New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-03-08
RERAL POLITICS.

II ever there was In politics deluson and
a humbug fostered by bosses to maintain their
power It is the notion that rural caucuses are
pure and holy, and that 1t is only city rascals
who make parties corrupt and government bad.
1t Is pretty deusion, that about the honest
farmer or the simple villager who votes ac-
cording 10 his conscience and Is shocked at the
cynicism Of the city politician, but nobody who
really knows country politics believes II for a
moment Not that there are not honest farm
ers and villagers, and not that they are not
even in the majority, Just as the decent people
in the cities are in the majority when they take
the trouble to be- but that rural politics Is In
the hands Of corrupt men who pack caucuses.
bride voters and SCI! law just as much as is
city politics. Moreover, the hold OF the bosses
on the country when changes are slow keeps
them IN authority long after their hold has been
weakened by the revolt Of the moral sentiment
in cities. 1t was the country legislators who
made Tweed. He bribed them to chain New
York for his plundering II was the country
legislator who under Platt's orders did up the
patronage Of the three million people here In
one package for Croker. In the old days Of In
dlvidual legislative bribery, before the legls-
latlve trust OF the boss was invented, It was
the country member who was eagerly sought
by the corporation lobbyist.
1t Is a perfectly notorious fact that delega-
tons In more than one rural county In this
State are bough. and sold year after year
In some counties particular towns have had
local reputation as marketable with current
price attached Other towns, where enough
decent sentiment exists to discourage auction
sales, have frequently been carried by the coun-
ty machines with the aid Of the riffrafr Of the
opposite party. In others still the snap eau
Gus. held long before convention time. Is a
favorte device. Before the secret ballot sys.
TEN was introduced II WAS as everybody
knows. common to pay strings Of men 81 or 81
each for votes IN country villages, and II was
impossible to convict men proved to have bought
votes. The same system exists In caucuses to
this day. 1t Is not uncommon for county boss
on the night before caucus to send 500
or 5000 into village where the whole marty
vote Ia not a hundred. 1t Is sent there for no
other purpose than TO buy votes, and so far has
the poison spread that often decent people are
led to use the same methods TO keep the rougbs
from ruling them. These are not mere empty
statements. Every one Of them Is reference
to a real incident perfectly familiar to poll
tiCluHo ia tLc lOCdlIly WHERE IL occurred. As
revelation OF rural conditions. we give extracts
from an address made by Stafford Z. North.
County Judge OF Genesee County, before the
County Convention at Batavia In August. 1s96.
Judge North dared to say these things to his
own neIghbors:
1t was in the year 1890 that the thistle blow
OF corruption was first sOwn which Is helm q
harvested to-day. 1t was during the Congress,
sional campaign OF that year that money was
distributed among the voters Of this county for
the first time. at least. to any considerab le ex
tent. Men learned to know and follow that
fatal Will -wisp the unearned dollar Men
who had never known what II was TO have
money that had not been earned in an honest
manner. and men who had taken little n any.
Interest in politics. found themselves suddenly
Important Factors They found distributing
agents In their towns ready to pay 81 for
their vote y or even IS II need be- The cam
paign OF 1890 was fatal to the peace and integ-
rl,y OF our community. 1t was the FIRST time
when any candidate had ventured upon the
wholesale use Of money to secure votes and
men smothered their consciences IN the idea thai
.hey were simply being paid for their time. their
teams and their services ' ~
Here IN Batavia we know we'll enough that
large sums OF money were expended In q vain