New-York tribune., 1905-11-05
THE DRIFT.

No observer accustomed to Judging the cur
rent of political movements can have the least
doubt that the drift Of public sentiment has been
setting strongly in favor Of Mr.. Wins in the last
few days Mr.. WINS undertook what was sup
posed by the careless public to be forlorn hope
Many Of the newspapers at the beginning OF his
campaign. dismissed him with that tolerant in
difference which is often more damaging to a
candidate than strenuous criticism 1t Is the
sort of thing that undermines confidence and
takes the heart out OF campaign by creating
the popular impression that there is nothing Sc
rious behind 1t. That was the tone of the Tam
many organs toward MIR. Wins for some days.
But great change has come over them. Their
easy assumptions have given place to frantic
efforts to turn the tide from him.
The independent newspapers which did not at
first espouse his cause are more heartily COM
mending him to voters every day. The New
York World" treats him with great cordiality,
while it strenuously opposes Murphyism and
graft" on the one hand and extravagant ideas
of municipal ownership possibilities on the
other. 1.-The NewYork Evening Post" after
careful study and some reservation of its opin-
ion, declares squarely for him as the best man,
and also as the only alternative to the election
of Mr. Hearst. This independent paper rejects
the plea made on Mr.. McClellans behalf that
conservative Republicans should support him,
and insists that the strength taken from MT
Mcclellan by Mr.. Hearst leaves the Mcclellan
wing of Tammany in third place. "The New
York Times" having announced that Mr.. WINS
is 1.-THE best equipped man In New-York for the
pffice of Mayor" seeks an excuse for not sup
porting him In a doctrine of probabilities which
ssThe Evening Post denolishes and its own
readers reject, as their many letters which ap-
pear in that paper daily testify "The Brooklyn
Eagle" which few days ago was sure that MI
WINS had no chance, finds In the incident or
Murphy's red flags occasion to give warning OF
the growing strength Of the wins movement.
These red flags made thousands of votes for Mr..
WINS as well as for Mr.. Hearst. Yesterday
three hundred thousand scurrous postal cards
were sent out by Tammany which so flagrantly
violated the federal statutes that the postmas-
ters of New-York and Brooklyn, reluctant as
they were to subject themselves to the possible
criticism of interference with q political cam
paign felt constrained to confiscate the offend
ing cartoons
This incident will undoubtedly carry many of
the more radical Tammany men to Mr.. Hearst
and must lead conservative friends of MI. NC
Clellan more than ever to feel that the tide is
against him and that their choice is between
Mr. WINS and Mr. Hearst. Polls taken in all
parts of the city show that Tammany has been
snlit in two and that Mr. Mcclellan can have no
hope of election if the unseen Hearst vote bears
any normal proportion to the enthusiasm for
him which is in evidence. Mr.. Mcclellan is los
ing strength daily, and the frantic ana foohsh
efforts of his supporters to stem the current
make the situation seem more hopeless ffoD-
ably all there is of the Hearst strength shows.
There is no great, silent. organized vote behind
his movement, so 1t probably will not be nearly
so large as it looms up before excited magma
t,ons but the larger it is the smaller must Mr.
McClellan's vote be and the more certain Is 1t
that If Mr.. Hearst has any chance of election Mr..
Twins is his only rival. Should his vote be uhe1-
nectedv small. then the choice is clearly between
Mr.. WINS and Mr.. Mcclellan. In either case no
Republican can have any question ABOUT MS
auty No onponent of graft on the one hand
ond of wild experimentation with government
on the other can have any doubt about where
his choice should lie.