| OCR Text |
Show WHAT JEII ISJRIVINE AT Now York Politicians Are Very Busy Trying to Figure It Out. PROPOSED INDEPENDENT RUN MAY BE BIG BLUFF Wise v0ncs Believe He Is Angling Ang-ling for Fusion Nomination for Mayor. Special to The Tribune. NEW YORK, Aug. 13. William Travers Jerome has the center of the stage just at the present time. And if appearances are any criterion he will keep the center of the stage until after the conclusion of the political campaign next November. Mr. Jerome has announced that he wants to run for District Attorney once again, the nomination being made by the people by petition. He has thrqwn down the gauntlet to the "bosses" in both political parties, and when Jerome starts out on a campaign against the "bosses," the fur may be expected to fly as long as the campaign lasts. Jerome Is in Earnest. But those who know the District Attorney At-torney best and love him most, and to know him thoroughly Is to love him in spite of his little eccentricities, which are but skin deep, say that he is in earnest when he says that he would rather be nominated for District Attorney At-torney than for Mayor. William Travers Jerome Is nothing if not a good politician, In spite of the fact that his attacks on the "powers that be" would generally be called "bad politics." But Jerome knows that his strength lies with the people, not the politicians. And It Is Impossible to understand un-derstand just what he Is "driving at" during these dog days of August. Many Vote Straight. A tyro In politics knows that in the city and county of New York that man docs not live who can run more than ten or twenty thousand votes ahead of his ticket. Personal popularity is something, some-thing, the support of the Independent newspapers Is still more, but when everything Is said and done the support of the local tickets and the cry of regularity regu-larity on the part of the machine must prevent a vast number of men from voting for Jerome for District Attorney. The orders will go forth to vote "straight," and the friends of the "Alderman" "Al-derman" or the "Assemblyman" who really would like to vote for a man like Jerome will not dare to take chances on throwing their vote away. Ballot System Against Him. The Australian ballot Is hard on the independent voter. The existing Australian Aus-tralian ballot would puzzle a Philadelphia Philadel-phia political lawyer, and for the man who scratches his ballot there is the chance that the judges' and clerks, oft-times oft-times Ignorant, will not count the ballots bal-lots as cast. At the time that Jerome was elected District Attorney enough ballots were damaged and mutilated In trying to scratch Mayor Van Wyck, of "ice trust" fame, who was a candidate for Judge, and who had aroused the wrath of the people, to have defeated "Low for Mayor and Jerome for District Attorney if Van Wyck had not been forced on the ticket In the vain hope ot securing a vindication. Looking- for Indorsement. Hence, while Jerome Is undoubtedly sincere when he says that he wants the nomination for District Attorney as an Independent, he probably cannot be Induced to say that he will not accept an indorsement at the hands of the muchlne politicians It would be a great personal triumph for Jerome If he could force both the Republican and Democratic organizations In New York county to accept him because of his record and thus elect him practically unanimously. This Is probably what Mr. Jerome would really like. But is it what he Is going to get? May Have to Run for Mayor. Once throw a pebble Into the pool of New York politics and there Is no telling Just where the waves created by that pebble 111 stop there Is no certainty upon what shores they will finally break. And It Is by no means assured that Jerome will not find that he will be obliged to accept a nomination' nomina-tion' for Mayor at the hands of the Fusionists. This feeling that he may be obliged to head the city instead of the county ticket undoubtedly grows out of the belief so prevalent In some quarters quar-ters that ho Is the only man who can beat Col. George B. McClellan when the present Mayor Is renominated by the Democratic organization. Fusionists Want to Win. And though Odell muy not like Jerome, Je-rome, though Piatt may not like him historically he is a Democrat the Fusionists are after all very anxious to win. It should be remembered that as a result of recent changes in the charter by the Albany Legislature the Mayor is elected for four year3 Instead of two. The Idea of turning over nearly near-ly S500.000.000 worth of patronage to Murphy and McClollan is not particularly particu-larly pleasing to the Republican politicians. politi-cians. True Jerome might not give them all that they wanted or expected, but they would not be able to get the least little thing out of Tammany Hnll. Depends ou Events. Much, therefore, will depend upon the drift of events during the next few weeks as to whether Jerome Is nominated nomi-nated for Mayor by tho anti-Tammany forces or whether he is nominated for District Attorney by forces unknown at ! the present time. It seems almost unbelievable un-believable that Mr. Jerome will allow himself to stand up alone on an Australian Aus-tralian ballot of the kind given the people peo-ple of this city. New York county Is heavily Democratic, and Jerome knows It. It Is true that he ran ten thousand votes ahead of his ticket last time. But If he runs ten thousand votes ahead of his ticket this year It la not likely that he will be elected unless he is running on the Democratic ticket. For the Democrats are not likely to carry the county of New York, In which Jerome will run, If he runs for District Attorneynot At-torneynot the greater city, but the county merely, by anywhere from L'o.QOO to 60,000 majorltj'. Independent Chances Slim, If Jerome had been running on an Independent ticket before without a machine nomination he would have been defeated by something llko 100,000 votes. And If he persists in Tunning on nn Independent ticket this year and refuses re-fuses to take a machine nomination he will bo defeated by a hundred thousand thou-sand votes. Now, Jeromo knows these things as well us any other man better bet-ter than most men and to a man up a tree it would look as though he Is either leading a forlorn hope In a good cause, planning to accept a machine nomination nomina-tion for the offlco of District Attorney, trusting to hlB popular petition to help him out on the Bide, or else he expects to be elected Mayor of Greater New York on a wave of enthusiasm against the bosses, securing tho Indorsement of the Republican organizations, at least as a matter of form. |
