The sun., 1903-11-06
THE .AFTER-THINKERS.
The Rev. Dr. Funk Tells How He Thinks
II Could Have been Done.

To IHH EDITOR or The SuN-Sir: TO see
clearly and straight the reasons for the pres
ent defeat should greatly help the Citi2ehs
Union in their next battle Let US not fool
ourselves II seems to me the reasons are
writ large, in letters each as large as barn.
The glarng fact was lost sight OF that thls IA
overwhelmingly Democratic city-by 49,
600 or so majority. No fusion fight can win
unless 1t be kept far away from party lines
Three mistakes. in my judgment. were maze
BY the Citizens Union, each fatal:
|. The nomination OF u Republican Tor
Mayor this year. It would have been fair
play. after the Democrats had yielded two
years ago. that Democrat now had been
named Low should have refused absolutely
to rum and made plain the ground OF his re-
fusal TO be TINT fair play required the naming
OF Democrat-s;wanstrom, or Grout. or
Hinrichs. or some other equally good Demo-
crat This would have been tactical wisdom
and good politics
. Permitting the regular Republican conven-
ton to In iorse Grout and Fornes. and refusing
to allow the regular Democratic convention
TO do the same. This was not fusion. but par
tisanship. to the average Democratic mind.
or course the fusion leaders could explain
this satisfactorily to each other: but the
spebinders did not and could not explain 1t
satisfactorily to the average Democrat who
two years ago % lght with the Citizens uuio
and helped it to win. He saw two fusion
members OF Lows administration. who all
fusionists said were excellent administrative
officers indorsed by the Republican conven-
tion with the hearty approval OF the Citizens
Union: but when those same men were In
dorsed By the regular Democratic conven-
tion the Citizens Union rejected them This
seemed to be done at the dictation OF the
Republican machine With the Presidential
election only one year of this was an awful
blunder: II WIS suicidal.
2. The refusal to allow the independent
Democrats OF Brooklyn to nominate ticket
with Low at the head OF it. Us the Brooklyn
Citixen and Mr. Mclaughlin desired. The
refusal compelled the dissatisfied Democratic
voter to scratch his ticket. or vote under the
Republican emblem. This latter alternative
needlessy ran counter to the stupendous
prejudice Of an average voter against voting
the ticket Of the opposing party
Yes. yes: these threefod actions OF the
Citizens Union can be defended in the profess
sor's classroom: but to win political battles
we must climb down from our academic
heights to where the average people think and
live. and learn at leust to accept gladly every
Endorsement of our candidates that 10 un-
accompanied BY pledges OF any kind Finical-
ness Is not politics.
The ca ling of Grout traitor" DC, and
Tammany all manner OF hard names, could
not compensate for these errors. Il cannot
account for it," said Chinese General called
to book for a seemingly unnecessary defeat
in the Tonquin war We made the most
hdeous faces, and uttered terrifying cries;
but the enemy bore down on us like bees In a
swarm and we were swept away" Well, we
console ourselves with the thought that the
Citizens Union is made up Of the cream Of our
city, and that even whipped cream" Is bet
ter than the best Of SKINNED milk
New YORK. Nov T.. l. K. FUNK.