El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-16

licking. to mild-mannered, soft
voiced, sad-faced, green-eyed chunk of
man. who talks slowly that he may
peg in his seems" and his saws" his
"dones" and his dds" where they be-
long; who has loggy wit; who cares
| neither for books, nor music, nor the
atrical performances. nor good wine.
nor dinner. nor the society of his kind!
All this blind obedience by men of
brains and some rudimentary culture
to a dull. emotiOnleSS. proSimian hulk
of bone and Sinew-a sort OF human
megatherium. who has come crashing
up from the swamps splashed with the
slime of pre-Adamite wickedness! And
now he sits Oh throne and diSpenses
sort of jungle justice, while civiliza-
ton knocks it's knees together in stu
pid. terrified adulation! And why?
What is the secret of this mans power
this man who scorns the aesthetic
joys which delight his fellows. and is
pleased only with three things: the
companionship of horses and dogs, the
faces of children, and. stripped to the
shaggy skin of him. a plunge in the
sea. far out beyond the breakers; far
out where there is room to romp and
scuffle and wrestle with danger? What
has set this barbarian to rule over a
Tree CITY WnaC natural SeleCtlOn.
What survival of the fittest? Is So
ciety a knock-down and drag out? Civ
ilization bloody of tooth and nail? Yet
here. up the natural stepping stones of
a political system of a grea city, comes
a primitive man with simple mind.
to which the spectacle of Il shifting
vitascope of modern life is as mean
ingless as the figures of Kaleidoscope,
and men hail him chief and bow before
him. and lose their appetite when he
frowns. and garland him with roses
when he starts upon Journey Why?
Let us put him on the stand and
make him answer. In an interview
with w. I. Stead. three years ago.
when Stead asked what is the fun
damental law of the universe. Croker
answered: Sir. the law is that al
though wrongdoing may endure for
season. right must. in the long run,
come to the top. Human nature is
so built that roguery cannot last Hon
est men come to their own. no matter
what odds against them. Ii you put
ten honest men in an assembly with
ninety thieves. human nature is such
that the ten honest men will boss the
ninety thieves. They must do it.
They will tell you that Tammany has
ruled New York nearly all the time.
if we had been the thieves and rogues
they say we are? l have been in Office
nearly all my life. Do you think the
citizens would have been such fools
as to re-elect me if had been the bad
man they say l am? Things that are
rotten do not last. Thieves are not
trusted by their fellow-thieves. let
alone by their fellow-citizens. II is
not by what is bad in them that in
situations and parties win. but by what
is good
That is why Croker stands. That
is why Tammany abides. Over against
this virtuous Impeachment of Croker
put the evidence of Captain Meakin's
Tammany collector. Edward Shalvey.
before the Lexow committee. Volt. p. [,
J. 4O7
Q. You collected from these several
dealers. policy shops and
houses of ill-fame-aS you did under
the previous captain? A. Yes. sir. /
Q. Did you ever meet with any re-
fusal to pay from the people engaged !
in this class of business. or did they
all pay as matter of course? A.
They all paid as a matter of course. !
.. So that. officer. even beneath the
terrible frown of the LeXow committee
the collection went on Just the same? /,
A. Yes. sir.
Q. The old. old story continued is .
hot that so? A. Yes. sir.
q. And while. as a matter of fact.
were being made as testi
led to before this committee since last
Nay or April. the collections continued
light along unbroken. did they not?
\. Yes. sir. Il
q. And the captains took the money 4
n the same way? A. Yes, sir.
Again. may not one ask. is Croker
he symbol of New York? Here is a
ity whose clearing house reports show
buccaneers treasure multiplied by
lis fondest Dreams: but where. in the
orOughs of Manhattan and The Bronx
10 class has ever graduated from a
ublic high school. Here is a city
With moral intelligence that permits
of its policemen to add black
nail to their duties. and whose public
Ulcers exercise a pirates honor. a
that has traded its right of
rae government for the rule of a boss.
OF once. but a score, of times. A
community with the sheer brute force \
T giant. and whose political history
ncords its average; the dead level of ,
=. This is New York. What is Gro !
er? Yet Croker and the metropolis =
lay justify themselves. Croker does
OF see his own shortcomings. Indeed =
is Il question whether or not diff :.
.rence from others of his species is a
forthcoming. Each creature has his
lace in the economy of nature. When \