Year: 1870

1
| Tho Spoils.


Honest meu who know little or nothing OF
the mysteries of political rings, nor of the
wheels within wheels in the legislative ma-
chine at Albany, are puzzled with the hitch in
the Senate over the proposed new charter for
F, .nis Guy. Mnat is the trouble with Senators
Genet, Creamer and Norton? IL g supposed
that each of these men has some very heavy
axes to grind; that they want to come to
some distinct understanding in reference to
these axes with the Tammany chiefs while yet
they can bring Tammany to some special con-
cessions; that In duo time there will be COM
promise, and that thcn Mcssrs. Genet, Creamer
and Norton will work faithfully in carrying
through the Tammany programme from first
to last.


This may be 80, and in little side game
involving plum in the spoils, Of say fifty thou
sand to Mike, one hundred thousand to Tom,
and two hundred thousand dollars to Harry, we
can understand why these men should threaten
to bolt. Nor can 1t be matter of surprise
that Tom, Mike or Harry should act upon tho
good old rule Of making hay while the sun
shines. We apprehend, however, that the
spoils and the power now in the hands Of the
democrats for new division oil round at Al
bany will be apt to raise row in the distribu-
tion thereof. We remember that under the
administration Of Pierce the party in this State
was split into two nearly equal factions in
dispute between the "hards" and "softs" over
the Office of Collector Of this porta dispute
which resulted in turning tho State over Into
the hands of the opposition.


With the enormous margin for spoils now
presented to our democratic Legislature, mil
lions upon millions, untold millions of spoils,
there is danger Of another split in the camp OF
the s'happy family" There ought TO be
enough Of these spois to satisfy all hands
but why should Mr.. Tweed, for instance, have
moro than Mr.. GonetP The proportion to each
applicant Is still the difficulty. But behind
this difficulty there may be the nucleus Of
democratic clique or two in opposition to the
Tammany programme for the next Presidency.
We don't know but it is quite possible that
there are some Of the little chiefs at Albany
who wish to have an open field and an equal
voice in their next Presidential Convention;
but what chance will they have II the New
York programme dnclud;ng her candidate) is
already cut and dried by the big chiefs Of the
Tammany Wigwam2


At all events, remembering, aler his hand
some victory Of 1862 on the platform of "a
more vigorous prosecution of the war" how
Seymour threw all its advantages away in
tnrning his back upon his professions, we
must admonish the democrats at Albany that
they cannot afford TO trifle with their pro misses
nor with the expectation ns Of the people in the
matter Of retrenchment, reform and municipal
rights. We must still remind them Of the fact
that in the last November election their sue
cess, as in 1862, was duo to popular indiffer-
ence-that the election went by default-but
that next November there will be q full vote,
and that Congress may have finger in the
pie, in providing, under the fifseenth amend
ment, for negro suffrage. In short, our present
Legislature has no time to waste in personal
squabbles over tho spoils