New-York tribune., 1910-01-30

Our esteemed friend The Albany
Journal seems TO live in the midst oc
alarms. 1t is continually discovering
plots against the welfare and perpetuity
of the Republican party and emitting
warnings against alleged ingrates and
traitors who are ''betraying" 1t to its
enemies. Just how many such ''betray-
ais The Journal has unearthcd and
frustrated in the three years since Gov
ernor Hughes's first Inauguration we
cannot now remember. They have come
thick and fast, however. and the readers
of Mr.. Barnes's newspaper must now
picture the Republican party as a corpse
with as many dagger holes in 1t as the
dead body of Julius Cesar.
Another conspiracy and another stab
at the patient corpus were due about
this time. and we are pleased to see
that The Journals Imagination has
been equal to the emergency. 1t now
proclaims that the party has been Bur
chardized' by the recent correspond
ence between Governor Hughes and
Thomas NJ. Osborne Mr. Osborne, Of
course. has played the part of the i'll
discreet clergyman in hurting out TO
the world the fact~ehat Governor Hughes
is among those who understand the
importance of having both the great
political parties clean and effective"
Here as Mr.. Barnes's newspaper sug-
gests, is "a most remarka bic disclos
ure." How can a Republican Governor,
without everlasting shame, harbor the
idea that il would be good thing for
the state and good thing for both po-
litical parties that the opposition should
be led not by incompetents and spoils
hunters but by men of upright char
acter and of honorable records and
motives? Such a sympathetic attitude
toward the efforts OF members of the
other party TO make it a more useful
and respectable public agency is, of
course. set down as treason by the en-
battled partisan who can see no possible
use for an opposition party except to
serve as a weak and degraded rival "a
the struggle for Office and emoluments.
Mr. Barnes -discloses his own idea of
the proper relations between parties
when he likens the contests in which
they engage before the voters to bat
tie for a fat purse in the prizering. He
says:
The political prizering will hold TWO
parties as combatants In November
One of them, the Republican, is to assist
during the next few months In the train
ing of his antagonist If he lands the
other one on the nose then he will be
called upon to set the broken bone!
That, according to The Journals"
notion, is carrying gentility in politics
81, IT, "a tbn
opposition "groggy" and to keep it so.
He believes that Mr.. Murphy, Mr.. Con-
ners and Mr.. McCabe are the natural
leaders of the Democracy and that it
is good policy for the Republican party
TO do everything TO prevent their being
displac ced by Democrats Of the type of
Mr. Osborne. His plan of action would
be to put the Democratic party in as
''reprehensible light before the public
''as possible" He wants (" win. and
wants 10 make the victory as easy As
possible by helping to tie the hands and
legs of the other fighter.
Naturally a politician who holds that
view must witness with alarm any
manifestation of a purpose within his
own party TO raise the level of political
SldnudruS anu polltICdl dCLIOn IL lldl
purpose is likely to infect the opposi-
tion and cause it to take steps to make
itself less ''reprehensible.' Mr.. Barnes
can see no advantage to the public III
the substitution Of high class men for
low class men as leaders Of the opposi-
ton, because he is not at all concerned
about the ultimate effect of such sub
stitution on the public welfare, but only
about its temporary effect on partisan
prizering quotations. He is afraid that
Governor Hughes may look with SYM
pathy on the creation "Of new Democ-
''racy which will appeal TO the conscience
cor imagination of the electorate"
Therefore he shouts Conspiracy" and
'"rreason," But most Republicans, we
think, will not look on the creation of n
responsible opposition as a misfortune.
| The more creditable the opposition IS
able to become the less room there will
| be in either party for leaders who would
| be governed by the same ideals and
| would employ the same methods in
| managing a political contest involving
| issues of vast Importance TO the public,
| as they would in managing q Jeffries-
! Johnson prizefight.