Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1905-11-11
THE ELECTIONS.

1t is seldom that an off year in poll
tics has witnessed such tremendous up
heavals of popular sentiment as were
those experienced in New York, Phila-
delphia and Cincinnati yesterday. In
all three of these great cities parties
lines were unceremoniously brushed
aside and the people rose up with mighs
and main and swatted political dicta-
torship and grating wherever they
could reach them. In New York Col
onel Mcclellan S personal popularity
and his clean official record appears to
haye saved him out the wreck, but
the election Of Jerome was the most
singing and direct rebuke that has
eve been administered to the corrupt
mabhines Of both parties in that great
city.
Tammany has been defeated time and
again, and SC has the Republican ma
chine To- dominated by Odell; but
this is the first time that we can recall
when the people took up a candidate
who had, because of his honesty and
his manliness, been repudiated by both
those machines, and triumphantly elect
ed him His election was a magnificent
triumph Of personal and official homes
ty and courage and a stunning rebuke
to that species Of machine politics
which holds in utter contempt the will
Of the people and world esta dish a
sort Of political overlordship over pub
lie affairs.
The same principle triumphed in Phil
adelphia, a rock-ribbed Republican city
in which a shameless political ring
has robbed and oppressed the people,
dishonored and debauched the public
service and Haunted their corruption in
the face of the world for a generation
or more, Under the leadership Of John
Weaver, a Republican himself, the
people Of PHILADELPHIA, regardless Of
political affliation, put a non-partisan
ticket in the field and achieved one of
the most notable victories of modern
times, The city in which the independ
of the American people had been
declared nearly a century and a quar-
ter ago had so generated politically
as 70 be almost beyond hope: but its
magnificent manhood rose yesterday
and proclaimed their independence OF
the Infamous Penrose and Pennypacker
ring, joined issue with it in a strug-
gle to the death and won a glorious
victory
In Cincinnati, dominated and dis
graced by the malodorous George b.
Cox for a quarter Of a century-even
in that hopeless hide bound city the
people arose, smashed the shackles
that bound them and buried Cox be-
meath an avalanche Of votes, the mo-
mentum being' ST great as to carry
with it the defeat Of the Republican
State ticket as we'll. 1t is but fair to
say in this connection that Secretary
Taft and President Roosevelt were
strong factors in bringing about this
bene6cent result and in sounding the
death knell Of the overlordship of Cox
in the city and Foraker in the State.
To him who reads as he runs, the
significance of these results in these
widely separated machine ridden cities
is obvious. The people have come into
their own way. They have reached that
point in the evolution Of public affairs
where they will relegate to no man
the right to do Their thinking for them
Under the political systems that have
grown up there has been a diminishing
regard of the rights and Of the in
terests Of the people, and the men
elected to be their servants have grown
accustomed to considering themselves
masters instead Of servants. Under
this system corruption has spread and
graft abounded, while the thieves and
grafters sought to use tthe honored
name Of party behind which to shield
their monstrous misdeeds. In Philadel-
phia and In Cincinnati it was he Re-
publican party, in New York it was
the Democratic party; but in all it was
graft and lawlessness and the people
recognized no distinctions Of nomen
when it came to a question Of
putting down corruption, They swatted
them beneath whatever mask they
found them hiding.
These results constitute a victory for
honest methods and pure politics Of
incstimable value to the American peo-
pie There is nc installing the fact
that the people who constitute the rank
entertaining higher ideals Of fitness for
public Office than has been the rule
heretofore; that they are demanding
a higher class Of public officials than
they have heretofore been satisfied to
accept, and that the day of the CRATER
and of the professional spokesman in
our public life is rapidly drawing to a
close, 1t behooves all political parties
and all aspiring political leading to
make a note of this fact emphasized
so tremendously in the election returns
OF yesterday, States.
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