The Washington times., 1901-10-15
The New York Campaign.

official heads OF Police Commissioner
Murphy and Deputy Commissioner
| Devery would, "as soon as practicable
after the first of January. roll on the
ground" Considering that these two
men and their alleged connection with
the subjection of New York's police de-
| partment to the control of organized
| vice and crime are responsible for the
| present revolt of the decent elements of
| society in the metropolis against the
rule of Tammany, there does not appear
to be anything startling or revolution
airy in Mr. Lows statement that If sue
cessful at the polls he viii do one of the
| chief things he has been elected to do.
| But his opponent, the good and re-
spectacle Tammany candidate, Mr..
| Shepard, sees a danger to the country
| and the sapping of its institutions in
such a verbal engagement on the part
| of an aspirant for political honors. In
| his address at the Tammany mass
meeting, held In the Brooklyn Academy
| of Music Saturday night, Mr.. Shepard
spoke strongly on this point, and 1T was
rather necessary that he should, since
| his many personal friends and admirers
would like to know, and think they
have a right TO know, what, as Mayor
| of Greater New York he would do with
| Devery and all that Devery stands for
in the evils and abuses of the day. Mr..
| Shepard may be, as he asserts, polit-
! ical virgin from whom nothing but the
most severe official chastity could be
expected, and TO whom nothing less
would be possible All the same, 1t is
reported that the Tammany men in
Manhattan Borough, upon whom the
candidate of the wigwam must largely
| depend for the professional activities
and devices necessary to his success,
are extremely frank and cheerful in af-
| firming that the nomination was not
accorded to him until after thorough
understanding that. If elected, he would
not interfere with Devery, or with Far
rell and the gamblers syndicate. 1t
was highly desirable, therefore. that
Mr. GheraTa should place himself upon
| high ground from which he could look
down upon rival who so far forgets
| himself as to have a programme and
explain 1t to the voters of the munich
we think that Mr.. Shepard has handled
! the matter. If not with complete sin
cerity. still with admirable adroitness.
At the mass meeting, referring to Mr..
Lows Devery declaration. he said:
There is. no doubt, prediction advantage in
this pledge II is, however, far as / know in
American politics. a mode OF electioneering with
out precedent 50 far in any worthy candidacy
President. q ot
great city.
Until nov believe that all responsible states
men of our land from the time we became a
democratic Republic would have stood aghast at
such a violation Of the fundamental rule gov
erning public elective Office, in a democracy
governed by law.
New York and their conception OF the honor and
effective usefulness of the office of mayor. there
is consideration which President Low has over
looked.
The constitutional amendment of 1874 re-
quires the successful candidate. before he may
take Office, to solennly swear among other
things, that he has Contributed money or
valuable thing q consideration or reSard for
the giving Withholding a vote at the election
at which he was elected to said Office and that
he has not made any promise to influence the
giving Withholding Of any such vote
And the obligation is something far beyond
technical requirement Of law. This oath, fellow
citizens, represents the fundamental theory of
cur democracy. where the referendum does not
prevail that when an elected servant nf the
people enters upon his public duties he Galll do
so subject to no personal pledge, promise
mortgage which will prevent his acting in Office
with absolute freedom upon the facts ne
shall find them 20 be, and upon his CONSCIENCE"
From this remarkable utterance we
gather that. in telling the citizens of
New York that, If given the oppor-
tunity, he will relieve them of what
they regard as a horrible and disgrace
full incubus, Mr.. Low practically is Of
fering the bribe of Deyery's head on
charger to secure votes. He is corrupt
ing the constituency by promising to
give it what it wants, and it would not
think of supporting the ex-college pres
ident II it did not think 1t could de-
pend upon him to give 1t. That, II
seems to us, Is a somewhat strained
construction of the constitutional pro-
hibition of undue influence. Suppose,
argues Mr.. Shepard, that Mr.. Low
should be elected mayor and then dis
cover that Mr.. Croker's friend Devery
was saint and the finest deputy police
commissioner the world ever sawi
How would Mr.. Low square it with his
conscience and his duty to roll the head
he would have to be false either to his
duty or his pledge. Such possibility,
however, is not one of a kind to give
the fusion candidate any very severe
attack of insomnia. The chance that |
he would ever be called upon to recog-
nize Devery as the possessor of a harp
and a halo is too remote to cause him
uneasiness during the campaign. He
promises. His opponent declines to, |
and falls back upon the pearly founda-
ton of his municipal angelhood. Could |
his hearers. his neighbors, or the people |
on the other side of the East River for |
a moment doubt that he would do the |
right, the straight, and the popular |
thing on all occasions? Still, the less |
said about Devery and such embarrass
ing questions the better.
The trouble with Mr. Shepard is that,
granting his beatific nature and the
pureness of his heart, intellect, and |
soul, 1t is impossible to believe that he
could be elected Mayor of New York |
without his election resulting in the
election also of Farrell's man Unger
as district attorney, OF Van Wyck as
a Justice of the Supreme Court and of |
all the other Tammany henchmen who
would sail into office on the tail of the
spotiess Shepard kite. His election |
would make him responsible in the eyes |
of the public for the whole aggregation
and he knows OF what 1t is composed |
AS he very pointedly said at time L