New-York tribune., 1906-09-26
THE LAST DITCH.

The first days session at Buffalo demon
strated pretty thoroughly that Mr.. Murphy has
captured and will control the Democratic State
| Convention, acting in alliance with the upstate
shouters for Hearst. Mayor Mcclellan, District
Attorney Jerome and the other anti-Hearst
leaders are talking bravely about dying In the
| last ditch. But it is evident that the Sulllvans
and MeCarren have no desire to emulate such
/ Old Guard heroics, and that the last ditch, by
/ the time the credentials committee gets through
with the list of contests will not have to be
digged very wide or very deep to accommodate
all those who are willing to make the fight to
the finish" Fighting to a finish is not cheer
full pastime, or one which appeals to the aver
| age convention delegate, with his inborn prediec-
ton for fighting on the side of the heavier bat
| taions.
Mayor Mcclellan and Mr. Jerome may hope to
prove their sincerity and attest their loyalty to
old fashioned Democratic standards by strug-
Cling on desperately, with their backs to the
wall. Their courage may be admitted and ap-
plauded; yet their eleventh hour aggressveness
can hardly atone for earlier errors In judgment
and blunders In generalship. Why are they now
fighting a losing battle against hopeless odds?
Simply and solely because they miscalculated the
strength of their enemies and lulled themselves
TO sleep with visions of their own influence and
security. Six months ago. when Mr.. Hearst be-
gan 10 canvass the state lnQuSrr10uSy from end
TO end, the possibility Of his collecting enough
delegates to secure control OF the state conven-
ton laughed at His enterprise was dis
missed utOpian and the anti-Hearst leaders
Rugged themselves in the belief that all they had
TO do was to get together at the proper time,
pass few resolutions and puncture the editor
candidates overblown ambitions
The state committee. controlled by the con-
servatives, sat idly by all summer and made no
effort to strengthen the organization which Mr..
Hills retirement had left headless and helpless
Mayor Mcclellan, though he must have known
that he would have to fight desperately to hold
his own in the Tammany organization, slipped
away to Europe and left affairs in charge of IN
popular and incompetent political agents. Mr.
Jerome took q vacation in Canada and made q
trip TO Alabama, and never awoke until few
weeks ago to the fact that conditions in this state
had become shameful" enough to call for his
active personal Intervention The Albany con-
ferrees met and talked, and just on the eve of
the convention issued an address TO the neg
lected Democratic voters who had long been left
to supply their own enlightenment. The only
fruitful soil which this wisdom fell was the
county Of Kings, where, under the leadership Of
that stalwart JefferSonian the Hon. Pat Nc
Carreq, a delegation was elected pledged to de-
fend true Democratic principles and to save the
Democratic emblem. In other parts of the state
the tares sown by the enemy had taken fatally
strong root.
Overconfdence, negligence and Incidence are
objectionable sins in politics. It is because the
antiHearst leaders, one and all, have been
guilty of these sins that they are now standing
on the edge Of the last ditch at Buffalo.