CHAPTER LVII. THE VICTORY OF 1897. NE of the unprecedented features of the campaign of 1897 was the fact that every newspaper in the City of New York with the exception of four, and those not of the largest circulation, worked against the Tammany ticket, using, instead of argument, unrestrained abuse. Misstatements and tricks of all kinds, were resorted to by the combined opposition, with the mortifying result to them that the Tammany nominee for Mayor was elected by the large vote of 228,686, being a plurality of over 80,000 over his strongest opponent, Seth Low, the nominee of the Citizens' party; which shows that, whatever influence the papers have, they cannot crush the people's sense of right by the use of invective, against that of natural feeling of self-protection which can discern an enemy under the disguise of fine words, fair promises, or even threats of disaster, when experience has shown that these are false. To use the words of the great Lincoln," You cannot fool all the people all the time." The leading papers, boasting of their immense circulation, fell powerless before the discrimination of the great majority, which does think for itself, at least when its personal interests are interfered with by demagogues, under false pretences, however much they may be depreciated by those who claim to have all the virtue and all the intelligence. Self-congratulation before election had been so prevalent among the Seth Low party, who felt assured of victory, that the disappointment was most cruelly felt. A specimen of this confidence was presented by an act of the well-known lawyer, Joseph H. Choate (now Ambassador in England), who, a few days before election, and after prophesying the certain victory of Mr. Low, asked the popular Episcopal clergyman, Dr. Rainsford, to preach the very best sermon he could on the next Sunday from the text, "Beware of false Prophets," meaning, of course, the Democratic leaders. When the election returns came in, less than a week later, there was no escaping the conclusion that Mr. Choate himself was an illustrious example of the denunciation of the text. With the Mayoralty candidate, Robert A. Van Wyck, the whole Democratic ticket was successful, not a single Republican being elected in New York city, and only four in the Borough of Brooklyn. In the State the Democratic majority was some 65,000. Certainly one reason for this signal victory was the unexceptional character of the nominees; not the most fastidious of carperscould find any personal ground of objection to any name on the ticket. Ex-Justice Robert A. Van Wyck is a native of New York city, of Holland stock, educated to the profession of Law, and elected to the bench of the City Court in 1889. His decisions have been almost invariably sustained by the Appellate Courts. He had long been a consistent Democrat. When we remember that the consolidation movement was a Republican project, with the declared hope of destroying Tammany, the test result was, indeed, legitimate cause for extraordinary rejoicing by the Democracy of the great city. The habitual calumny in which the opponents of Tammany indulge has seldom had any serious result, and certainly no permanent effect on the organization itself, because intelligent voters know that most of the accusations are absolutely false or wild exaggerations. Of course, like all human institutions, it is subject to mistakes or temporary errors of policy, but, in the general honesty of purpose to do well for the city, it compares more than favorably with its perennial accusers. Though this continuous and vicious misrepresentation rarely does damage to its specific object, it does great damage in another direction. It injures the fair fame of the metropolis of the country. It is treason to all the dwellers in the city. Every New Yorker is lowered in the estimation of foreigners. It must be so, when Europeans are led to believe that they willingly choose to live under an organization which is utterly corrupt, and have done so for over a hundred years! And what is the motive of these slanderers of the leading city of the nation? Simply to get control themselves of the municipal government, with the patronage it implies; and for this they are willing to blacken the character of the majority of their own townsmen. English and other foreign editors cannot conceive of such turpitude in what pass for respectable American papers, and conclude that the charges must be true; so they join in the chorus of abuse, and add their little mite to the defamation of the metropolis. Every American's moral status abroad is thus wilfully lowered by these conscienceless slanderers of Tammany. List of National Parties which Tammany has Outlived. Federals Represented by George Washington and John Adams..... 1789-1796 Coalition-John Q. Adams National-Republican-Henry Clay Anti-Masonic-William Wirt Whig-General William H. Harrison Liberty Party-James G. Birney Free Democratic-John P. Hale Whig-Winfield Scott. Native American-Millard Fillmore Republican-John C. Fremont Conservative Union-John Bell Independent Democrat-S. A. Douglas Single Tax-Henry George 1824 1828-1832 1832 1840 1844 1848 1852 1852 1856 1856 1860 1860 The crop of local opponents now hors du combat are very numerous; most of them will be found named in a later chapter. Fiat Justitia ruat Coelum. "Let Justice be done, though the Heavens fall." This appears to have been the controlling spirit in which Mayor Robert A. Van Wyck entered upon his new duties, which he had officially accepted in a speech of little more than a single sentence. In reply to Mayor Strong's address of welcome, holding out his hand to the retiring Mayor, he simply said: "I accepted this office at the hands of the people, and to them will I answer." The only preceding specch which he uttered, during the campaign, was almost equally brief, and was addressed to the members of the committee which announced to him his election, and was as follows: "Gentlemen of the Tammany Hall Executive Committee, I thank you all kindly for the work you did for me on election day, and I hope that I may prove as successful an executive as I was as a candidate." But, though so brief of speech, the new Mayor spoke quickly enough by his actions, reminding one of Shakespeare's "Cordelia," who says: "What I well intend I'll do't before I speak." His views upon municipal expenditures he summarized thus: "Increased expenditures must be guarded against wherever possible, without interfering with natural growth and progress." He believed in attending to one thing at a time. "It is," he remarked, " a waste of energy to preoccupy the mind unnecessarily; wait till a matter actually comes up for decision; you cannot do justice to what is before you, if you are worrying about future contingencies." Again: "I want men about me who will confine themselves to the duties of the office they fill." He also recognized the necessity of physical health to properly perform mental work. Hence, he refused to be hurried, realizing that time was needed to get all the elements thus suddenly thrust together into smoothly running order. It was not an easy matter in all cases to fix the interpretation of the language of the charter. The Civil Service Commissioners, for instance, at a meeting held in December, indorsed the action of the old New York Board, which declared of the charter "that where any Board or Department was legislated out of power under the new charter, its employees, without further examination, should stand at the head of the eligible list for promotion, in any similar department created under the new municipal government." This, of course, proved very embarrassing to the new administration. The new Civil Service Commissioners, however, took an opposite view. Messrs. Knox, Dyckman and Deyo thought Governor Black's civil service rules became inoperative under the charter. The practical question was, "Can the State Board control New York city?" The charter, having provided that "All Acts or parts of Acts inconsistent with it, are to be regarded as repealed," the latter would appear to have been the true solution. Many other difficulties were encountered on the inauguration of the new government of the consolidated city, but none occasioned so much perplexity, annoyance and disappointment as the condition of the finances, all the annexed boroughs having so managed, late in the preceding year, to involve their several sections deeply in debt, with the expectation that these local claims would be met and paid by the greater city. It was an exasperating condition which confronted the new Mayor, and drew forth from his closely guarded lips, referring to the largest of these boroughs, the expression that “it had left him a legacy of fraud," in that the annexed borough had recklessly expended large sums of money for which no satisfactory returns were visible, and had contracted heavy debts with the expectation of foisting the payment upon the consolidated city. As the most serious of these maladministrations had occurred in the large Borough of Brooklyn under a semi-Reform Republican Mayor, the object lesson of its exposure tended greatly to the removal of prejudice against the coming Democratic regéme in the greater city. CHAPTER LVIII. SOME TAMMANY MEN-SOME TAMMANY INCIDENTS. BILL had been introduced into the House, in the spring of 1896, for the construction of six new naval vessels, but the Senate, in its false economy, had cut down the number to four, and when the bill was under reconsideration, in the House, a member had suggested the adoption of the Senate's amendment. If Mr. Cummings had foreseen the war of 1898 he could not have contended more vigorously or intelligently for the expansion of the Navy, which all can now see was our main strength and reliance against Spain, and that with a less forcible Navy than we had the war might have lasted for years. Mr. Cummings was Chairman of the Naval Committee of the Fifty-third Congress, and had been an influential member of the same in previous years, and had always favored the most liberal appropriations for the increase and development of our naval strength. Considering the honor which the Navy has, by its record of 1898, brought to the American nation, it is interesting to recall the fact that the Tammany representative in the Congress of 1896, Amos J. Cummings, was one of the most persistent statesmen that had on every opportunity which was offered, during the nine years that he had been in the House, urged upon Congress the crying need for the construction of more ships. Two years before the proclamation of the war against Spain, Mr. Cummings made two most earnest and eloquent speeches in favor of increasing the Navy, showing, by historical data, the absolute necessity for the better protection of our seaboard and especially the desirability for the United States to have the means of protecting its citizens abroad, and the ability to meet force with force, if circumstances should require it, on the sea. Another eminently useful member of Tammany introduced a bill for the better lighting and general arrangements of the Forty-second street tunnel in New York, the previous dark condition of which had caused many serious and fatal accidents. Mr. William Sulzer, now Congressman (1900), is responsible for the Freedom-of-Worship law, (for all public institutions); the amended Mechanics' lien law; the Albany Capitol Appropriation law, intended to curb the wild expenditures heretofore indulged in on that perennial work; the amended law abolishing imprisonment for debt; the ten-hour law for labor; Woman's Reformatory law; the anti-Conspiracy law; the Constitutional Celebration law; a law for the establishment of the Aquarium in New York city, a valuable, instructive resort for the people; with many other laws of essential benefit to the community which, without his aid, would have failed. When Mr. Croker returned from his long absence, toward the end of November, new life seemed to be infused into Tammany Hall, and it was decided that a general, but gradual and quiet, transformation must take place, weeding out the inefficient or useless leaders and members, displacing such of the former as had failed in their duties or manifested a lack of zeal; infusing new blood wherever needed. Mr. Croker fully recognized the faithful work done during nis absence, and was not discouraged by the result of the late election. He said: "In my opinion, Tammany Hall made a gallant fight against great odds. The really large vote polled on November 3d in this city may be taken as a presage of future success. Of next year's municipal control, I can only say I am confident of victory. As I take it, there is no intention to fight a Presidentia! campaign during only a municipal one. Next year all Democrats will be together for the common good." This expectation was founded on the belief that the silver question would then be eliminated from the contest. The Presidential election being over, Tammany was free to commence its work for 1897. The next campaign would be far more vital to the interests of the city than the one just passed. The Federal election affected New Yorkers, simply as Democrats, equally with all other Democrats throughout the Union, neither more nor less, but the municipal election next in view was altogether of another character, and one with which the party outside of New York had no special interest, but which was of far more importance to Tammany than any which had preceded it during its whole existence; for, on this approaching election turned the control of the enlarged metropolis for four consecutive years, with possibilities of an indefinite extension. It was well-known that the original project of consolidation of the neighboring towns and cities with old New York had been conceived in the Republican brain in the hope and firm expectation that it would thus be able to overcome the influence of Tammany; and some even imagined that it could thus actually destroy the indestructable. Ex-Governor Black, in speaking of the consolidation measure, evidently viewed it from a political and not a municipal standpoint. In January, 1897, he said: "The extent of its influence is not safe to predict. Conditions have arisen more than once in which an entire national policy has depended upon this State. When questions of such moment become thus dependent, the position of the City of New York is commanding and may be decisive. Every move upon this subject should result from the utmost caution and study." Does not this expression of opinion clearly indicate that Governor Black was thinking solely of national politics, rather than of the wellbeing of the community for which the charter was at that time being prepared? The clearer such intent was developed the more intense grew the feeling in Tammany circles that the city must be redeemed and secured for the Democracy. At the Tammany Central Club, where Mr. Croker was present, early in January, he took occasion to state, anew, his position, which was: First, that he had not taken up a residence in England, which had been persistently asserted, but that his home was in New York, and always would be, but that he had definitely withdrawn from mere routine work in Tammany Hall, though he had lost none of his interest in its success. He next expressed himself in the belief that rotation in office was eminently desirable, with the full conviction that when a man had been in office three or four years he should resign, and make way for new men. This rotation, he added, keeps the blood in circulation, and excites the ambition of the younger men, and is an incitement to them to work for the party. An amusing incident occurred about this time illustrative of the habit of many Republicans of using every opportunity to make a verbal thrust at Tammany, without any special reason for doing so. The event occurred at a social meeting of the Colonial Club, at which Stewart L. Woodford, our late Minister to |