Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1897-11-05

the highest character and the largest ability.
The true friends of good government in
the city recognized the fact that no candi-
date nominated on party or partisan lines
could hope to defeat Tammany in the con-
test for control of the city, aud the Citi-
zens' Union movement and the nomination
of Seth Low for the mayoralty were the
result. Unduly precipitate, over officious,
and lacking in spirit of wise concliation
the Citizens Union undoubtedly was at the
outset of the campaign. But the fact re-
mained that Mr.. Low was unexceptionable
as man, as candidate, and even as a Re-
publican, and that the only hope of success
lay in his election. All this Thomas C.
Platt knew perfectly well when he refused
to allow the Republican organization to
endorse Mr.. Low, and insisted on Gen.
Tracy's nomination as the Irregular" Re
publican candidate. If he could not rule
through his own party and his own man,
Mr.. Platt preferred that Croker should
rule, and to share in the spoils of boss
rule with him. This is the unmistakable
logic of the situation. The event proves
that had Mr.. Platt permitted a union to
be made of all the anti-Tammany forces.
Tammany could have been beaten by at
least 10000 votes. As it is he has the sat
isfaction of seeing the great municipality
placed in Tammany control for four years
at least. Worse than this, it will be next
to impossible to wrest the state itself from
the tigers grasp, and so even the result of
the next presidential election is imperiled.
In the state at large Mr.. Platt appears
to be thoroughly dscredited Judge
Wallace, the Republican candidate for the
court of appeals is conceded to be an abler
man than Judge Parker, who received the
election, but the plurality against him in
the state is $4,000. The Republicans prob
ably lose control of the legislature, and
Mr.. Platt will not have more than 90 of
the $50 assemblymen. These all are results
which might have been avoided with wise
and unsetish leadership in the city and
the state.
Outside of New York, as was said in the
beginning, there is no reason for depres-
SiOH VI loIeuOullS' Compared Win any
year but last year the plurality for Gov.
Wolcott in Massachusetts, is phenomenal.
Ohio stands by Mckinley and the Republi-
can faith. The great states of Pennsyl.
vania and Iowa give sweeping Republican
majorities. South Dakota surprises all
parties by the Republican strength devel-
oped. Maryland appears to have shaken
off Mr. Gorman's rule. There is reason to
hope that the Republicans have carried a
majority of the county elections in Kan
sas. Pluralities and majorities have been
cut down in many cases, it is true, but
there are no changes that cannot be &C
counted for by the apathy and stay-at-home
propensities of Republicans in an off year.
There is no ground for a claim that the
election results show any growth of senti-
ment toward free silver or the Bryan
Democracy.
The lesson taught by the elections is that
the Republican organization in every state
needs to be carefully maintained, and that
it is never safe for Republican who de-
sires the success of his party to stay at
home expecting his neighbor to do the
voting and the election to take care of |
itself.