New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-11-07
Had Come to Fear Pacihst
Demonstrations in Soci-
alist Campaign
Victory for Hylan
Wholly Satisfactory
But Buffalo Socialists Make
Early Claims of Elect
ing Mayor
By G. w. Gilbert


WASHINGTON, Nov. 6.-The New
York City returns received tonight
were q great relief to the Administra-
ton. The uilQuit vote was large, but
not so large as was expected. A fear had
grown here-the kind of fear that some
times possesses a person who has done
an uncourageous act--that the Socialist
candidate would run second. and
close second, 20 Hylan. Democratic
politicians came down here with stories
to that effect, with tales of extraorGi
nary polls taken, until the one dread
here in Administration circles was that
the anti-war vote would reach large
total.
But Hillquit is badly defeated and
the politicians in Washington viii find
way to show how the big plurality
for Hylan, in spite of his bedaubed
personality, is an Endorsement of the
Administration, it being argued that
New York turned to Hylan as the surest
and most effective way Of overwhelming
the disloyal campaign of Hillquit, just
as few years ago they turned to Nc
Clellan, deserving WINS in droves as the
only certain way of defeating Hearst.
On the whole, the administration is
we'll out of bad situation. from which
the only credtable escape was an act
of fine courage and freedom from par
tisanship of which il was incapable.
Fate dealt with it queerly. In the first
place, it is inclined-rather more than
inclined, habituated- set a high
value upon regularity. And the regu-
lar candidate was a man whose nomi-
nation should have turned its stomach.
the choice of its worst enemies. Sc
lected to catch all the votes of the dis
affected, the pro-Germans. che Hearst
ties. the anti-British. put in the field
by a faction of the Democratic party
which hates the administration and
loses no opportunity to embarrass it.
In the next place, the candidate whom
the Administration would naturally
have preferred to see elected, and whose
election it would have hailed as great
victory for itself, was recognized from
the outset as having no chance TO be
elected Then this candidate, being
thus hopeless, committed the unpardon-
able offence of hitching approval of the
war to his lost cause. so that his defeat
would look like a reputation of the Ad-
ministration. objectionable offence is
said advisedly.
The administration is angry at Mr..
Mitchell. 1t will not forgive him for
not making his run, when he saw he
was licked, straight upon the issue of
his record as giving a C can and honest
government to New York. But Mr..
Mitchell made the position Of the ad-
ministration still more unpleasant by
smearing Friends Of Peace" and pro
Germanism across the countenance Of
Hylan, go that his election would look
like a defeat for the administration.
And while al this was going on, alarm
ing reports of Mr.. Hillquit's Boil 3heviki
effort kept coming in, leaving the Ad-
ministration with the unco nfortable
consciousness of failing to take off its
coat and make an effort to check a
spectacular display of dislovaltv.
Held Campaign Local
Technically the position the Admin
istration was correct. Morally it was
weak. II was the position of the man
who has a perfectly good reason for not
having jumped into d river or rushed
into a burning house to save the life
of a child Nobody tells him to his
face that he is a coward, but he can't
quite feel that people take his explana-
tion at its face value. The trouble with
discretion is-that it is discretion.
The technically correct position Of
the Administration was that the New
York campaign was - local campaign
and that the national Administration
must not mix in local politics. The
value of the life Of the child in the
river is Y and the value of the life
of the man on the bank, respected cit
izen and father of a family, lie 3X.
There is no escaping the mathematics,
( though Mr.. Roosevelt, when he was
Pres ident, found it necessary TO mix in
the state campaign against Hearst, and
If the Bolsheviki movement in this
country gets big enough the present
Administration will have to take cog
nizance Of It locally before another
year goes by.
l
that makes the judicious grieve. MIR.
Wilson has grown since this war be-
gan-grown vastly. He may be the
master Of its entire fortunes before
another year passes, and no one look.
ing the field over will say with conf
dence that he is not the man who
should be. But he still keeps some Of
/ his original littleness with him. lie
/ still treats the war as Democratic
war. something to be made by his fell
/ low partisans and Tammany in Com
gress as part of the war-making ma
chinery.
That doubtless influenced the cor
rect but not very moral position taken
with regard to the New York campaign.
An important Democratic polite an
/ said to me the other day: "Hylan will
win and Tammany will be the national
Administration" In practice that will
/ not be found to be true. In theory it
/ explains much.
The New York experience will do Mr..
/ Wilson good. II won't change his hard
Presbyterian determination TO fight
this war out II anything il will
make II harder. The Bolshevih move
ment will speed Mr.. Wilson up and
make him demand more of his subordi-