The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-10-20
TUESDAY, OCT. 20, 1903.
A PRINCIPLE ABANDONED.

Comptroller Grout, one of the fusion
officials of New York city and now
Tammany candidate for comptroller,
states the central fact of the situation
has been squarely put into the cam
paign by those who profess to the
contrary" Friends of good govern
ment may frankly regret this fact, but
they cannot deny or change it.
The present municipal administra-
ton in New York city was the result
of a. revolt of many years standing
against what the people believed to be
corrupt methods and practices on the
part of those in political power. These
were not chargeable to any party as
such, but to an organization of ex-
tremely shrewd men who were able to
maintain themselves in public place. To
overthrow them and to place the city
government upon a non-partisan plat
form, upon the basis of a strict bust
ness administration of business af-
fairs, was the alleged motive of the
fusion movement, which brought to its
support the greatest diversity of organ
izations and of voters. These people
elected Mayor Low and his associates,
who have been running the city gov
eminent for the last two years.
There was something more than
suspicion that Mayor Low had of late
especially allied himself more. closely
to the Republican party organization
than was becoming to one in his posi-
ton. 1t was absolutely essential to
the continuance Of the fusion pro-
gramme that it should represent both
parties, and have the confidence of
that it wavered or leaned to one side
to the injury of the other, voters would
certainly go back to their old attach
ments. This is what has happened in
a very remarkable and offensive way.
The present city officials were re-
nominated by the fusionists, as it was
quite proper that they should be, upon
their records, the ticket was Endorsed
by the regular Republican party organ
ization, and nobody offered the slight
est objection. When Tammany. On the
other hand, Endorsed Circuit and Fornes
a demand was made that they refuse
to accept an honor which they were
powerless to prevent; that they should
not permit any Tammany voters who
desired good government regardless of
party to vote for it if they wished: in
other words, that they should c.,cede
the propriety of a close a.nance with
the Republican organization and de-
clare unwavering hostility to the Dem
ocratic. For their refusal to do this
they We're removed from the ticket.
after having been regularly nominated.
and other candidates more pliable I'M
der Republican influences were named
i'm their stead.
Whatever else this may mean in
New York city politics, it means one
thing undeniably, and that is the de-
struction Of the so-called fusion or
municipal party or independent move
nlent. There is nothing left entitled
to wear any of those names. There is
the straight Republican ticket and the
straight Democratic ticket That head
ed by Low is now identified with the Re-
publican machine as closely and as
positively as that headed by Mcclellan
by the Tammany machine. There is
no dividing line between them, except
that of party.
If this is a misfortune, and we
think that the past experience of New