New-York tribune., 1906-10-20
THE MURPHY CHARGES.

When bosses fall out shady practices in pol
itics are certain to be exposed. Mr.. Murphy S
charges against managers of the Hearst indie
pendence League may or may not be substantial
enough to lead to indictments and prosecutions.
But they throw withering light the charac-
ter Of the alliance on which the sham champion
of sham reform has staked his fortunes as
candidate for public office. He Is posing before
the people as the pioneer in q movement to
purify politics, promote independent thinking and
voting crush bossism and increase the power In
party management of the Individual voter. He
pretends to stand for popular rights and popular
sovereignty and to draw his chief support from
that large element in the body polite which has
revoted at the corrupt and domineering methods
of the oldtime bosses. But, as the Murphy
charges show, he is really the candidate of two
star chamber organizations Tammany Hall and
the Independence League, incorporated, each
suspecting the other of insincerity and double
dealing and each accusing the other of having
no higher aim than turning popular disSatisfac-
ton to personal profit.
Mr. Murphy believes that the Independence
League managers are trying to squeeze the last
drop of red blood out of Tammany. The indie
pendence League chieftains, Incorporated, main
tain that Mr.. Murphy needs the leagues help
TO save his local ticket and is trying to shave
the price he ought TO pay for it Each bargainer
wants to sell dear and buy cheap and the nego-
tiations have rivalled in vehemence and acri-
mony the transactions of the fish market 1t
has been a sordid spectacle, but more sordid
than the motives which prompted the original
Hearst-Tammany alliance. What else, indeed,
was to have been expected from a combination
for mutual profit between two such self seeking
and autocratic political entities as the Indepen-
dence League, Incorporated. and Tammany Hal? !?
What restraint appetite and what assurance
of straightforward dealing are practicable in
the case Of oneman organizations exercising
autocratic powers?
Neither Tammany Hall nor the Independence
League is self-governed body. Each is ruled
from the top. Tammany preserves a sembance
OF democratic management. The enrolled voters
in each Assembly district have the right to elect
a leader and certain delegates to the Hall COM
mittees. But a district which does not vote
right can be arbitrarily disciplined Mr.. Murphy
ousted Devery, although he had his district be-
hind him, just he ousted certain anti Hearst
district delegations at Buffalo. His word Is law,
and he can put up and pull down candidates for
office to suit his convenience The Independence
League is even less restrained In it's operations.
Complete power is vested In q self-named cor
poration, which recognizes no such things as
local primaries and local self-government. There
is no check on the arbitrary will Of this body,
and against any O1cKers Wnlcn IL may make In
nominations and Withdrawals there can be no
effective protest A judiciary ticket for the
counties Of Kings, Queens, Richmond, Nassau
and Suffolk was nominated by non-residents Of
those counties meeting at the Gilsey House, and
the same alien interference could just as we'll be
attempted in Syracuse or Buffalo.
Such methods are a travesty on party govern
ment They multiply the evils Of bossism and
open the door wide to all sorts of chicanery and
corruption. Mr.. Murphy's charges are an in
dictment Of the whole conduct Of the Hearst
canvass The voters need to stamp out sham
reform. But they need even more to stamp out
the Hearst=Murphy system of close corporation
rule in party politics