The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-11-10
FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 10, 1905
A Bad Day for Losses.

,o,,,, ,,a sn,otc bossism hip and thigh.
Tho city of Philadelphia had been dofh'-
4 nntad bv g,.afters and plundcrers for many
,,o,rs and Inc machine. operated by BOSS
Durham. had made Itself so stto''s ''''e
its hold upon the government was marc
4 to break. But when the true democracy
4 OF my community asserts itself there Is
3 no political machine strong enough 70
st.nd q rainst it, and the Philadelphia MA
\ chine was smashed to pieces II was o'o
l Of the greatest popular trlumphs OF ''e
x are we have spoken Of it as the TRIUMPH
4 - democracy, but we have used the term
IN ts broadcst sense. 1t was not y psi pa
+isan triumph, for the reformors were
,,,do IN Of Republicans and Democrats;
fl hut no matter what party they pe'ohseu
10 they had in them the true spirit OF
.H democracy. and It was that spirit which
inspired the fight and won the victory.
Scarcely less great a victory was gained
HI over bossism in the State of Ohio, In
1894 the Republicans carried Ohio by
25b,421 In 1903 Herrick GRepuDlican) was
Governor over Johnson Demo
II craft by more than 100000; yet IN the
election OF Tuesday the Republican ticket
Y headed by Herrick, was defeated by some
Thing like 100000. Mr.. Herrlck has made.
a good Governor, according TO the CleVe-
& land Leader, and has the respect OF his
4 fellow citizens. But "he was made to
seem the stalking horse of the predatory
and disreputable Cox, adds the Leader
and Cox was Il boss. and the people
routed that he Immediately announced his
retirement politics
The political revolution in New York
City was not primarily socilistc, not q
mere expression for municipal ownership,
because each party in the contest had
in its platform a municipal ownership
plank The Herald says that "the COM
& paratively narrow margin by which Mr..
Il Mcclellan won ollt-not receiving any
y thing like a majority of the city's vote
is singing rebuke TO the Fourteenth
!; Street machine, It's chiefs, its rank and
file, their methods and their works. 1t
was a protest against the arrogance Of
| political bosses ala thigh tinanciers" who
I hold the public interest In contempt.
And but for the fact that 100000 conserva-
4 tive Republicans. who feared Hearst
4 worse than they feared Tammany. had
\ cone to the rescue, the Tammany ticket
4 would have been defeated. 1t is also most
4 Significant that District Attorney Jerome,
who was repudidted by Hearts party as
4 we'll as by Tan,many. ran rs an indcpen-
i dent, and polled more votes than either
4 Hearst or Mcclellan. Jeromes election
4 was popular triumph pure and simple.
In Maryland, also, there was a rebuke
to bossism. The German wing OF the
i party insisted on suffrage amendment
4. TO the Constitution, embodylng a pGrna-
4 nent Understanding clause" and in spite
Il of the appeal OF many Democrats. the
organization insisted on submitting it to
A vote OF the people. The amendment was
defeated by 2S,6oo. although the general
Democratic ticket was elected by ma
jorlty OF 6,500, End the Baltimore Sun,
which supported the Democratic ticket
4 and advocated &c amendment. now comes
n out and demands that the present leader
ship retire and that the party be reor-
n ganzed.
II was bad day for bosses wherever
they CHANGED to be in evidence.
AS for Virginia, we have the conviction
s that the Democratic victory here was due
tn, Ia
candidates were nominated In primary
election. There WAS All impression In this
State n little while ago that a political
machine dominated the politics of vir-
ginia, and that no man could be romi-
mated for office unless he was the favorte
OF the I--chine. But the convention Of
1901 declared Itself In favor of the prl-
mary plan and all factions OF the party
concurred. In 100: State primary wac
held, and every Democrat lad tho oppor-
tunity OF going 10 the polls end express
ing his choice Of candidates. II was a
free contest and a fair election, and after
the nominees had been chosen by this
method no one could raise The point that
the ticket was nlachine-mad IL was
4 . l.H
the peoples own ticket and they turned
out and elected 1t,
surlnises are usually without profit. hut
we submit this question for the consld-
eratioi. OF Virginia Democrats; Suppose
tie primary plan had been defeated in the
Convention OF 1904. and suppose our ticket
had been nominated by convention ana
suppose Democrats generally had con-
ceiYed the idea that the convention vas
dominated by the machine, Is. 1t fair /,
presume that the Democratic nominee,
would have been elected by maJort,
of s5.eeo or a0,0op2 Let rs take the lessor
TO heart. and let us never abandon thu
primary, but impraye and perfect tho pla,