New-York tribune., 1908-09-01
rootrNG pfyH EXPLOSIVES.


The politicians who opposn. GcNeThor
Hughes should take into consideration lhe ois-
uosition shown by the public to treat the accept
ance or rejection of the Governor as inorai
ouesfiop 'ra ;, considerable element Iu the
state If is not 3 question OF practical poiitcs at
all as so many cf the county leaders seem 10
think. but question Of good morals, or WHOSE
decision the Republican party must s'ailn OF
fall \ correspondent whose letter WAS pun
lished i'm Sundays Tribune writes from s!fa
cllse that the reputation OF the oo'eri'of
.'youId be notice 10 the world that me party
.of abraha Lincoln is no longer dominated by
1.-The high ideals of the past. Shouid an!
.otber man than Governor Hughes be nomI-
mated fhe only way the party can he lestoreu
40 health is by the purging of a crushing defeat
.in both state and nation
we ouote these extreme views not TO indorse
them but TO show how section of the publlc
mind is working. That very considerable eie
ment i'm the party would regard the rejection
of the Governor occasion for punlshlnS tile
Republican party lnay be perceived from the
number of letters that are being received by
the newspapers declaring the writer's intention
TO vote for a Democrat in case the Governor is
not Tenominated. and in many instances, 10
vote for the Democratic candidate for iresl-
dent as well These letters come TO the news
papers unsolicited. They are not the result OF
any orpapized acceleration of public opinion
such as most of the expressions hostile to the
Governor are.
In a campaign such sentiment. If 1T is at all
widespread. would he extremely difficult TO deal
with 1t would be hard to find an argument to
meet il effectively. To men who were indignant
at the rejection of public servant of the high
est type il would not do to explain that his re
nomination was not thought TO be good politics.
IT would not do TO say that, after casting up the
Governors probable losses through giving the
state good administration and his probable
gains through that service. it was decided that
another man who had not been in the centre OF
the fight for righteousness would propaply pe
a few votes stronger upon Election Day. Per-
sons minded like our correspondent w0uid nave
no patience with such explanations. They
would say that the Republican party had re-
fused TO renominate the best Governor the state
has had in wears: that it had repudiated high
ideals of nublic service and that it had set It's
face against progress toward better things
They would say that the Governor was rejected
not because he was weak. but because De WAS
strong because the bosses could not use MIN
The campaign might be made 10 take on the
look of a fight between the people ana the
bosses These arguments, which are airead!
being heard everywhere, might prove very Gan
aerous if the Governor should be rejected, be-
fsilure to renomnate him raised such moral
issue against the party as the letter writer OF
Syracuse predicts. if the old intermittent fever
TO punish the bosses" should get into The heads
of the multitude the party might easily reap
the whirlwind.
The situation is full of danger 1t is Ioaded
with dynamite, a pervefse explosive, Iuil Vi
idiosvncrasies whose behavior in given con-
tingpncy is hard TO predict. 1t is safe to say
that MANY of the voters who would be angry al
the rejection of the Governor and who wouid
think if deserved rebuke at the polls would cut
the national ticket as well as the state ticket
They might do in such numbers as TO make
this states electoral vote doubtful for MT. 1alL
They would certainly make it very douotlul TOT
the Republican state ticket. On the other hand
if Mr. Hughes is renominated the opposition TO
4he nartv on his account viii be kept in clearly
circumscribed limits and 1t will hardly AFFECT
the national ticket at all.