New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-09-22
T ak of
City Hall

The much despised primary system
in this state, despised by regular ana
reformer alike for It's supposed lmpo-
tency,- has provided perhaps the big
rest surprise in thoroughly surpris-
ing election. Before Wednesday daWned'
and guesscs gave way 10 ballots, ~ was
the consensus of sophisticated political
opinion that the organization deslgnee
in a primary election could be beaten
only under most exceptional clrcum-
stances; that the primary, IN fact was
virtually as effective rubDer stamp
for the machine as the old-lashioned
convention, though more troublesome.
Nothing, it turns out, could have been
moyc fallacious. 1t was this iaIIacy
unaucstionably which persuaded Justice
Cropsey 10 withdraw mis- bid for the
Republican nomination for Mayor when
Jake Livingston deserted him for hsr-
mony. "The organization IS SOLID
against you now, Judge; you haven't Lot
a chance" was the argument TO which
Cropsey listened.
But the same men the Mitchell Re
publicars who r-persuaded oropscy
were themselves over-persuaded. 1hey
believed their own argument and acted
unon IL. Mitchell was the choice Tor
MAYOR Of the Republican organization;
therefore Mitchell was as good as nom
mated II was "wslk-Over'; thcT"
,gas "nothin' to it." The final decision,
whose -oever II was. that no pre- primary
campaign should be made against Ben
nett Was based on the same tallaclou'
assumption that the organization. gwen
a reasonable degree Of unity, could al
ways deliver the goods.
The result has been such a shock as
will permanently modify all political
thought and strategy hereabc ITS.
II is not only the Mitchel-Bennett
figures i'm the recent contest which may
be cited in refutstion Of this old oe-
lief. On the Democratic side there oc-
CURED two exciting races for Borough
President, in Brooklyn and Queens,
close enough to leave old observers
gssping. In Brooklyn Edward Rlegcl-
mann, the McCooey regular, was actu-
ally beaten, if the little vote polled by
Prial is added to that piled up by Coier.
In Queens, Maurice Connolly, who IS
not only President Of the Borough to
day. but county boss and Democratic
divinity. won over Martin Mayer by
only 1901 votes. Connolly's narrow
squeak is really the most impressive OF
all these demonstrations of primary m
dependence.
In Richmond, too. tho insurgent Dem
acrats came perilously close to JUNIORS
ing Borough President Van Name,
while here in Manhattan Tom Rush,
though his total vote for the Supreme
Court nomination ran cons iderably be-
hind that of John V. McAvoy, whom
Murphy preferred, actually carried
three Assembly districts against the
machine. including that controlled by
Thomas +. McAvoy, father Of his OPP
porent and chairman Of the executive
committee OF Tammany Hall
All Of which has induced some spccu
lation over what would have happened
to Judge Hylan had the latter been OPP
posed for the Tammany nomination for
Mayor. Can ii be possible, politicians
ere asking themselves, that William
Randolph Hearst, like Justice Cropsey,
succumbed to the mistaken notion that
the organization had him licked at the
start? And is he, TOO, kicking himself
round the block for failing TO follow
BENEFITS example?
What if Hearst had rum" Is an Of
fcctual silencer in Democratic circles.
Tbo~o &c inst ono otber count in the
indictment against the primary system
which remains to be dismissed and that
has to do with the great extra expense
20 which it is supposed TO put cand-
dates for Office. Mr.. Bennett, who con-
Quoted the most active of all the pre-
primary canyasses, has made the pub
lie statement that he and his two as
sOciates on the insurgent Republican
ticket spent in all $4,000, $4,000 Of
which went for circulars.