Year: 1877




John Kelly's City Campaign.


The exultant pride Of the Tammany chief
when he returned in triumph from the
| Albany Convention with the scalps of Nor
rissey, Bigelow and Fairchild dripping in
his belt must have been somewhat taken
down by what has since occurred. We fore
warned him that the life of an ambitious
| politician is an incessant warfare; that the
victory of to-day may be followed by the
reverse of tomorrow; that his path was as
| likely to be strewn with thorns as with
roses. and that as he had very chequered
| fortune in his former contests with Gov
ernor Tilden's friends. having been
beaten in the State Convention in
the spring of 1876 and foiled at
st. Louis, it would be prudent for
him not to halloo until he is out of the
woods. His plans had also frequently mis-
carried in the city elections since he be-
came Tweed's successor as the Tammany
Boss. He got badly worsted two years ago,
when he attempted to displaco Recorder
Hackett, and last year, to avoid a similar
modification, he was forced to give up his
preference for Mayor and accept o more
popular candidate. The Tammany chief
should not fancy because he achieved such
q splendid success at Albany that the time
has come when he may safely bury his TOM
ahawk and wash of his war paint He
may have as many occasions in the future as
he has had in the past to agree with his
favorite Irish bard that


This life is all chequer'd with pleasures and woes


That chase one another like waves oi the deep.


For our part we are quite willing that Mr.
Kelly should develop into great man and
o mighty leader but it is not in our power
to exempt him from the trials and mortifca-
tions that beset the path of ambition. II he
bears himself like true knight who is will
ing to win his spurs before he wears them.
he may perhaps find that the HERALD will
us often aid as obstruct him. We remind
him that he has omitted to send us cour-
teous note Of recognition for the great SER
vice we did him yesterday in publishing
the interview with Tweed. Mr.. Kelly has
reason to be proud of that splendid certifi-
cate of his ability from SO accomplished On
expert as his predecessor. To be Landed by
the great ex-Boss is praise from Sir Hubert
Stanley, which is praise indeed. To be
sure, we had no intention Of eliciting
that valuable compliment; so il Mr.. Kelly
pleases he may address his note of thanks to
Ludlow street instead of the corner of Ann
street and Broadway, and we will not take
hot ha tho 1<<T
the compliment of which we were only the
medium. All that we ask on our part is that
he will graciously accept it as an Offset
against our spelling his pretty game with
the Aldermen in publishing Tweed's written
confession. We meant no more i'll to Mr..
Kelly in procuring copy of the confession
than we meant good to him in getting the
interview. We hope Mr.. Kelly thinks that
both feats were pretty fair specimens of
wideawake journalism. He ought to be
proud and happy in finding that SO
competent o judge as Tweed thinks
him ''a bigger man than old Tilden," and
we hope it may come in the line Of our
duty to give the new Tammany chief
another equally valuable boost. But he
need not take the trouble to thank us, as
we ore not likely to go out of our way to
gather laurels for his massive brow.


Mr.. Kelly's great victory at Albany, on
which we were SO prompt to congratulate
him, resembles the little book which was
commanded to be eaten in the Revelations
and described as sweet in the mouth but
bitter in the belly. 1t does not yet quite
appear how severe o political collie Mr.. Kelly
is to get from that luscious Albany morsel,
but the symptoms begin to grow little
threatening. What is certain is that
nothing could have done so much
as that Albany victory to facilitate united
opposition to Tammany by oil its opponents
in this city. Mr.. Morrissey and his crowd,
who might have been conciliated by fair
treatment, came back vowing vengeance in
their hearts, and the republicans saw an
opportunity to make coalition without
any fear of being betrayed. The fierce re-
sentiment of the anti-Tammany democrats
is sufficient guarantee that they will do
their utmost to defeat and humiliate Mr..
Kelly in this election. So convinced are
the republicans of the value Of this great
opportunity that their most respectable
journals indorse John Morrissey and ac-
cept him as their own Senatorial candidate
The German vote Of the city has become
almost totally alienated from Tammany, and
the nomination of popular German for
Register is likely to bring the whole Ger
man contingent into the anti-Tammany
ranks. If the vote for Recorder Hackett
two years ago is any criterion of what the
combined opposition to Tammany can do
not even the compliments Of his admiring
predecessor can save Mr.. Kelly from defeat.
If he had not SO contemptuously slammed
the door of the Albany Convention in the
faces OF the anti-Tammany delegates there