The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-13
TOO DANGEROUS 4 RISK.
IRE Serious RcsponsibnitS Involved in Deser-
tlon from the RnnnhIIcnn RnrtH.

80 W NV AANb
wump newspapers. He said he was for Low.
i asked why. and he answered, because 1 want
TO get rid OF Platt.' When l asked further what
harm MIR. Platt had done, no could not explain
precisely, but turned Off the question by saying,
"Oh, everybody knows it," but" I replied,
show are you going to hurt Plat by voting for
Jow7 You may hurt the Republican party, but
what harm will you do plattl'
i got no satisfactory answer. and no one can
give n satisfactory answer to the question. No
fault can be found with tho Republican munici.
pal ticket, for it is the best in the field. II 1T is
beaten how will Mr.. Plat position be changed
The great mass of the party will honor him for
his fidelity TO it in the face of conspiracy and
trcachery against 1t. 1o will remain in tho
Senate and he will remain tho Republican
loader. "Plattism," as 1T Is called in Mug
wump parlancc. will continue. lilo has been
beaten before. have been voting tho Republic
con national ticket in this city continuously for
more than n generation, under tho leadership of
Thurlow Weed, Roscoe Conkling, Gen. Arthur.
and Senator Plat. and until last year 1t was
beaten regularly; but we havo not turned on our
leaders and turned them out, "downed" them
on that account.
II under the leadership of Mr.. Plat, we win
this first election in the Greater New York, and.
as you say. we can do 1t simply by pulling all
together. no will, naturally, DO gratined, along
with the rest Of loyal Republicans; but IL we
are beaten 1t will be the old story over again for
him and us. We may BIO beaten, but we shall
continue to fight on that line, all the same. Wo
have not surrendered before. and we shall not
surrender now. Mr.. Platt's party may DO do
feated. but he and 1t will still be on hand.
The making of a vote in this election Of tre-
mcndous significance turn upon n mere ques-
tion of the personality or even the methods Of a
political leader. Furnishing a great party in order
to vent spite against a single man. strikes me as
a startling sign Of degeneration. Suppose Cath
olics should join in an assault upon their
Church. 80 as TO deliver it over to its enemies,
because Archbishop Corrigan was suspected
and denounced by those enemies7 Suppose tho
Episcopalians should rush to bring misfortune
on their Church in this great diocese at q time
when they had it in their power to strengthen
its hold nightly, and oil because they did not
like Bishop Potter, "Potterism 2" Suppose an
army should throw down its guns and go over
to the enemy because people. chiefly the enemy,
did not like its Gencrali Who would be hurt,
Archbishop Corrigan. Bishop Potter. and the
General. or the cause each represented
Dcsertion from tho Republican party at this
election will do moro than hurt the party. 1t
will hurt the whole city. and already the dread
caused by tho distrncting and disturbing Low
candidacy is beginning to bring trouble to tho
business community. 1t IN only beginning, I
say, for the harvest of evil that will be reaped
IL Gen. Tracy is beaten. with the most probable
consequence that Henry George is elected, will
be lasting. New York will get q setback in it's
business progress which will DO continuous.
Henry George has not yet started out fully In
his canvass. but 1 hear from his followers closest
to him that it will soon proceed with the blare
of trumpcts and that there will be tho %stiffcst
1.-l- -. hat ~. H.
more especially Democratic, assure me that the
evidence that he is going to make n startling
run accumulates daily. The town will be on fire
with Gcorgeite Organism two weeks from now.
Low proposes to hustle" but his campaigning
will not be n circumstance to Georges.
Suppose. for instance, that Baltimore or Bos
ton should elect Henry George as its Mayor,
Would not prudent men who had investments
in tho George-ridden city think the time had
come to take them from such n community in
short order and put them somewhere else
Can any man with q property stake in New
York consider for n moment the possibility OF
Georges being its Mayor without anxiety My
own stake is not as large as l wish it was, either
here or anywhere else, but such as 1t is. I con.
fess that the prospect is not exhilarating to me.
l see that Waldorf Astor in his Pail Mall Ga.
scttc of London speaks of Georges election rs i'm.
possible, but 1t is n case Of the wish being father
to the thought. No wonder that an Aston does
not like to look at even the possibility that the
single-taN prophet is going to lead his hordes &c
the capture of tho Greater New York; but dis
agreeable as it is. it is a pos .ibls prospect, to
which we who arc here cannot shut our eyes
If Low should succeed in disrupting the Repub
lican party. George. by disrupting Tammany
Hall. would undoubtedly stand by far the best
chance of election of any of the four candidates
T. y,y ppipfnn Mo lnfnat ,f tEn
party implies inevitably the election OF Henry
George, and / am not alone in It.
Hence 1t is not "Plattism" which is disturb
ing my dreams, dreadful as that may be; 1t Il
Gcorgeism. The election of George would b.
the beginning of a revolution, political anC
social, which would sweep over the whole coun
try. 1t would drive tho Democratic party t,
tho extreme of radicalism; true Jeffersonian
ism" is what George calls it. A pretty mesl
our politics would be in then. Idon't like tn,
looks of this George movement. see in it tn,
signs Of u political and social hurricane, q bliz
card to come, unless it is stopped short here OF
the I'd of November. Mr.. Henry Wattcrson, II
an article in the Louisville Couricr-Journa
which was copied into one OF our evening paper!
last night. sees the same danger ahead for tn,
whole country II the conservative communit,
does not unite to crush Henry George at tn,
Greater New York election.
] am astOnishcd at the dulncss of apprehcn
sion of so many business men. They arc talkin.
of tho Low movement as IL 1t was tho grea
and sole question of tho era. 1t really is O
trivial consequence whether Lows ambition 70
Mayor shall be gratihed or defeated. The onl,
serious question Is involved in Henry George
candidacy. There is nothing in politics wortl
thinking about a moment as compared with tt,
question OF tho best means of saving New Yorl
from George and his gang. Low cuts no flgur,
at all In tho crisis. except as a fore,
dividing the opposition to George and Bryan
ism. Every business interest in this commu
nifty. every property interest. all political SAINT,
should unto forthwith in demanding that h.
cease from his disturbance. He can't be elect
cd. have not seen n politician of either part,
who docs not agree with Mayor Strong that hi
election is wholly impossible. Why is he IL
tho canvass, thcni lie is helping TO bring OF
us the curse of Henry George and Organism
How can any conservative man even meditat,
for nm instant voting for Low Think of Chris
tan minister's. whose congregations have tn,
boo EAl 90