York city situation than
they do about one OF their State elections. 1t Is
hardly enough to say that the eyes of the whole
1ohIll 4 ttEtTtN DtU upon It's kTenIeSI nlU-
nicipal contest, for this contest engages the at
tention even of foreign nations.
! have taken occasion before this to point out
the awful hypocrisy and hollowncss Of wh,t. is
called non-partisnnship In municipal affairs"
Recent object lessons have enforced the justice
OF what was set forth when Mayor Strong took
office. In the Garden OF Eden, when the father
of lies approached the woman in the role OF
disinterested adviser. but really in order to at
tain his own purposes. then first deluded hui
man nature yielded to the voice OF the charmer,
and furnished an inspiration for every politi.
Ctn IA ha airnN e n,,Plt e. z,rar thn nn h-
iinto!erable ,%fallacy. strip the Sleeps clothing
from the wolf, and under the disguise appears
Mr., Low is "hnrd. at work" one OF his own
idolators cried aloud in Carnegie Hall. Hard at
work for whomi For himself. This is fighting
in bis own sTf bcha' KIT It ti Is soaSh T' to conceal RasSllan'n'p'
There il no such thing "a non. partisanship I"
in politics. Why not admit it boldly Either a
man votes with some organization or else he
seeks to break some, orgnlniaation and in is
by his own vote. aids in establishing the very
Even by non participation in any election every
voter aids or Injuries some machine. He cannot
II is as Aristotle said about philosophy: Even
II = man would not be a philosopher. thus he
Now that the Low machine has taken the
road, nothing can stop it, until after election
How.beautifully vanishes bis promise not to
run. unless he proved a ~unifying force
Don't fire" says Joe. cit amt no use.
That's Deacon Peleg's tame viii GOOSE
Saws Israel. "Idon't care a cent.
I've sighted. an I'll let her went"
Rad. utterly and absolutely bad. and danger.
Gus. as Tammany Is. and decidedly so now.
when Tammany success means revivification OF
Bryanism. It is refreshing at least to fight with
the brave old tiger that courageously voices its
genuine sentiment; ITO hell with reform"
Hero is p political issue hig enough and vital
enough 10 satisfy everybody. II the voters OF
New York don't care to observe the fact that
Secretary Bliss and Gov. Black regard ours rs
an election Of large pnnnrnl Sit-nifR.prn To M
many has furnished n shihbolcth. negatively
speaking. for the benefit of all who want 10
divorce the city from the rest Of the United
states. Let us make the fight for reform.
not state or national. il you please. but city.
Let Us go in for municipal reform. but not the
sort that furnishes Tammnnv hcr prcScnt op,
portunity. The election OF Tracy would mean
reform worth having. not bogus.
II would he inappropriate to dismiss the mu.
nicipal problem without a word or Two abou,
bosses But, nftcr all. what has been said
with regard to non partiSanS who want TO Smnst
one machine. simply for the purpose of creating
another applies to hyrocritiea! complaints abou,
boss leadership. II il all simple enough
Some new man wants TO he n boss" 40 ne dc
nOunCcs the system that he is seeking to estab
would he to follow ont the idea of Artemn:
NHrd:t TO have an army wherein. TO avoid jcnl
ousics. every man should be n General. That l.
the paradise pictured 10 the people who partici
nate in the Low pageant. In point Of fact. the
Citizens Union is the finest typc of boss-ridder
organization extant today.
A community without a boss, did il ever exist
Certainly. Carlyle says. in the Revolutions:
has burst out so into universal sound. anG
smoke. and attaircd-thc Phrygian cap o.
liberty DO we care. ms \ City, TO taste tn,
that tar!ylc has pictured?
NEW York. Oct. l6.