The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-11-22
REAL ENEMIES OF REFORM.

REAL ENEMIES OF REFORM.
The comments which continue to be
made by those who should know bet
ter upon the late election in New York
city are doing infinite injury to the
cause of all municipal reform. Their
teaching is that when a clear-cut issue
is presented to the people between
good government and bad, between the
rule of the gentleman and the scholar
in politics and that of the corrupt poll
voluntarily choose the latter. This, of
course, is the gospel of despair. If it
be true, there is little use in working
for reform anywhere, for. the country
is going to the dogs.
Any sane man, any man who is him.
self honestly in sympathy with reform
ideas, ought to know better than this,
either as regards the policy or the
fact. He ought to know that when
such an issue as this is presented to
the people of New York or any other
city, and so recognized by them on it's
merits, they will invariably and by an
overwhelming majority choose the bet
ter part. They will take the reformer
against the politician. They will
choose the light, rather than the dark
ness. They will stand for an honest
government instead Of a government
by bribery and spoils. We do not be-
lieve that there is q community in
outside, perhaps of the sodden state of
Observation-Disclosures such an issue
could be made with any other result.
The truth is that the people Of New
York saw, as the clear-headed people
all over the country saw, that no such
issue was presented in the fight be-
tween Low and Mcclellan. Such an
issue was presented two years ago, and
a vastly stronger and ADLER man than
Mcclellan, man of unquestioned per-
sonal integrity, Of great intellectual
ability and of such character that he
would never have sullied himself by
submission to dishonor or even to con-
tact with it, was defeated by Seth Low
by majority of more than 10000.
That was what the people of New York
said when the choice was offered them
fair and square. This year they said
Mcclellan by over $4,000 majority, be-
cause the fight was not at all between
but strictly between the Plat machine
and the Tammany machine.
The party organ does not like to
admit this, and we do not wonder.
Tom Plat has twice beaten Seth Low,
and twice defeated the hopes of a vast
number of people in New York city
who would like to have a clean, nom
partisan, Independent administration
of affairs. He beat him the first time
by nominating Gen. Tracey against
him to divide the Republican vote He
beat him the last time by getting him
under his thumb and by forcing off
the ticket with him the other fusionis.
candidates, whose presence there was
the only guarantee of any non-partI.
san element in the movement The
people then had to choose between
Plat and Murphy, and they chose the
latter. Under such circumstances wa
believe that they did both wisely and
well. Of course the thorough going
Republican will think differently.
We have no quarrel with them, but
we do quarrel with the disingenuous
and hypocritical pretense that it was
reform that was beaten, and not Tom
Plat 1t is a SANDER upon New York
city to say that more than 100000 of its
people prefer iriquity to uprightness.
1t is an injury and an iniquity to the
cause of good municipal government
everywhere to proclaim that it Went
down to defeat in New York and that
indecency triumphed. The men who