New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-03-16
THE FAIRCHILD CONTEST.

The decision Of Elections Committee No.
Of the House Of Representatives In the contest
Of b. L. Fairchild to unseat William l.. Ward
the present Representative from the XVIth
District Of New-York will bring to a fitting end
n fractional campaign which completely gave
the lie to all the boastings Of Machine men that
they were Republicans on principle and did
not let their ambitions or anlmOSties hurt their
party. This was a case where the represent
alive Of the Machine was doing all he could 10
vacate n Republican seat in Congress just be-
cause 1t was held by man who was not identi-
fed with his faction, and he was doing 1t IN
face of the fact that If the sitting member was
disqualified the person with the best claim was
a free-silver Tammany Democrat. On what
fimsy grounds the Machine Is willing to go to
extremes OF party disruption Is evident from
the failure Of Mr.. Fairchild to convince even
one member of the committee that he was right.
Mr. Wards victory Is interesting in that it
involves the refusal Of the House OF Represent
atives to follow the NewYork Court Of Appeals
and erect an irresponsible party committee into
an instrument Of government superior to party
voters. If Mr.. Falrchild's contention had been
sustained the House would have gone even fur
ther than the Court of Appeals, and made the
voice of this party committee something more
powerful than the voice of the people expressed
at the polls, since its decision as to whom the
people might vote for would be Of more ac-
count than the record Of how they actually
voted. Messrs. Ward and Fairchild were rival
candidates for Congress in 1896. Mr. Ward had
q majority of the voters behind him. and carried
the regularly called convention, but Mr.. Fair
child organized bolt and had himself NOM
mated, claiming 10 be the regular candidate on
the ground that the same boilers making a con-
test in an Assembly district fight had been
recognized as regular by the Republican State
Committee, although thorough Machine
man as Louis f. Payn had denounced that
recognition improper. The Supreme Court
held that Mr.. Wards nomination by the Re
publican voters made him the party candidate
ard he received 3d. 100 votes, against 23,456 for
the Tammany candidate, 1857 for the Sound
Money Democrat, 1899 for the Socialist Labor
candidate 4G1 for the Prohibitonist and TO
for Mr. Farchlld who ran as an independent
The Court of Appeals afterward decided that
the Supreme Court was in error and that what
ever the State Committee decided as 10 "regu
larity" was law. which the courts could not re-
view, but only enforce
Accordingly. Mr.. Fairchild claimed that all
votes cast for Mr. Ward were Illegal, since
whatever the moral aspect Of the case might
be-hc was by the law of N0w-York the regu-
lar candidate. and his name should have been
on the ballot as such. The acceptance OF his
claim TO the seat, Of course. would have in
volvcd the assertion by the House of Represent
atves tf power to read the minds Of ut least
$4,000 of those who voted for Mr.. Ward, and
say that they would all to man have voted
for Mr. Eoirchi11 had his name been prOperiy
placed on the ballot. 1t meant not merely in
valuation Of their vote but actually recasting
them for a man they specially refused to vote
for though his name was on the ballot. on the
assumption that they were under n mlsappre
henslon as to his party status. Such n proceed
Ing was too preposterous for serious considera-
ton, yet 1t was the only alternative, II Mr..
FairchIld was right IN declaring the Ward votes
Illegal, to the seating Of the Tammany silver
lite, who had more legal votes than anybody
else. SO Mr.. Fairchlld started contest to
drive Mr.. Ward from an office 10 which n sill
verlte. Sound Money Democrat and a Socialist
Labor man each had better claims than he I'M
less he could not only down his rival but
also establish the astonishing doctrine that votes
nre legally cast in this State not for candi-
dates, but for party columns. In that case
the ballot might read not: For member Of
Congress. Ben L. Fairchild,' but For member
Of Congress. the regular Republican nominee"
and the State Committee could decide who was
regular without any regard to the voters. That
seems absurd but it is the logic Of Mr.. Fair
child's fractional politics. Fortunately, party
machines, whatever they may do with nomina-
tons, cannot yet usurp the power OF voting.
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